The old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" has a lot to answer for. In these times when our instinct to prevent violence and harassment is positioned against "political correctness" and an over-intrusive "nanny state," overly simplistic rhetoric gives us a forced choice of one or the other. To oppose harassment and support policies that seek to build safe spaces free from violence sets you up as either the champion of the oppressed, or a foot soldier in an Orwellian thought police brigade.
Even if the reality may sit somewhere in between, I don't write this to throw my hands up in the air and say it's too complex a problem to solve. The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance has been resolute in its support of legislation and initiatives to address homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and to address bullying and harassment in our schools, workplaces, and communities. I do write this to say that we cannot and must not walk away from the problem because the stakes are too high.
There are two examples in our communities, literally from the opposite ends of the country, where disrespect, verbal harassment and outright violence, demonstrate the toll that prejudice and bigotry continue to take on us. In Honolulu, HI, a local well-respected keeper of Native Hawaiian tradition and culture Kumu ("teacher") Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, has been slandered publicly by Tito Montes, President of the Hawaiian Republican Assembly. As part of the Hawaiian Republican Assembly's opposition to the "Pono Choices" sex education program, Kumu Hina was referred to as "he," despite her clear identification as a proud Native Hawaiian woman (as well as a legally married woman), a "transvestite drag queen."
From sunny Hawai`i to the wintry chill of New York City, Randy Gener, a gay Filipino American man, was found unconscious in a pool of his own blood near his Manhattan home last week. He is fighting for his life at St. Luke's Hospital, but only in response to outcry from the Filipino American and LGBT communities has local law enforcement stepped up its investigation, including exploring the possibility of the attack as a hate crime.
In both of these cases, strong voices have responded. Kumu Hina, who graced NQAPIA's stage last year at our 2013 annual Summit, has challenged the Hawaiian Republican Assembly to a public forum to debate her face-to-face.
In New York, the Filipino American and LGBT communities (especially those of us who are both) held vigils to keep public pressure on the authorities to keep working on this case. NQAPIA strongly supports both our friends in Hawai`i and New York and will work for healing both of spirit and of body in both these cases. Their stories tell us that our work to dismantle homophobia, transphobia, racism, and xenophobia is far from over, but also that the powerful voices in the community, our friends and allies, are working with us.