From the Executive Director’s Desk.
Lunar New Year Killings Bring Focus to Guns and Mental Health Again.
There is so much that we do not know about the back-to-back mass killings at Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, but two elements stand out –guns and mental health. Many people will bring attention (as they already have) to the role of guns. Warnings and calls for action deserve consideration once again, and again with another mass, senseless killing, continuously once more.
These killings seem different. They bring attention to mental health and care for Asian American elderlies whom we too frequently assume are fine. But are there caregivers within the community or policy officials providing resources who understand the needs and cultural nuances of being Asian in America? For that matter, are our own families and children in their fast-paced drives to be happy and to succeed supportive and aware of the issues of isolation and growing old in America as immigrants?
For now, however, as a spokesperson solemnly announcing names of victims observed, the moment is to remember individuals whose lives were lost, and about their families which will never be the same. Our prayers and sorrow join in a moment of collective grief.
I hope this essential moment will be followed by collective action at last.
Ted Gong,
The 1882 Foundation
Washington DC