There is a conversation we don't seem to be having enough of right now. It's not the conversation about Covid-19 or vaccination, or the 'No Jab, No Job' position, or the assault on our freedoms and rights, or bodily autonomy. It's the conversation about our Asian community here in New Zealand. I think it's pretty safe to say that most of the non-Asian community in New Zealand wouldn't at a glance spot the difference between someone who was Chinese and someone who was Vietnamese or Korean or Tibetan. There are still people who can't tell the difference between someone who is Chinese from someone who is Japanese. For the most part, we who do not have living East Asian experience simply don't have that level of discernment. It's not racism - it's just experiential ignorance. Unfortunately, that often leads to a 'clan' mentality, especially in times of emotional turmoil. Especially in the face of a fear-driven campaign of "us and them" being wrought upon the population by its leaders and media outlets. That division has side effects that are undesirable, and one of those side effects is a need to scapegoat.
If there is one thing that I do agree with Aunty Jax about, it is this: kindness really is a virtue. So is understanding.
It's time to remind ourselves that no matter how angry we are, how afraid we are, or how desperate we are, there is no excuse to take out those emotions on our Asian citizens. They are not responsible for what has happened in Wuhan. They are as much victims in all of this as we are. They are as afraid as we are, but heightened all the more by the attitudes of the people around them. They are just as locked down as we are, isolated as we are, economically disadvantaged as we are.
They notice the looks they get as they walk down the street. They hear the mumbles of the disgruntled to "go home". They feel it when people won't sit next to them on the bus for fear of catching Covid-19 as though it is a virus carried and transmitted by everyone of Asian descent. (It's not, by the way!)
If "Be Kind" applies to anyone right now, it applies to a people who are being ostracised and shamed for something they have no control over - their ethnic origin. How about we introduce ourselves to our Asian neighbours, keep an eye on them, make sure they know that if there's trouble they can call and we'll be there.
Maybe "Make Kindness Great Again" needs to be the new Trumpesque slogan we see out the rest of 2021 with? Give it some thought, OK?
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