Tag: sah-challenge

Are you looking for ways to support friends, family or the community of East or South East Asian (ESEA) people? Here are 10 ways to safely call out any racist comments or hate crimes.

1. Recognising ESEA hate

How we are treated as we move in different environments such as school or among friends and family is affected by who we are. Even if you don’t identify as ESEA, recognise that many ESEA people are likely to feel scared or anxious right now. Look up recent news articles and read about the ESEA experience to help you recognise what ESEA hate might look like. 

2. Trust your Instincts

Some cases of anti-ESEA hate might look obvious, for example, you might hear a racial slur or see someone pulling back their eyes to mock ESEA people. Other times you might see a newspaper article or TV show portraying ESEA people in a negative or stereotypical light. No matter how subtle or lighthearted the racism seems, remember that the impact on ESEA communities is huge, so remember to go with your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.

3. Do you have the energy?

Think about your mental health and if you have the energy to call out anti-ESEA hate. Although you are doing something positive to fight racism, it can potentially be an exhausting process. Take a moment to think about whether you have the capacity to deal with the negative response you might get from calling out racism. There are other ways to respond or help if you don’t feel like reacting immediately, such as talking about it with friends, writing an article or raising money for a cause.

4. Do you feel safe?

There might be times where you will personally see racism happening, for example in the street or in a group of friends. Confronting these situations might be met with a negative reaction, so make sure you are with people you trust and the situation doesn’t feel too dangerous. If the situation grows tense, see if you can encourage people close by like security guards or shopkeepers to diffuse the situation instead. If there is an ESEA person at the centre of the harassment going on, try to see if you move them away from the situation to a place of safety.

5. Record and document

Do you have a phone or computer? Record, write down and screenshot anywhere you see anti-ESEA racism because it will help you remember clearly what went on if you ever want to talk about what happened afterwards. It will be really useful for complaint forms or even reporting to the police. However, if you don’t manage to because there wasn’t an opportunity, don’t worry and don’t let anybody try to convince you it was all in your head if you ever try to talk about it. If you’ve recorded someone else suffering racist abuse, make sure to let them know, offer to share it with them and get permission from them on if and how they want it shared.

6. The news can be biased

A big part of why so many ESEA people are suffering racism now is because of how they are portrayed in newspapers or on TV. Sometimes politicians and even celebrities have said things that have made ESEA people look bad. This article shows some examples of how ESEA people can be portrayed in a bad light.

Be curious and question what you’re watching if it shows an ESEA character or is talking about the ESEA community. Writing a complaint to the broadcaster, magazine or newspaper will help them to realise that what they have done is really harmful. The more people write and complain, the more likely we will see change.

7. Calling in vs calling out

Try to practise calling in, especially if you are among friends or family. This means understanding that the racist things they are saying or doing is mostly due to ignorance. Try to gently help them understand why something they are doing or saying is harmful to ESEA people. Everyone is human and it’s easy to say something racist without realising what the impact can be. People can get a new perspective if we take the time to talk it through with them.

8. Take the time to talk

If it’s someone you know or a stranger who has suffered harassment, make sure they are safe, reassure them and guide them to resources that can help them process what went on.

Here is a list of resources that can help. Sharing your experiences, thoughts and feelings with people you trust such as friends, family or a teacher will help you process your experiences with racism, whether you have called it out or have been harassed yourself. Being heard and having your feelings recognised goes a long way to helping you to move on from the experience and be ready if it ever happens again.

9. Practise self-care

What do you do to chill out and relax? Perhaps it’s listening to music, going for a walk, playing games or just reading. Make sure to look after yourself and re-energise after you have been exposed to racism. It can bring out a lot of upsetting thoughts and feelings that can feel exhausting, so make sure you are able to get a sense of calm or peace again before taking next steps, whether that be reporting it, talking about it or getting on with your day. 

10. Stay hopeful

It can feel overwhelming knowing that there is racism in the world when all we want is for everyone to be treated fairly. Remember that by learning and doing what we can to call it out, we are able to make a difference.

There are lots of great things about ESEA culture too. Look for books by ESEA authors such as Maisie Chan or Natasha Ngan. Our food is another place to celebrate ESEA culture! Restaurants and takeaways run by ESEA people have been affected really badly during the pandemic. Try making the local Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese takeout the choice for Friday night!

There are also online communities like besea.n (IG: @besea.n) who are there to support, uplift and spotlight inspirational people in the ESEA community, with lots of resources to learn about ESEA culture.

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In the article, we explore what unconscious bias is, how it’s formed and the role it plays in forming racist hate, with a lens to explore specifically Asian hate. There are 10 ways you can train your brain to unlearn some of the negative stereotypes you’ve learnt from the world around you.

These tools will help you evaluate the messaging around you and hopefully empower you to make more informed decisions.

If you haven’t already read our introduction to racist unconscious bias, we definitely recommend checking it out as your starting point.

1. Be informed
Just knowing about unconscious bias and the brain science that underpins it is incredibly useful in building a critical understanding of how some of your opinions and stereotypes are constructed. 

2. Think about where you get your information from
Sit down and start to think about the media you consume and your sources of information. Think about the messaging you receive and the degree of influence each outlet has on you. Commit to scanning the future content you consume for potential bias-forming language. For example, in the context of Asian hate, here are some genuine news headlines that clearly build a negative stereotype and perception of Asian communities:

3. Balance out your thoughts
See your judgements of others like a see-saw: one side is a negative thought and the other side is a positive thought. Whenever you catch yourself making a negative judgement of another person, or group of people, counteract it with a positive one. Do this and you will gradually find that your empathy grows as your negative biases are challenged.

4. Call it out
If you witness racism and don’t call it out, you are complicit. We all have a responsibility to call out any forms of hate whenever we witness it, provided that it is safe to do so. If an older family member says something racist, for example, you are completely within your rights to call them out on it. Challenge their way of thinking and don’t be afraid to point out that it is harmful. If you see harmful content on social media, remember that you can report it directly to Ditch the Label for it to be removed. If you see harmful news stories or media that plant negative stereotypes, you can report it to OFCOM. We all have a role to play when it comes to tackling the issue of racism and Asian hate.

5. Educate others
It’s a fact that the more you talk about a particular issue, the more likely it is to be stored in your long-term memory and the more habit-forming it will be. Start talking about unconscious bias with the people around you; not just to reinforce what you’ve learnt, but to encourage others to learn and challenge their own biases too.

6. Surround yourself with people who are different
This is vitally important and a great way to actively unlearn negative stereotypes. Our own lived experiences rank as more influential than media headlines, which is why it is valuable and important to have a rich diversity of people around you. You will find that your mind will open up and your life will be so much more enriched as your social circle grows.

7. Seek out role models
If you have recognised that you have a dislike towards a group of people, know that this acknowledgement is an incredibly brave and difficult one. To counteract this bias, it is important to seek out role models who are part of that community and to learn about them, their stories and their experiences. Learn as much as you can about them and their culture and be prepared to go in with an open mind and a desire to unlearn harmful beliefs.

8. Don’t forget your empathy and privilege
Take the time out to build empathy towards a person, or group, who are subjected to harmful stereotypes. How would you feel in their position? What must it feel like to walk a day in their shoes? Do you think the world feels scary to them at the moment? What can you do, as a bystander or perpetrator to make their experience a little easier?

9. Reframe difference
Imagine a world where we all look, act, talk and move in the exact same way. We all like the same thing, we all want the same career pathway, literally everybody is the exact same. Could you imagine how boring that would be? Difference is often talked about as being a negative thing, but it really is the glue that makes this planet we call home so rich and interesting. Instead of seeing difference as a negative, it should be celebrated.

10. Finally, don’t stop learning
Working on your own unconscious bias is never-ending because it is constantly forming and evolving. See this as the beginning of your journey to becoming way more informed and critical of the world around you. If you’re interested in learning more, there are tons of great videos on YouTube and a whole world of amazing books, inspirational people and amazing stories.

Visit our #StopAsianHate hub to learn more: