19 minute read
ASIAN HATE NOW AND THEN
On the Past & Present
The current wave of Asian hate stemming isn’t new, as Japanese internment during WWII shows
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words & photos By GLEN SALAZAR
W
ith the spread of COVID-19 to the United States, there has been a spike in Asian hate across the country. Since the first known COVID-19 case was identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have been targeted and attacked for their identity. This disease of hate against Asian segments of the American population is not new.
There have been various manifestations of it in the history of the United States. During World War II, one of the most infamous episodes was the vicious hate spewed towards Japanese Americans. The climax of this hate was the forceful internment of the Japanese in America when they were stripped of their rights as Americans and dignity as humans.
After the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese Americans were viewed by their fellow Americans as enemies at worst, spies at best. Consequently, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942, which led to the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans who lived on the Pacific Coast. Approximately 120,000 people with Japanese ancestry residing in the continental United States, primarily American citizens, were stripped of their rights and placed into concentration camps. Only 1,200 to 1,800 of the approximately 150,000 Japanese Americans composing about a third of the Hawaiian population was interned in Hawaii.
The internment of Japanese Americans sparked from racist attitudes of the broader American public toward Asians following the Imperial Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Colonel Karl Bendetsen, the mastermind of the internment, said anyone of “one drop of Japanese blood” should be interned. California classified anyone with a minimum of 1/16 of Japanese blood to have enough to place them into internment. The hatred towards the Japanese and other Asians dates decades before Pearl Harbor.
In the 19th century, several laws and treaties were passed to stop immigration from Japan and China. During California’s gold rush in the mid-1800s, the Chinese were blamed for unemployment. Fear of Asian hordes who would out-compete European Americans for farmland and business led to the restriction of Japanese immigrants’ property and citizenship rights as had earlier occurred against Chinese immigrants. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act became the inspiration for the Immigration Act of 1924, which banned immigration from Japan.
Japanese Americans weren’t the only victims interned. 2,264 Japanese Latin Americans were deported from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, and were interned in the United States. Many Japanese Latin Americans, two-thirds of whom were Japanese Peruvians, arrived in San Francisco during WWII to be interned in camps on the U.S. mainland.
In her memoir Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston documents the traumatic physical and psychological experience her family dealt with as they were taken from Terminal Island,
near San Pedro, California, and imprisoned at Manzanar, one of ten American concentration camps dotting mostly the West. Despite the endurance of her family and the broader Japanese American internees, Jeanne reminisces that at Manzanar, everyone was afraid of what racism and violence awaited them when they left.
In Ex parte Mitsuye Endo, the U.S. Supreme Court, on Dec. 18, 1944, unanimously ruled that the government could not continue to detain a citizen who is seemingly loyal to the country.
The Endo ruling led to a domino effect culminating in the release of the interned Japanese Americans and the closing down of the internment camps by the War Department. After they departed from the internment camps, Japanese Americans encountered hostile racial prejudice and violence on the West Coast, from being labeled with the derogatory racial slur “Jap” to facing housing and job discrimination. Moreover, Japanese American homes and businesses became targets for racist attacks, including gunshots, fires, explosions, and vandalism.
Upon release, the toxic environment Japanese Americans encountered continued well past Victory over Japan Day, when Japan formally surrendered to the United States aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.
Flash forward to today, Asian Americans, in particular Chinese Americans, have become targets of racism. In the new world of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese living overseas have become easy targets of xenophobia. In the United States, Asian Americans have become targets for racist violence. Last year, then-President Trump, instead of putting out the fires of racism, sparked new ones, calling COVID-19 the “China virus,” “Wuhan virus,” and the “Kung Flu,” stigmatizing the Asian American community.
While crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise, in California, these crimes spiked at 107% in 2020, according to new data. In the minds of many of the aggressors, Asian Americans are behind the pandemic and should pay the consequences. Of concern are the attacks aimed at elderly and young Asian Americans. On March 17, 2021, in San Francisco, a 75-year-old Chinese American grandmother fought back using a wooden board against a 39-year-old White male assailant who punched her out of the blue as she waited to cross the street. On April 9, 2021, in Los Angeles, a 70-year-old Mexican American grandmother was brutally beaten and dragged across a bus by a 23-year-old Black female attacker who thought she was Asian and yelled anti-Chinese slurs at her. On July 5, 2021, in Las Vegas, a White woman was charged for battery and a hate crime after she approached a Korean American family in a shopping mall and punched a 6-year-old boy in the neck as she said “China” multiple times.
“I haven’t really experienced any racism before or after COVID-19, partially because I don’t really look like Asian,” says Tamaki Miwa Orellana, a Japanese American chemistry graduate from UC Berkeley, originally from Yokohama, Japan. Nevertheless, she continued, “I am very proud to be Japanese.”
Jade Liu is a Chinese American graduate also from Berkeley and current doctoral student at Indiana University, originally from Changchun, China. “My mom and stepdad also got themselves pepper spray and a stun gun, something I never envisioned them doing,” she says. “The things that we’ve seen in the news are horrifying. I’m honestly not sure I want to stay in the U.S. after graduation right now because of this, but we’ll just see how things go.”
On June 15, 2021, Gover“My mom and step dad also got themselves pepper spray and a stun gun,” Jade Liu says.
nor Gavin Newsom terminated the executive orders that put into effect the lockdowns and restrictions, which were part of the California pandemic response since March 2020. At the same time, we are still in uncharted waters emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the new Delta variant raising concerns of the state and the nation being submerged again in lockdowns and restrictions. Unlike the rapid rolling back of California’s executive COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the current wave of Asian American hate might take some time to ebb. In the long run, the virus of anti-Asian racism might turn out to be much harder to dissipate than Covid-19.
Manzanar Cemetery is located in Monument, California.
What it’s like to take vows alone during a pandemic
Isolation Married in
By YOMNA BORG
Alarge banquet hall, dangling chandeliers, huge centerpieces, and dancing away the night with all the people she had ever met (and maybe some more she didn’t even know) was how she has always imagined her wedding would be. Instead, Jasmin Said found herself, in a country she had just moved to, planning a socially distanced marriage ceremony which even her parents wouldn’t be able to attend and only 6 masked guests most of whom she had met mere months ago.
A few weeks ago when she and her husband to be had finally decided that weddings can wait but marriage can’t (they were going to get married no matter the circumstances) they had the groom’s father speak to hers over the phone despite being in the same city, to officially approve the engagement of the couple as was still the tradition in Egypt. They had then gathered their families and a few close friends for an intimate zoom engagement as it seems is the way to do everything right now.
In an attempt to not be so very alone on such an important day the couple decided to travel from New Jersey where they lived to Cleveland, Ohio where the groom had previously briefly worked so that they could be joined by the few friends he had there. They had gotten their marriage license after an online meeting and were planning on a traditional Islamic marriage ceremony followed by an intimate hopefully safe gathering in a garden. Choosing her wedding dress alone with only virtual inputs was hard, let alone the fact that most of the shops and boutiques were closed and all delivery dates had been pushed back due to the pandemic, it left her very few choices but she managed to choose a simple dress she loved and altered it herself for the perfect fit. As she prepares for the day she has booked hair and nail appointments, she had debated doing these things herself but in an attempt to find some normalcy for the day had decided to get them professionally done and only do her make-up herself. On the night of the big day, “I’m in a mess” is the very first thing out of her mouth as she explains how she feels today. She tires to get flower arrangements delivered for tomorrow, tables organized, and finalize a program so that the day will still feel like a celebration while keeping the few people attending feeling safe.
Said traveled to the United States from Egypt to complete her medical residency in late January just
as the coronavirus was breaking out. With no cases in Egypt and only a handful in the United States, she wasn’t giving it a second thought. Having met her husband to be just a couple of months ago when studying together for their residency she was filled with excitement to be joining him in the USA, they planned to travel back to Egypt in April to get engaged. It had never crossed their minds that it would become a global pandemic with travel bans being put into effect all over the world, forcing the whole world to go into quarantine and stay put.
Come April, they were still hopeful that all this would be over in a few months. “We were like OK, never mind getting engaged, lets just go back in June when all this is over and get married,” she says.
June came with more hope; shops started to open, restaurants were offering dine in and news of travel bans being lifted soon, thrilled that their plans were finally starting to seem likely to happen they started planning. She would travel first in Early July, as soon as Egypt opened its borders, and organize the big wedding she had always dreamed of. She would meet his parents and invite all their friends. He would follow arriving just before the big day so he wouldn’t have to take too much time off and they would travel to the Maldives for the honeymoon of a lifetime.
By mid-June the tickets were booked, he even surprised her with an early birthday celebration as they wouldn’t be together for her 30th birthday on July 11. The virus didn’t agree. Even before the whole world realized, it wasn’t going away and started putting protective measures back in place- they received a call to tell them that the groom’s mother had gotten infected with the virus. Worried and devastated they had to put all their plans on hold.
“We are still planning to go back for a big wedding in February,” she says, explaining their plan to go ahead and get married instead of putting their life on hold waiting with no end in sight. She still holds the hope of her dream wedding actually happening even if it may be more than nine months after actually getting married, she still dreams of the huge wedding dress, the five-tier wedding cake, throwing the bouquet (and women lining up to catch it without being scared of getting sick), the family photos, and the room full of people celebrating her and the new life she is starting. She still hopes to go on her dream honeymoon to the Maldives to tan on the pool without caring how many people are around her, eat at any restaurant she likes, enjoy her luxurious suite without a thought to sensitization, walking around the island without the need for a mask, and ultimately feeling safe again. “The Maldives has always been my honeymoon destination,” she says. “I never thought to think of an alternative” even before I knew who I was going to marry and why would I think of an alternative it was always there.” But now she finds herself having to think of an alternative in the United States, one which all will enjoy as the last remaining nod to normalcy in marriage celebrations previously know to them. After a lot of searching for a fun, romantic, luxurious, and also safe place, they decide on a resort in Miami Beach in Florida. hey call tentatively before booking to make sure amenities like the beach and restaurants are open. This is confirmed to be the case at the time of their call, they are told. Of course, there are no guarantees as the situation is changing every day, but as this is their best bet, they decide to go ahead, hoping they aren’t going to be stuck in a room for the duration of their honeymoon. They hope, instead, to enjoy their stay while staying safe.
For now, she tries to forget that her lifetime, dearly held dreams for her big day, the day every girl dreams of, has been put on hold for who knows how long, and focus on the fact that despite all the sadness in the world, she has found her own bubble of happiness. Nonetheless, as I end my conversation with her hours before the ceremony I ask her how she feels.
“I’m Petrified,” she says. “Being alone on a day like this is insane and unbelievably hard.”
ASMR
Finding comfort in the uncomfortable
By MARIAH MILLER
No, it isn’t porn. While the feeling many experience has often been dubbed a “braingasm,” the majority of ASMR material is PG. This doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable when your roommate walks in only to hear heavy licking sounds echoing from your laptop.
Autonomous sensory meridian response is the tingly sensation that begins at the crown of one’s head and may find its way throughout the body depending on how the listener reacts to any given trigger. When our mom plays with our hair or our partner whispers sweet nothings in our ears, it’s not uncommon for a chill to run down our spine.
This is a trigger. It is a pleasurable feeling that really only comes from another person, sort of like tickling yourself just doesn’t have the same affect. At some point it stops, and we’re always left wanting more. Thank God for YouTube.
ASMR established its presence on the platform in 2009 and has grown exponentially since. In fact, data presented on a blog post on Ahrefs found that as of April 12, “ASMR” was one of the top searches on YouTube in the US, second only to PewDiePie. Worldwide, ASMR was searched 13,910,000 times, claiming the number three spot following PewDiePie at number two, and to no surprise to anyone, K-pop sensation BTS at number one.
So what’s so intriguing that over 13 million people on this planet are tuning in? It appears people are always seeking new ways to relax. Whether your method is yoga, weed, or therapy there must be a way to cope with the physical, mental and emotional weight that’s placed on us by simply just surviving in today’s world.
While I’m sure an in-house masseuse might very well do the trick, not everyone has that kind of dough. ASMR may provide the stress relief you need on your own time, while giving you the power to choose what best affects you.
In a study done at University of Sheffield’s Department of Psychology in England, researchers found “that those who experience ASMR showed significantly greater reductions in their heart rates when watching ASMR videos (an average decrease of 3.14 beats per minute) compared to those who do not. They also showed significant increases in positive emotions including relaxation and feelings of social connection.”
Follow This, a BuzzFeed docuseries currently streaming on Netflix, aired the pilot episode in 2018 titled, “The Internet Whispers.” In it, reporter Scaachi Koul explores the ASMR trend and speaks to content makers and fans. “Every day, during the day, I don’t even watch TV,” says Joanna Ortiz, ASMR enthusiast.
“I was mainly raised in the inner city, high crime,” she continues. “It wasn’t that great of a childhood. A couple of years ago, I was really sad and depressed and didn’t like how my life was turning out. Coming across the ASMR videos, it took me out of reality. It really helps with my depression and anxiety. Feels like free therapy, I don’t even feel depressed anymore.”
Most people that try ASMR will agree that the results they experience are positive, and have lasting affects long after they look away from the screen, but what about those who say they don’t feel ASMR or those who say the triggers affects them negatively?
Unfortunately, there has been minimal proper studies done on ASMR and most of the data there is comes from personal accounts. That being said, no one is quite sure some people experience ASMR and others don’t, aside from open-mindedness to the videos themselves. But for those who absolutely disdain the reaction they have while watching ASMR videos, it is possibly linked to a condition called misophonia or the “hatred of sound.” Noises extremely popular in videos, such as chewing, tapping or whispering can be triggering in this worst way for someone with this condition,
causing anxiety instead of relaxation as intended.
The demand for this sensation is at an all-time high with this phenomenon growing so rapidly, and people want more than just YouTube videos. Now ASMR enthusiast have more options than ever to get that tingle with apps specifically for the community. Apps like Tingles, Zees, and Silk ASMR feature popular artist while eliminating pesky advertisements and allow for continued play while your mobile device is locked. Along with ASMR focused apps, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and streaming services alike have
now made space for the new wave of audio entertainment.
For those who want to take it just one step further, in person ASMR made its first appearance in Brooklyn, New York in 2016. BuzzFeed’s Follow This episode on ASMR depicts Scaachi Koul as she immerses herself in the experience.
“Watching YouTube videos of ASMR gives you intimacy without vulnerability. When you come to Whisperlodge, you’re getting intimacy and you are vulnerable,” says Andrew Hoepfner, co-founder of Whisperlodge. “Our hope is that they find a deeper state of relaxation and presence.”
This real life 90-minute guided ASMR experience is meant to “lull you into a state of deep relaxation and heightened awareness.” Performers take the audience one by one through multiple rooms and act out popular dynamics such as a teacher or a student while using physical touch with brushes or fingers to provide extreme tingles. This is a deeply personal event and lead by absolute strangers, so it may not be for everyone.
“What we are doing is in a way trying to combat everything being digitized in our lives. And by bringing this into a live setting, we are forcing you to try to have this intimate connection with someone,” says Melinda Lauw, co-founder of Whisperlodge.
So now you want to tingle?
Where do you start? My advice is to go at it with an open mind. Assuming you don’t suffer from misophonia, this will more than likely be pleasurable experience. In the graphic to the right, you will see some of the most popular triggers.
To each there own when it comes to the types of triggers that work for them, so start with simple whisper videos and feel free to get lost in the deep rabbit hole that is ASMR. “Gentle Whispering ASMR” WHISPERING: The artist will softly whisper into both sides of a microphone. The best way to get the full affect of this trigger, and many others, is to wear headphones. It will feel like the whispers are happening directly into both of your ears and the subtle lip and mouth sounds are just the icing on the cake.
“ASMR Bakery” TAPPING: Similar to scratching, tapping is commonly used due to its versatility. You will see tapping in a majority of videos because it is a well-liked trigger that can be easily done throughout the video, even if it’s not the main focus, for an extra layer of tingles.
“ASMR Bakery” SCRATCHING: This trigger is a versatile one considering there are a zillion objects just in one household that an artist can use to affectively cause tingles for the viewer. Items like wood, textured surfaces, hair brushes and even the mic itself can be scratched with the artist’s nails or using other objects.
“Ting Ting ASMR” EAR LICKING: This may be where some onlookers get ASMR confused for porn. In these videos the artist will almost exclusively be French kissing the mic. The sensation it brings is intense, but it is one of the louder triggers, so it isn’t always great for sleep. For this to be most affective, the artist will usually have a binaural microphone. This microphone will give the view a more intense tingle because it will feel like actually being in the room with the performers or instruments.
“Jojo’s ASMR” PERSONAL ATTENTION: These videos are for those of you craving one-sided intimacy. A powerful trigger for sleep due to the nurturing nature of the videos. Many of them are themed with care of the view in mind. The titles usually have words like “comforting,” “sleep,” or “positive affirmations” and can involve close up hand movements to simulate affection.
“ASMR Darling” ROLE PLAY: While a lot of role play videos involve personal attention, they are also themed, and the artist is acting as something other than themselves in order to create a life like relaxing environment for the viewer. They will many times take on the role of a caretaker. Popular roles include, doctor, massage therapist, make up artist, and so on. Another subgenre of these are “fantasy” videos, which feature artist acting out triggers while portraying mermaids, witches, and aliens.
