One of the latest attacks against an Asian American Bay Area resident happened to a woman in the San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood by a man who talked about “shooting Chinese people,” according to press reports.
Menlo College Provost Grande Lum indicated that the violence may be more serious and may have gone on longer than we realized.
“Asian Americans are often targeted because of their reluctance, sometimes, to engage in the legal system,” Lum said.
Meanwhile, a San Jose Asian couple recorded vile threats by a stranger made outside their front door.
These attacks against Asians, especially the elders, are horrifying to any person with right reason. This is not the Bay Area we know and love. On the contrary, San Francisco has always been an epicenter of Asian American culture, with recurring waves of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, South Asian and other immigrants overcoming discrimination and hardship to contribute to the rich tapestry of San Francisco’s life.
On the plus side, in Marin County (which is about 6% Asian) a rally against Asian hate in late March at San Rafael’s City Plaza drew 200 people.
Generous Bay Area people donated over $1 million to help Xiao Zhen Xie, the 75-year-old grandmother who fought off her attacker. And in the best San Franciscan spirit, Xiao Zhen Xie has decided to donate most of the money to fund a new nonprofit to fight hatred against Asians.
We Catholics in the Bay Area have been especially blessed by Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants arriving on our shores. Thanks to them, we are enriched by being able to hear gorgeous Tongan choirs, or attend Masses using Chinese language, music and art forms to celebrate our faith, all of which are a part of the rich diversity of a global church right here.
What is causing these attacks? I point to racism, economic distress, resentment, rising urban violence and mental illness, to name a few. The causes are not singular and the solutions are not obvious except for one thing: We must band together in love to fight hatred.
That’s why I led San Francisco’s diverse Catholics earlier this month at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, in a prayer service to ask God for healing and protection for Asian Americans and all those threatened by hatred, intolerance and especially violence. People of all faiths, or none, were welcomed.
As Americans and as Catholics, we have a responsibility on the global stage to show respect for all people, affirming their human dignity. A respect for each other amid our diverse beliefs and backgrounds has been the Bay Area’s core identity.
Out of the many, we become one community when we choose to focus on the things that unite us, especially our shared faith in the equal dignity of every human being. We all fall short in applying these principles and we sometimes do not know or disagree about the best strategy moving forward.
I ask Catholics in Marin County and throughout the San Francisco archdiocese to be at the forefront of this new movement to protect and defend all victims of hatred.
Let us start with prayer and healing, followed by concrete acts of generosity and concern for our neighbors. Let us show our care for one another, and for the Bay Area we all love.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone leads the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, serving Marin, San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
