This piece represents an alternative reality where we’re free to fully express our identities in today’s society. Many Asian American immigrants just want to be seen as American. We just want to be accepted and treated equally. Even after the countless times we’ve been ostracized for having difficult names, frowned upon for having smelly school lunches, and shamed for our culture, we are still grateful for what we have.

But seeing the recent events of hate that have been impacting the AAPI community, these negative attitudes can no longer be ignored. The American dream was never a dream, but commercial propaganda rooted in white supremacy and systematic racism. The reality is that we have been excluded, commodified, fetishized, and murdered for being us. To be a Chinese American woman (who isn’t even wearing a traditional Chinese Hanfu) means to fear that one could be killed one day, and that such a hate crime could be reduced to someone's “having a bad day.”

This alternative reality of equality shouldn’t be an option, but a basic human right. I stand in solidarity with the AAPI community to eradicate white nationalist violence, in all its forms.