Hundreds on LI rally to show support for Asian Americans

Peter Au felt encouraged to see that hundreds showed up Sunday in Mineola to condemn the violent attacks that have spread fear among the Asian American community.
Au, a financial adviser who commutes weekly to Flushing, Queens, for work, said he worries about his safety.
"On the way to my office even during broad daylight, I still feel the fear," said Au, 45, of Garden City, at the end of the hourlong rally. "I don’t know if anybody was going to walk behind me and start attacking me."
Just last month, a man came up behind a 36-year-old Asian man walking on a street in Manhattan’s Chinatown and stabbed him in the torso, leaving the victim hospitalized in critical condition.
"It’s been a very, very tragic year in 2020. Not only did we have to fight COVID-19, as a minority living in this country we also had to fight racism," Au said. "I’m glad that there’s a huge turnout today and see so many different groups supporting us."
The rally held outside the Nassau County Legislative Building drew about 300 attendees, many of whom held up signs that said "END VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIANS" and "Justice for Grandpa VICHA," the first name of Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai man who died in January after being slammed onto the pavement in San Francisco. Ratanapakdee's death was one of the violent assaults that ignited a national outcry over the discrimination and harassment that some Asian Americans said they’ve endured since the pandemic began. President Joe Biden in a nationally televised speech last Thursday condemned violence against Asian Americans.
"One year later today, we already have the vaccines for the virus, but the hate and crime against Asian Americans are still running out of control," said Gordon Zhang, president of the Long Island Chinese American Association.
In an emotional speech, Zhang evoked the history of minorities being "scapegoated" in times of crisis, pointing to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Japanese internment camps during World War II.
"But today, it’s not the 1880s. It’s not the 1940s. We are in the year of 2021," Zhang said. "We can’t have the ugly and painful history repeat itself again."
After recounting several attacks in recent months, Zhang said the reported cases only represent "the tip of the iceberg" as many incidents go unreported — something acknowledged by Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
"I know there have been many that have not been reported because people are fearful," Ryder said. "They should come forward. We want you to know that your police officers, the men and women that stand out here to protect you today, took an oath to protect and serve."
The crowd occasionally broke into chants of "stop the hate" as elected officials as well as leaders from the NAACP, Jewish and Muslim groups called for unity.
"We are not looking for any different way of treating us," said Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), who arrived at the United States at the age of 10. He is the state’s first Indian American state senator. "Just treat us the same as everyone else."
As Thomas and others spoke, Young Ono of Stewart Manor waved a "#STOP ASIAN HATE" sign along with her daughter, Alexandra, 7, who held a second sign that said: "HATE IS A VIRUS." The mother of two wrote the letters and her daughter and son Jayson, 3, decorated the signs with color-filled hearts and stars.
"Watching all these people getting hurt reminded me so much of my own parents and grandparents," said Ono, whose parents emigrated from South Korea. "It’s important for me to show support and show my children that it’s important to show support for something like this."
Harry Woodrow, 73, of Westbury, heard about the rally from his temple in Jericho. With friend Sharyn Levine, they decided to come out to show solidarity.
"There’s so much hate in our country, not only toward Asians … but toward various ethnic groups," Woodrow said. "This is a small way to stand against it and just be part of a crowd. And people will look on the news and see a large number of people [to] whom this means something."
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