Thread by @AndyKimNJ

I have only one memory of my grandma and it isn’t a good one. She visited America when I was a child. Instead of embracing her I yelled at her to go home. I’ve regretted that my whole life. Now when I see these brutal attacks against elderly Asian Americans, I see her. (THREAD)

A 91 year old Asian American man assaulted. Hit so hard his frail body goes completely airborne. Another in his 80s killed by a stranger. Another slashed by a knife across his face. They could be my grandparents, your parents or grandparents. 2/19

Yes, some is covid-related discrimination inflamed by the former president, but that is not the whole story though it is what the media often latches onto. The history of anti-AAPI sentiment is long but often unseen or forgotten, representing several principles of hate. 3/19

DISRESPECT: When I yelled at my grandma, I disrespected her. I disrespected my family’s history. I disrespect what others did to give me what I have. When people attack AAPIs, they disrespect our shared history and our place. 4/19

CUT DEEP: Our elders are our roots. They are often the ones who had the infinite courage to journey to America and build a new life in pursuit of the American dream. Attacking them makes us feel like we are weeds being pulled up by our roots. This is no doubt intentional. 5/19

COWARDICE: Attacking our elders is also the most cowardly way to show hate. Violence against frailty is despicable and demonstrates a particular insecurity. Sadly it also demonstrates an absence of decency that has been filled by anger. 6/19

OTHERIZATION: When I ran for Congress in 2018, a TV ad ended with the line “Andy Kim, he’s not one of us.” They tried to say I’m foreign, I’m not American no matter what, that I’m an “other.” Sadly not the first time I experienced this type of attack questioning my loyalty. 7/19

LOYALTY TEST: I worked for years as a diplomat at the State Dept. Top Secret clearance working on the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan. But State Dept one day sent me a letter saying I could not work on any issues related to Korea. I was confused because I never requested to do so. 8/19

This letter was completely unprompted. I can tell you exactly how it feels to have your own government say “we don’t trust you,” even after I worked in warzones on behalf of our nation. It hurt, still does. 9/19

REMOVAL: What I experienced is but a mere speck compared to the scars of Japanese Americans rounded up in internment camps. Today is the Remembrance Day for that stain on our history. Our government did this. We must remember. 10/19

PROVING WORTH: When I’m asked about why gov should engage with AAPI, I’m often hit with stats about fastest growing demographic and margin of victory in GA runoffs. All true. But we shouldn’t have to justify worth. We are worth protecting not just because of usefulness. 11/19

So what do we do? We need the Biden admin to designate a point person on hate crimes and to direct DoJ and FBI to allocate more resources including creation of single reporting channel to flag discriminatory actions, hate crimes training, and real AAPI community outreach. 12/19

We need Biden team to prioritize re-establishing White House Initiative on AAPI to create a designated portal for sustained engagement and relationship building with AAPI communities around the country. 13/19

Congress should pass the NO HATE ACT to put more resources to tackling hate crimes in our nation (the House passed it in May 2020). We should hold hearings to shine light on this violence as well as other discriminatory concerns and give AAPI community a greater voice. 14/19

We need voices at all levels of gov speaking out. Need Governors to come up with their own state-level plans and to meaningfully reach out to AAPI communities in their states. We need a punchlist of what local municipalities and law enforcement need to take this seriously. 15/19

We need the development of thicker and more sustained grassroots engagement that so often feels lacking in AAPI political outreach. And we need to ensure that this effort has a wide coalition beyond just the AAPI community. 16/19

Violence against AAPI isn’t just an AAPI problem. But also anti-AAPI descrimination is not the only discrimination that AAPIs should care about. Hate/racism in all forms is despicable. I don’t claim to fully understand the deep racism others face but we lift each other up. 17/19

What gives me hope: Seeing community members stepping up to escort elders around to offer protection. Seeing people coming together to solve problem. Thank you for what you do. 18/19 cnn.com/2021/02/15/us/…

What gives me hope: all of you reading these words and working with me and others to turn these words into sustained action. Join me, @danieldaekim and others in a discussion on Clubhouse Sunday 7pm ET. Or follow me here for updates on what we can do. 19/19