My Response to Being Called an Entitled, Privileged, Racist Xenophobe by Another AAPI Woman Today (and I Also Do Work in DEIA)

Source: Pinterest @Adam_Koblenz

Well.

This one hurt.

Like … stunningly.

Here is what I am reflecting on after letting this sort of sink in:

I have had the honor to come into more DEIA related work this past year. When I was in grad school, I had a very cynical attitude about DEIA work. I had a very patient, kind professor who made an effort to invite me to have tea with her in Asian Village right down the road from where I take my son to hoop when we visit his godmother. I’ll always remember that day. How uncomfortable the conversation was. That we shed tears and became intense and upset with one another but were, after over 2 hours of talking, able to somehow learn from each other and grow.

One thing I learned from my professor this day is how to be more humble in my compassion for both self and others. She demonstrated this very well to me. I felt ashamed for getting so angry. So angry because she was a white woman with a degree I didn’t have, and a class I could never be merely because I’m just not White. She showed me grace in pointing out gently that she could see me becoming bitter. The truth is that…