The Japanese American actress best known for her roles in various superhero media (The Boys and Suicide Squad) and acclaimed animation shows (She-Ra and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), Karen Fukuhara, took to Instagram to speak up about her own experience with anti-Asian hate. She recounted an interaction this week in which a man struck her in the back of the head out of nowhere and yelled at her until he eventually walked away. Fukuhara continued, “This is the first time I’ve been harmed physically, although racial slurs and hurtful actions have been directed to me in the past.”
She said she feels lucky to be okay physically, but that these people who attack Asian people and their elders need to be held accountable—and they should. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stop AAPI Hate tracked over 11,000 attacks between March 2020 and December 2021. Most of those attacks came from 2021, and these are just the ones where someone spoke up. They also found women, the elderly, and those with more East Asian features faced many of the increased attacks.
Despite the coverage of these events being in constant decline, the Asian American community has seen little to no reprieve from the onslaught of attacks. Even with more clear examples of targeted mass attacks, such as the Atlanta spa shooting in which a gunman drove 30 miles to three predominately Asian American-operated spas and opened fire, there is no federal recognition that these were hate crimes. This week was the one-year anniversary of the lives lost during the Atlanta shootings.
The people murdered in the 2021 spa shooting include Delaina Ashley Yaun (33), Paul Andre Michels (54), Xiaojie Tan (49), Daoyou Feng (44), Hyun Jung Grant (51), Suncha Kim (69), Soon Chung Park (74), and Yong Ae Yue (63.)
(via Yahoo! Entertainment)
Here are some other bits of news we saw today:
- Following Disney’s pitiful response to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Pixar staff are speaking up about LGBTQ+ censorship and, now, have gotten a same-sex kiss edited back into Lightyear. (Variety)
- Archeologists find ancient burial tombs and art during Notre Dame reconstruction. (Hyperallergic)
- SBG Book Club (now an official 501(c)(3) non-profit) launches GoFundMe to continue providing free and accessible reading resources. (Smart Brown Girl)
- Women are sharing some of the sexist, cringiest encounters with people in geek spaces. (Buzzfeed)
- BYU & state-funded study hints elk adapted to hunting season by migrating to public land to outsmart hunters. (ABC4)
- WW2 all-Black women battalion to receive (belated) Congressional Medal of Honor. (The Guardian)
Let us know what you saw out there today in the comments below!
(featured image: Amazon)
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