Genocide – Yesterday was World Down Syndrome Day and Robyn Chambers, executive director of advocacy for children at Focus on the Family, writes that so-called attempts at “eradicating” Down Syndrome amount to genocide. Eradication, in this case, does not mean getting rid of a disease, like say smallpox or polio, but getting rid of people, of babies, with Down Syndrome through abortion. Chambers quotes Frank Stephens, a man with Down Syndrome who testified in front of the Massachusetts House Appropriations Subcommittee a few years back: “I don’t feel I should have to justify my existence.” said Stephens, “But to those who question the value of people with Down syndrome. … First, we are a medical gift to society, a blueprint for medical research into cancer, Alzheimer’s, and immune system disorders. … Secondly, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness. A Harvard-based study has discovered that people with DS as well as their parents and siblings are happier than society, at large.” (Deseret News)
Not just one thing – When hearing news of the shootings in Atlanta, Christine Liwag Dixon, a Filipino American writer and musician thought: “Of course the shootings were racially motivated. Of course they were motivated by gender. They were both.” Sung Yeon Choimorrow, the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum said “I’m frankly floored by how difficult this is for people to understand.” It wasn’t just about “sex addiction” as the shooter claims. The “route he took between Young’s Asian Massage — where Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun and Paul Andre Michels were killed — and his second destination took him past several adult businesses. He could have stopped at strip clubs, pornographic video stores or multiple shops lined with [sex toys]. But he didn’t. He drove 27 miles to Gold Spa, where he allegedly killed three Asian women, and then crossed the street to Aromatherapy Spa, where he allegedly killed one more. “A singular narrative is a tidy narrative,” writes Monica Hesse. “A singular narrative allows law enforcement — and, yes, the media — to perpetuate “lone wolf” theories, to chalk up violence to one man’s sex addiction or one man’s racism, to proffer that if the one bad man is caught, the problem is solved.” (Washington Post)
Ethnicity is not a virus. Hate is – The Atlanta gunman specifically targeted Asian women. That’s racist and that’s sexist. Violence against women is up, Anti-Asian incidents are up, with a recent report revealing thousands of incidences since 2020 and targeting women at a 2-1 margin. Sara Dansie Jones, the co-founder of Utah’s Women Tech Council and now the president of InclusionPro, shared thoughts on actions we can take to support the AAPI community, actions that apply to anyone who wants to be an ally to any marginalized group. In a nutshell, she advises us to stay educated, support Asian visibility, support Asians in leadership, humanize and accept Asians, and support Asian businesses. I realize there is a legal process that the Atlanta shooter will go through and that he may very well claim not to be racist or sexist, but “just” a sex addict who had a bad day (so blame the victims, got it). I, however, have no qualms about calling out the racist, sexist attitudes that are spreading like a virus in this country. (Deseret News)
