The Elephant In The Room..

The phrase “the elephant in the room,” comes from a poet and storyteller name Ivan Krylov. He coined the term in 1814 in a fable called “The Inquisitive Man.” The story is about a man who goes to the museum and notices everything but the large elephant in the middle of the room. The phrase also has a similarity to a phrase in a story written by Mark Twain in 1882 called, The White Elephant.” In this story a boy is told to go stand in a corner and ignore the large white elephant standing next to him. The are other iterations of the saying but we will leave those be for now as I am getting away from the topic of this article. As we all know by now, an ugly crazed racist and alleged sex fiend who police Captain Jay Baker said was “having a really bad day,” murdered eight people in Atlanta last week. Six of the eight victims were women Asian descent. So according to the FBI, so far their investigation doesn’t reveal a racial component to it. Now I don’t know what kind of FBI agent that is… because from what I see, a white man walked into three different “Asian” businesses, in three different areas and shot and killed six different “Asian” women… and you tryna tell us there is no racial component? Where did you get your badge from detective.. out of the dog catchers locker. That is completely insane and the Asian American community shouldn’t let them get away with it. There is no doubt a racial component to it. Personally I don’t want to see the racist charged with the federal hate crime law. You see in federal custody they have hot meals three times a day, clean sheets and plenty of guards. No I rather see him in a Georgia state prison, where three of the five guards are on a cigarette break, your food crawls off your plate and you sleeping on the window sill because “Nose” done took your mattress. On your first day twelve Asian men with tattoos all over their bodies, standing on they big toes, flexing their chest muscles and wiggling their ears are waiting for you. “You pay wite now $##@! !!”

So yeah, I hope the racist gets what he deserves and that the families get closure. With that being said, I want to talk about the “elephant in the room.” Historically there has been a love/hate relationship between our community and the Asian American community. Sometimes it has been a hate/hate relationship. Who can forget the Asian attacks against black women and children or the hundreds of video’s online from black organizations and individuals asking a collective black population to boycott this or that Asian business because of racism or contempt against black patronage. Only since the death of George Floyd has there been a seemingly concerted support by the Asian American community against institutionalized racism perpetrated on African Americans. The Floyd protest brought support from almost every industrialized country on earth. Was the Asian American support for Floyd or was the Asian American support supporting the supporters? There is a difference. Now to be fair there were Asian American organizations that wrote support pieces about Floyd, Martin, Breonna, Rice ect… but there are also racist writing about Floyd, Martin, Breonna, Rice ect… My point is when was the last time you picked up and read an op piece in an Asian American or white supremacist periodical or newspaper? The last time I did it was when a pig landed on runway two at BWI. People beside yourself need to know you are on the field. You need skin in the game. We need to see Asian Americans standing side by side with Black Americans at black protest against racism, not Asians Americans standing side by side with other Asians Americans at black protest. We need to see Asian Americans denounce Asian aggression against other blacks in other Asian countries. We need you to talk about, Tou Thao, the Asian officer who stood by as his partner Derek Chauvin snuffed the life out of an black man pleading for his life with his knee on his throat. Talk about 15 year old Latasha Harlan, (featured image) who was killed by Soon Ja Du, a Korean liquor store owner who only received probation, community service and a $500 fine. It matters. As an African American when I look across my primarily black social media feeds, it is full of prayers and calls for justice for the slain Asian American women brought down by the racist sexual deviant. When there is black injustice, I wonder do your feeds show such support?

The video shows a fight in an Asian nail salon over a $5 eyebrow shaping. Several Asian women attack a black woman.. one with a broomstick handle… over $5.00

Across this nation all minorities who fight against intolerance and racism stand on the backs of black people who have been fighting the battle for over 200 years. The play book you use is the one we wrote. The laws that protect you are the laws we have died for. No one knows your plight better than us. I was reading an article in Vox called “Asian Americans Need To Talk About Anti-Blackness In Our Communities.” I am not the only one who think it is time for a frank discussion. Narratives from Asian Americans are also quoted in the article. Even one participant who says she was warned by family members against having a black boyfriend. A black boyfriend? You cannot gain equality from those who don’t think you are equal in the first place. You cannot gain equality by lightening your skin. You cannot gain equality standing on the backs of the very people you will need in the future…. once you gain the level of confidence that people like Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X, Elijah Cummings, Rosa Parks and Diane Nash, who lead the first sit-in in Nashville, that preceded the Montgomery Boycotts… instilled into generations of black folks. As one of our greatest civil rights activist once said…

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” –Martin Luther King Jr.