Lady Liberty Stands At America’s Door—But Who’s Looking Inside?
By: Afia Mubashir
We've been here before, haven't we? Standing at Lady Liberty's feet, watching history repeat itself with a cruel twist of irony. In 2020, my Chinese American neighbors pulled their children from playground playdates as Trump's "China virus" rhetoric echoed through our streets. Now, in 2024, I watch my South Asian friends delete their social media accounts and check over their shoulders on their evening walks.
The numbers tell a story that keeps me up at night: racial slurs against Asian Americans have doubled since last January, rising from 23,000 to 46,000. But these aren't just statistics—they're my aunt being told to "go back where she came from" at the grocery store and my cousin's hijab being pulled off at a bus stop.
You'd think Kamala Harris's rise would be our moment of triumph. Instead, it's exposed the ugliness lurking beneath America's polite veneer. I cringe every time I open Twitter—"curry in the White House" is somehow considered acceptable political discourse these days. The hate doesn't remain online, either it follows us to our workplaces, our schools and our neighborhoods.
Even success offers no shelter. Take Sreeram Krishnan, Trump's AI advisor pick. Despite his stellar qualifications, he's been drowning in a sea of racist comments. It's fascinating—and heartbreaking—to watch MAGA supporters tie themselves in knots, trying to reconcile their support for Trump with their discomfort at seeing a brown face in their ranks.
This isn't random hatred—it's calculated chaos. When the economy stumbles or global tensions rise, we become convenient scapegoats. Our communities are painted as threats, our achievements twisted into weapons against us. The Israel-Palestine conflict has only added fuel to this fire, with August 2024 seeing a record-high of calls for violence against Muslims. Every brown face becomes a target, every accent a reason for suspicion.
But here's what gives me hope: we've survived this before, and we'll survive it again. The same door that Lady Liberty guards has weathered countless storms of hatred, yet remains open. What we need now isn't just representation at the top—we need a complete rewiring of the system that makes such hatred possible. This isn't just about politics—it's about who we are as a nation and who we want to become.
The torch Liberty holds isn't just a symbol,it's a challenge. Will we use its light to expose and heal our divisions, or will we let the shadows of fear and hatred grow longer? The choice, as always, is ours to make.
