My First Encounter With Blatant Racial Harassment

It finally happened! My first encounter with blatant racial harassment. I had feared something like this for a while by now, playing a hypothetical situation in my head, but I was still taken aback when it actually occurred.
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It happened on the NYC subway, right as we entered the train from the Times Square station. There was one empty seat left next to an old lady, and I motioned for my mom to sit down. The lady next to us began cursing and sputtering--I could barely understand her--shouting profanities and Asian slurs. I was unsure what was happening at first and grabbed a nearby pole in front of the lady to keep my balance. That was when she lost it: she began screaming at us, calling us terrible names I refuse to repeat, accusing us of not speaking English, saying we should go back to China or go to hell. 

In the moment, I was terrified. I was embarrassed, angry, and unsure of what to do. So I said nothing and ignored her. After a few minutes, she got off the train, grumbling to herself.

It was a train full of people, and not one person said anything to help me out. Maybe it's the bystander effect, and I totally get it, but it reminded me why I created DeclarASIAN in the first place: to give good people a voice.

The real world is crazy. Sometimes ignorant, and sometimes ugly. Call me overly optimistic, but there is a lot of change to be made. And I believe it can be done! 

Author: Claire Cao