Thread by @JLeeSoc

Two and a half years into the pandemic, it finally happened... not COVID, but COVID-related hate. And it happened where I least expected it, running on the grounds @the_IAS @Princeton.

I debated whether to share this, but decided it may help others feel less alone if I did. A 🧵

2/ I began my run this morning on my usual path @the_IAS and noticed a woman walking ahead of me. As I approached her from behind, she moved to the middle of the path, so I moved to the outer most edge to the right when running by her, never even coming close to touching her.

3/ After running past her, she screamed, “Social distancing!” I was surprised, but ignored her. Then a few seconds later, she screamed, “F*CK YOU!” at which point I stopped, turned, faced her, and said calmly, “DO NOT talk to me like that.”

4/ She proceeded to yell, “You saw me from behind! You should keep your distance! You see I’m wearing a mask!” to which I responded, “Since I’m coming from behind, how could I have seen that you’re wearing a mask?”

5/ Without acknowledging what I said, she proceeded to scream, “You’re threatening my life by breathing hard while jogging past me!” Mind you, I just started jogging, so I wasn’t even breathing hard (not that that’s even the point). But I’m threatening her life????

6/ Realizing that there’s no point in reasoning with this woman, I didn’t say more, but she continued to rant about how it’s my responsibility to social distance and that I should have moved OFF the path when I saw her.

7/ And then she said again, “You’re F*CKING threatening my life by breathing on me!” Note, at this point, I’m well over 6 feet away from this hysterically screaming woman.

8/ I repeated, “DO NOT talk to me like that. DO NOT curse at me.” Then she abruptly screamed, “I’m not having this conversation!” She waived her hand and turned to walk in the other direction, at which point I continued jogging, thinking this is the end.

9/ When she got off the path and was far away from me, she screamed, “You’re F*CKING worried about a four-letter curse word when you’re threatening my life by breathing on me! I hope you get run over by a car!”

10/ This woman never used an anti-Asian slur, so this wouldn’t be recorded as an anti-Asian hate incident. But would she have felt that a white woman jogging was threatening her life by breathing? Would she have cursed & screamed at a white woman as she did so boldly with me?

11/ One point in sharing this is to underscore that these types of incidents are not uncommon.

In the past year alone, 1 in 3 #AsianAmericans have been called names or insulted.

aapidata.com/blog/year-afte…

12/ In 2021, 1 in 6 Asian American adults reported having experienced a hate crime or hate incident.

aapidata.com/blog/year-afte…

13/ Non-Asian Americans are now more likely to blame Asian Americans for COVID-19 with 1 in 5 reporting that Asian Americans are at least partly to responsible for COVID-19.

staatus-index.org

14/ 73% of Asian Americans worry at least sometimes about being experiencing anti-Asian hate, harassment, and discrimination, and 24% worry very often.

15/ I loathe to think that this woman has cursed at & verbally abused others, especially students.

I've been ambivalent about sharing this (and am shaking as I type), but decided to do so in case others have experienced something similar. If you have, know that you’re not alone.

16/ What can you do as an ally? Believe your Asian American friends & colleagues when they tell you that they’re worried. Don’t diminish or reduce our concerns. Listen to us, support us, & support our efforts to educate the broader public about the legacy of anti-Asian violence.

17/ I'm aware that this incident pales in comparison to what others have experienced, but I hope that my sharing will help others. I sincerely appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. I feel better just having shared this.

THANK YOU for reading and for your support 🙏🏽❤️

18/ an addendum to say THANK YOU for the overwhelming support, which has been stunning and affirming. Also, I'm still running 🤗✌️