Recently, there has been a lot of hate going to Asian-Americans since 2020. Ever since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Asian-Americans have been targeted. Someone who’s partially to blame is Donald Trump, the former President of the United States. He had tweeted out about the Coronavirus calling it the “Chinesevirus”, sparking an increase in Asian hate crimes (cbsnews.com). There have been about 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents- mostly targeting women (Nbsnews.com).

There have been protests for the Asian community trying to gather media attention in support for Asian Americans. Governor JB Pritzker also spoke out about Asian hate crimes. In his statement he addressed the Asian-American Pacific Islander community in Illinois, letting them know they are not invisible and that he sees their fear and anxiety they’ve been put through (southern.com).

Personally, I stand with the Asian community. Even though the Coronavirus originally came from China it doesn’t justify the hate going towards the Asian community. I think it’s shameful of what Americans are turning America into. America was supposed to be the land of the “free”, of equal opportunity, but it’s honestly never been that way at all. Minorities have suffered tremendously in America, whether you’re African American, Hispanic, Asian, etc., there has always been hate for people who don’t look like the majority and things won’t change if people remain silent about it. If you’re not mad at the unfair treatments Asians, African Americans, Hispanic, Muslims, etc., are getting then you’re also apart of the problem. Being silent is not an option.

However, seeing the protests, and people finally speaking out, makes me think that there’s a chance for change. It’s obviously not going to happen any time soon, but little progress is still progress. We’re all people regardless of where we came from. If we look at Carbondale Community Highschool, you won’t see just a single color, you’ll see black, white, brown, etc. Hate isn’t something we learn, it’s taught by the parents, by their environment, by friends. But it’s up to you to correct yourself and learn how to do things differently. If you look at children, they don’t care what color their friends are, they just treat them like any other kid, and that’s something the older generation should learn from younger the younger generation.