John Cho is speaking up about Asian American discrimination amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In an essay published in the Los Angeles Times Wednesday, the “Star Trek” and “Harold & Kumar” actor, 47, shared why the pandemic is reminding some that their belonging is “conditional.”
“One moment we are Americans, the next we are all foreigners, who ‘brought’ the virus here,” he explained. “Because the stereotypes may be complimentary (hardworking, good at math), it makes people – including us – think that anti-Asian sentiment is somehow less serious, that it’s racism lite. That allows us to dismiss the current wave of Asian hate crimes as trivial, isolated and unimportant.”
He also explained how the pandemic has affected him and his family.
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