#21 Combating racism towards Asians amidst COVID-19 with Derek Tran

With the novel coronavirus spreading all around the world, so has intolerant attitudes towards Asians. Hate crimes have increased to unsettling amounts and it seems to get worse with each passing day. I am joined in this conversation with our returning guest Derek Tran to unpack the racism towards Asians and offer some advice on how to navigate it.

This episode, we talk about:

• The current climate of COVID-19 and racism 
• Why is this racism different from many others?
• Addressing the op-ed by Andrew Yang
• Derek’s personal experience with recent racism
• Why we struggle to call-out and stand up for ourselves as Asians
• Why is this even harder for gaysians?
• Defining what a hate crime is
• Why we love Cardi B
• What is the difference between calling in and calling out
• Some resources to stop AAPI hate

 

Things form our show:

Stop AAPI Hate: http://www.asianpacificpolicyandplanningcouncil.org/stop-aapi-hate/

Our favorite activism socials: @Next Shark, @JackFroot, @AsianswithAttitudes

 

Our guest on this podcast:

 

Derek Tran (he/him/his) is a gay, second-generation Vietnamese-American entrepreneur residing in Los Angeles.  His interests include mindfulness, fitness, environmental sustainability and has been an integral part of the LA Gaysian scene for more than 20+ years.

 

You can find him on instagram @FindYourFearless

 

You can reach out to me on:

Instagram @StevenWakabayashi Facebook @wakuu and Twitter @wakuu

 

And if you want to subscribe to my weekly email newsletter, you can find my writings at mindfulmoments.substack.com