op-ed
Frank H. Wu, President, Queens
College, CUNY
How many Asian Americans have
to be killed before other people realize
there is a pattern? The past year of
pandemic has seen every type of violence
directed toward Asian Americans,
from name calling that leads to
spitting on pedestrians and shoving
the elderly to the ground hard enough
to break bones to stabbings and ultimately
the recent shootings in Atlanta,
Georgia. Although the three businesses
visited by the confessed killer
were Asian-owned and six of eight victims
were Asian women, a senior law
enforcement offi cial there described
the mass murder as the outcome of a
“bad day.”
The assaults are neither random
nor right. Asian Americans, however,
have experienced this type of dismissal
of their concerns. President Joe Biden
mentioned in his fi rst major speech
that Asian-Americans number among
those front-line health care professionals
risking their lives to treat patients
during the pandemic. Yet Asian-Americans
continue to be blamed for the disease
in childish jokes and conspiracy
theories.
In the face of tragedy, Asian Americans
encounter skeptics about whether
they in fact suffer at all. Asian Americans
have diffi culty persuading others
despite the compelling evidence
because we frame race in black and
white terms, literally and fi guratively.
letters & comments
Politicians in Albany are
currently working to fi nalize
the state budget, and the decisions
they’ll make over the
coming days will have real
impacts on the lives of New
Yorkers. Under consideration
is a plan to “carve-out” the
pharmacy benefi t from Medicaid
managed care, which
would put lives at risk–I
know from fi rsthand experience.
Years ago, I was homeless
and living with HIV.
I dropped in and out of
care. My medication wasn’t
We discuss civil rights as if everyone
fi ts into one of two boxes, black or
white. A stroll through New York City
confi rms that this picture of the world
is inaccurate, regardless of your identity
or your politics.
Some people are oblivious to the
possibility that Asian Americans run
into discrimination. I have been informed
directly by folks that all the
Asian Americans they know are “well
off” or that Asian Americans don’t
have it as bad as they would in their
“homelands” as if they didn’t belong
here. The studies consistently show
that Asian Americans who are welleducated
professionals are crowded
below the glass ceiling, or what some
have called a “bamboo ceiling.” Asian
Americans also report bias at rates
lower than the reality, due to language
and culture.
It is infuriating when people explain
to me the attacks on Asian Americans
are not racist because they are
directed at foreigners. That pretext
makes the prejudice obvious: Asian
Americans, both naturalized and native
born, face the very same problems
their parents and grandparents do,
but are not accepted as bona fi de citizens.
They are shouted at to go back
to where they are “really” from and
complimented for speaking English
so well. Wrongdoers who are about to
strike you rarely pause to check your
passport. The implication of the excuse
should be called out, that it somehow
working—the more I took,
the sicker I got. My doctor
switched my medication, and
timing was critical.
When I visited my pharmacy,
they said they already
fi lled this prescription for
me. I sat there sick and tired,
my head in my hands. It confi
rmed my fears about getting
the runaround in the
health care system. I called
my health plan, and a pharmacist
there with HIV expertise
contacted my doctor and
pharmacy. The issue was resolved;
in 15 minutes I had
NYC: New Yorker Hold Rally Protesting Asian Hate Crimes. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
the medication I needed.
If New York State goes forward
with its plan to “carve
out” my pharmacy benefi t, instead
of speaking with someone
from my health plan who
helped me right away, I would
have been pooled together
with all 6 million Medicaid
recipients in the state. Being
turned away at the pharmacy
would have confi rmed
my mistrust in the health
care system, and I might not
have returned. By the time
this impersonal bureaucracy
resolved my issue, I would
have gotten much sicker. The
carve-out will also strip funding
away from community
health centers like Harlem
United that gave me life-saving
care, and the safety-net
health plans that help people
most in need. It would endanger
millions of lives.
So I ask those in power,
how much is my life worth to
you?
Anthony Randolph
Bronx, New York.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 2-8, 2021 13
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would be tolerable if offenders
only targeted those who were aliens.
Once revealed, the sentiment becomes
indefensible.
I continue to be hopeful. Anti-Asian
American attitudes, hate crimes, and
government policies have always been
around. But the awareness is new and
therefore encouraging. Perhaps now,
in coalitions with the #BLM movement
and the campaigns against resurgent
anti-Semitism, Asian Americans
will have allies in demanding
only what our great nation promises
to all who believe in its ideals: equality
and justice.
To the Editor,
With reference to the
opinion piece by Larry
Penner, 3/26/2021 BT/BTR,
on patronizing restaurants.
While the letter is well intentioned,
the author suffers
from tunnel vision.
First, the pandemic is
far from over. I was exposed
to COVID about a month ago
and briefl y quarantined, although
I fortunately tested
negative. There are also
stories of more contagious
strains. Only a minority of
the population has been vaccinated.
Although there is
cause for cautious optimism,
this disease should not be regarded
with a cavalier attitude.
Second, the author
worked for the FTA for 31
years. I am sure he is not
wealthy, but I doubt he’s hurting
fi nancially. I don’t begrudge
the author any level
of fi nancial comfort he has attained.
I do begrudge him for
not understanding that not
everyone is as fortunate as he
is. One child I raised is grown
and out of the house, and a
second child is semi grown,
semi out of the house, and
semi self suffi cient. When I
was raising them I was working
very hard just to put food
on the table. While I’m working
and not not living paycheck
to paycheck I’m still
looking for the best sales and
the best prices and shopping
at discount stores. Tens of
thousands are unemployed.
Even if I did want to eat out
(and I’m still concerned about
COVID), I could not afford a
20% – 25% tip.
My heart goes out to
those in the restaurant industry
whose livelihoods were
affected by the pandemic. But
I refuse to allow the author to
guilt or shame me into supporting
the restaurant industry.
The problem was not of
my making, nor is the solution.
Nat Weiner
Bronx, New York
CUNY against Asian hate
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