“My mom sent me a text message recently and she was talking about how her and my dad were at work and a lady had asked my dad a question about a product in the grocery store. My dad had responded in English. He still has a bit of a Chinese accent when he talks. But she wasn’t satisfied with his answer and she told my dad to go back to the country he had come from because he doesn’t speak perfect English.
I was really frustrated, incredibly angry, and then really saddened. I felt so let down that people could be this woefully ignorant and mean. My parents came to this country to give us a better life and of course, as Asian kids, we always acknowledge the sacrifices that our parents have made for us here. When I heard about the shooting that happened in Atlanta, I thought about how that could have been my parents.
I feel like we were always taught to not stir the pot. We were always told “Be good, don’t make a fuss” right? That’s what my parents would always tell me if someone said something mean to me at school or if I was this close to losing my temper at something.
Now is the time for us to all stand up for each other and we can start by having this incredibly difficult conversation. We can talk about how we can, as a culture, unite and stand up for each other.
我的爸爸最近因为中文口音被商店顾客指责，叫他回到自己的国家。我很感恩我的父母为了让孩子们过上更好的生活而来到加拿大，所以当人们无视这份伟大的亲情并说出歧视性的刻薄言语，我感到十分沮丧、愤怒、难过。最近的亚特兰大的亚裔仇恨枪击案让我觉得从小被教导的中庸之道不是解決种族歧視的方案。是时候讨论作为一个社羣该如何共同维护亚裔群体的权利。” — Stephanie
REN Project 