JAKARTA - The name Lee Wong, a politician from Ohio, United States (US) is in the world spotlight after silencing the 'Asian Hate' by showing a war wound on his chest. Who is Lee Wong? How is he living the tough life as an Asian in the US? VOI editorial team has summarized a number of facts about the figure of Lee Wong.
Cited from NPR, Lee Wong has lived in the US since graduating from high school, when he was 18 years old. Lee Wong then became a college student in the mid-1970s.
Lee Wong has been subject to frequent racial attacks and discrimination regarding anti-Asian sentiment in the US. Lee Wong was repeatedly rejected when applying to be the police.
Not only rejected. He was also the subject of ridicule by officers who called him "Chinaman". Releasing his desire to become a police officer, Lee Wong then enlisted in the Army. He was accepted. In the Army, Lee Wong served 20 years of service.
Lee Wong later became a Chinese man who succeeded in becoming a leader in West Chester, a suburb of the large city of Cincinnati, State of Ohio, USA. In an interview with China Daily in 2018, Lee Wong shared the hardships of life in the US.
Apparently not just verbal abuse. Lee Wong also suffered several physical attacks. He said, one day in his second year of college, Lee Wong was suddenly attacked by a white man.
The man beat Lee Wong because he was physically similar to a Japanese man. Lee Wong didn't know anything at the time. The attack confused him. What is clear, he called it a "terrible attack."
"He pushed me to the ground and I had to go to the hospital".
Lee Wong then filed a criminal complaint and took the assault case to trial. Throughout the judicial process, Lee Wong's attacker did not seem to give up.
Instead, the man continued to call him "Jap" in an insulting tone. The judge sentenced him to one year in the form of a non-reporting probation.
"That means as long as he hasn't attacked anyone else within a year and it's reported, he's free".
The attack left a tremendous mark on Lee Wong's head. "I was stupid and only 20 years old, I let it into my head. I was confused and angry".
"For two years I was angry with the world and I hated white people, but I later married a white woman", he said.
"I couldn't study and only think about revenge, how stupid I was".
Silence The Asian Hate with a war wound to the chest
Recently, Lee Wong's 'Americaniness' was questioned because of his Asian physique. In response to the attack, Lee spoke publicly, showing how American he was with a number of war wounds on his body. War for the US.
Lee Wong's action went viral in the form of a video. In the middle of a West Chester Board of Trustees meeting, Lee Wong took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt.
"People question my patriotism, that I don't look quite American", Lee Wong said, his hand pointing to his face.
"I wanted to show you something because I'm not afraid. I don't have to live in fear, intimidation, or humiliation".
When the button opened, a long scar stretched across Lee Wong's chest. "This is proof. This is maintained through my service to the US military. Now, is this patriot enough?", said Lee Wong.
Lee Wong at board meeting (Source: Wamc.org)
"Prejudice is hatred", said Lee Wong, buttoning his shirt back. "And that hatred can be changed. We are human beings. We have to be kinder, gentler to each other. Because we are all the same. We are one human on this Earth".
There is a strong reason why Lee Wong decided to open the scars on his body. "The time is right to remember what happened in this country. Back then, I didn't know what happened to me ... I just knew I had to say something", said Wong, speaking to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The video of Lee Wong's speech was uploaded on Friday, March 26 by Associated Press reporter James LaPorta. The video received an overwhelming response. As of Tuesday afternoon, March 30, the video has been watched 4.8 million times, with 54.7 thousand Retweets and 205.6 thousand Likes.
Lee Wong, an elected official in West Chester, Ohio & @USArmy veteran with 20-years of service, took his shirt off during a town hall meeting on Wednesday and revealed scars he received during his service. "Is this patriot enough?", he asked #StopAsianHate https://t.co/3nCwTlVGxD pic.twitter.com/0R1TX3MTtp
- James LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) March 26, 2021
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Discrimination and intimidation of Asians in the US
Lee Wong's speech spread massively amid increasing racism, intimidation, and violence against Asian people in the US. The media and the public call it the "Asian Hate".
On March 16, eight people died in shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area. One day later, a 75-year-old Asian-American woman named Xiao Zhen Xie was attacked by a white man in San Francisco, California.
Xiao Zhen's attack also became the main topic because the woman had fought the suspect with a wooden board. Xiao Zhen's attacker was later arrested.
His name is Steven Jenkins. Before attacking Xiao Zhen, Jenkins was also known to have attacked another Asian-American elder named Ngoc Pham, 83 years old.
Sheriff Villanueva strongly condemns the shootings in Atlanta and Colorado (Source: Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles)
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The Stop AAPI Hate report provides a broader picture of Asian Hate in the US. According to the report, there were about 3.800 incidents of hatred that took place during the pandemic.
Quoted from People, a police statistical study also showed a 150 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian-Americans in 2020. Another report published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, analyzed data on crime hatred in 2019 and 2020 from authorities in the 16 largest US cities.
The study found that the first wave of violence against Asian-Americans took place last year when COVID-19 cases started surging in March and April. The findings show that New York City saw the largest increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, with a breakdown of three cases in 2019 to 28 in 2020.
*Read other information about RACISM or read other interesting writings from Yudhistira Mahabharata.
Others on BERNAS
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30 Maret 2021, 13:35
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