Pak Ho is a 75 year-old-Asian American who died last Thursday (March 11) after he was robbed on the streets of Oakland, Calif., the latest victim in the rising number of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S.
No one is saying, “Say his name.”
There is no hashtag campaign for Ho.
But his death did occur around the same time President Joe Biden was delivering a prime-time address to the whole country on vaccination, but with a special message—that such racist acts against Asian Americans like the one against Ho will not be tolerated.
“Too often, we’ve turned against one another,” Biden said in his Thursday address when he announced the goal of vaccines for all by May 1. But this portion was no less important. “Instead of working with each other, (we’ve seen) vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who’ve been attacked, harassed, and scapegoated. It’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it must stop.”
That’s a whole lot better than the previous president who used the terms “China Virus” and “Kung Flu,” and modeled selfish, unempathetic behavior.
But let’s face it. This is more than just about the virus. This is about plain, old, 21st Century racism.
