America, what the heck is wrong with you?

Yes I am calling out the whole country, not just one individual. Because we all contribute to how this country is today.

It's bad enough that as a woman, I am extra alert, cautious, and scared just to walk around by myself at any time of the day in any neighborhood. Now I have to be even more so because I am an Asian woman?

It's bad enough that I had endured more than one year of mental and physical challenges because of the pandemic, like the rest of the world, now I get blamed for the whole thing because I am Asian?

It's bad enough that fetishization of Asian women, feminization of Asian men, consequences from the myth of "Model Minority", and many other forms of injustice have existed since an Asian person step foot onto this soil, now our elderly and women are being targeted for physical violence and murder?

It's bad enough that we sacrifice everything to come to this country for a better life, to work twice as hard as the people who were born here, to speak more languages than the native English speakers, to contribute positively to the society, just to be told to go back to our own countries, get blamed for taking jobs, have our accents made fun of, get looked at funny, treated as second citizens, and our identities wiped out as we are all labeled as one type of "Asian".

It's bad enough that a lot of the Asian cultures that we come from tell us to put our head down, keep our mouth shut, look the other way, mind our own business, don't cause any trouble or inconvenience to others, just work hard and feed our families, now all that silence and politeness are treated as weakness? Best believe, 5000+ years of history is anything but weak.

This is what I meant when I said "attack on one of us, is attack on all of us". If you think this is only a problem for the AAPI(Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) community, you are mistaken. Think about the injustice in the African American community. Think about the injustice in the Latin community. This is a problem for all of minorities in this country. This is an American problem.

Where is the "freedom and justice for all"? Where is the "melting pot" where all cultures and people are respected and accepted? Where is the "most powerful country" that is supposed to be an example for the world? Where is the country that I once was proud to call home? Did we forget that this country was built by immigrants who were not born on this land? Did we forget that people of color is a friend, a family member, a colleague, a romantic partner, or simply a member of the society? Did we forget that the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the things we use, the space we occupy, the services that we enjoy are mostly like made happen by people of color?

We are so busy comparing, judging, and hurting one another. We want to feel better about ourselves by putting others down. We want everyone around us to look like and think like us. We are obsessed with power in this country. We love being right. There is absolutely no effective communication, especially between those that think, look, live, and love differently. This has to CHANGE. And everyone has a part to play. Don't expect others to do the work for you. Don't expect systems to change on their own. Don't sit back and watch others suffer. Do something. Send a text, have a call, give a hug, show some love to those around you. Stay informed. Live by example. See something, say something. Call people out for being racist, sexist, inconsiderate, and ignorant. Stand up for those who can't defend themselves. Be an ally to people of color. Really listen and learn.

I had to say this because I am hurting. My people are hurting. This country is hurting. And I can't say that I want to represent them if I don't speak up about this. I can't say that I want to highlight and promote different cultures in my music without addressing their struggles. I can't say that I am proud to be Asian without shattering all the misconceptions that come with the label. I want to send love to my AAPI community. I want to send love to my BIPOC community. I want to send love to my immigrant community. I want to send love to America. We need to heal.
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Love,
Ting