NINA BANKS
campus editor
nina.banks@my.tccd.edu
TikTok has been under scrutiny after security concerns and its affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party. Or just simply, its Chinese affiliations.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of hate crimes towards Asian Americans. The pandemic was essentially a scapegoat to discriminate against all Asian people. The virus was even named the “China virus” by former President Donald Trump.
It seems TikTok is the newest excuse to say inflammatory things about Chinese people. In several conversations about the recent proposals to ban TikTok, many people drop the “Communist Party” part of the CCP and simply reduce the blame to the Chinese.
People may say “potato potato” and guffaw about the sensitivity of our generation, yet blissfully ignorant of how dropping two words perpetuates hate crimes against Asian people.
Being half Japanese, I have been the brunt of jokes at the lunch table a plethora of times. A boy once told me it was my fault that World War II happened.
I’ve had people pull their eyes taught against their face to mock the shape of my eyes or even say they’ve “switched races” after waking up with puffy eyes.
Among the most jarring encounters I’ve had are people who are completely unapologetic towards the atomic bombs and the bombing of Tokyo, which resulted in the death of my great grandfather. Their reasoning: we “deserved it” as retribution for Pearl Harbor.
I didn’t know that there would ever be justification for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The magnitude of the situation finally hit me about two months ago. My mother, a Japanese immigrant, was talking to me about how she feels safer walking our pitbull in case someone tries to attack her.
It’s truly an unexplainable feeling realizing that the chance of being subjected to a hate crime is increasing exponentially. The sad reality of a minority in America is watching your chance of survival fluctuate as you flip through the news channels.
Because to racists, who cares if you’re not Chinese or the ethnicity on the roster to target? To them, we’re all the same.
The irony in all of this is the population of non-Asian people who so fervently consume Asian culture do not speak up when it comes to protecting the population they derive their pleasures from.
Listen to all the K-pop, eat all the pho and watch all the anime you want. But when we speak up about the injustices our community is facing, the least you can do is wipe off your questionable eyeliner and lend an ear.
For the meantime while TikTok becomes scrutinized, and therefore Chinese Americans as well, check your language. Speak carefully and most of all, listen.
