Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• I have some white friends who love to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by making eggrolls and watching an Asian movie such as "Parasite," "Everything Everywhere All at Once" or an old Jackie Chan kung fu classic.
Those activities, to say the least, feel superficial. I think people have a crucial responsibility to go beyond eating Asian food and watching movies to learn new, sometimes untold, authentic narratives about the Asian American community. One narrative I hope they don't forget is the surge in anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an Asian American mother, it is important for me to highlight these painful yet pivotal moments because I don't want my three children to be harassed again. During the pandemic, our family was harassed at national parks, city parks and supermarkets. The first incident occurred in the freezer aisle at a well-known supermarket in Woodbury.
A woman with short salt-and-pepper hair approached my children and called them dirty and diseased. She snickered, "Go back to China." My children, ages 7, 9 and 11 at the time, were shocked.
She stepped closer to me and said my children belonged caged up in a zoo because they were misbehaving. I started crying. A store clerk witnessed the scene and asked me if I wanted the woman thrown out .