From the Editor: Why being Asian is not for the weak

May was Asian Heritage Month in Canada. 

In a 2023 Angus Reid poll, only 6 per cent of the respondents thought that being Asian was a source of privilege. 

Asian Heritage Month offers an opportunity to learn about the diverse culture and history of Asian communities that thread together to create the makeup of Canada today. 

People carry their culture in many different ways. Whether it’s food recipes passed down through generations, clothing nurtured and designed to reflect who we are, accessories that set us apart, or traditions that people outside our community often find atypical. 

The month also commemorates the achievements and contributions Asian people have made throughout history. 

While the idea of having only one month out of the 12 to commemorate Asians might seem superficial and ideologically motivated to some, as it does to me, it is critical to understand that this is, however small it may seem, infamously “a step in the right direction.” 

The theme for Asian Heritage Month this year was “Unity in Diversity: The Impact of Asian Communities in Shaping Canadian Identity.” While recognizing the diversity of Canada’s Asian communities, the theme also shed light on how the communities have helped shape Canadian identity. 

While the month has been celebrated since the 1990s, it only became an official celebration in 2002 after the federal government signed an official declaration. 

As a South Asian person, the reality of racial profiling and discrimination is not lost on me, unfortunately. At a time when people in my community are constantly persecuted and bombarded with unsolicited xenophobia, both in person and online, it is important to recognize the mistreatment Asian communities face. 

The internet might have given a thorough breeding ground for this hate to fester into inconceivable depths but so have we. 

For years, I made fun of my mom for pronouncing a word in English wrong, only to find myself years later in a room full of people where I was scared to open my mouth because I was too embarrassed to say something wrong. 

Sure, I had grown up using English just as much as my native language, but halfway across the world, miles away from people who look like me, I was scared of sounding different. 

And at times, I was discriminatory to myself before anyone else was to me. Is that what it means to be Asian? 

Fortunately, no. Sure, you can make fun of the way I say things, but you can’t erase where I come from, what I stand for, and what matters to me. 

It’s about time we stop pretending to check diversity boxes for performative activism without having deeper conversations about anti-Asian hate and racism. 

At a time when racism against the Asian community is on a steady increase, it’s important to be cognizant of the painful reality that people in my community face. 

Data by Angus Reid also found that 78 per cent of visible minorities face discrimination at least sometimes. The data also found that regular experiences of discrimination are common among 73 per cent of the visible minorities. 

But an important question to ask ourselves is who are these visible minorities? Umbrella terms like racialized persons, visible minorities, or even BIPOC erase the distinct identities, cultures, and communities many of us come from. They erase lived experiences just because it’s convenient to understand us all as one.  

I am not a visible “minority” just because someone else is in the “majority.” 

Watching Crazy Rich Asians or stealing cultural emblems just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Let’s talk about and celebrate Asian heritage beyond the month of May.