Atlanta

On Tuesday, eight people were murdered in Atlanta, including six Asian women. 

As we all process this tragedy and the continued violence against Asian American Pacific Islander communities, if you need support from DISCO, please reach out to your manager, our people team, our employee assistance program (EAP) — or just call me. We understand how painful events like this can be to each of us personally and to the communities we are part of. We're here for you.

This tragedy is only the latest in a long and terrible history of violence against Asian people, violence against women, and, in particular, violence against Asian women. Racism and sexism are not just wrong ideas; they are hateful ideologies that all too easily and all too often move people to despicable actions. Opposing racism and sexism is not just about believing in the truth that all people are equally worthy of respect and human dignity; it is about creating a world in which no one fears having that respect and dignity forcibly taken away. 

One of the lowest moments in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States was the decision in Korematsu that an order confining Americans of Japanese descent to military "assembly centers" during World War II was constitutional in the face of the threat of an invasion of the West Coast by Japan. Justice Jackson, in his dissent, wrote: "[H]ere is an attempt to make an otherwise innocent act a crime merely because this prisoner is the son of parents as to whom he had no choice, and belongs to a race from which there is no way to resign."

In Hawaii, where I grew up, people still tell stories of the 442nd Infantry Regiment. The 442nd was almost entirely made up of Japanese Americans, almost 2/3 of them from Hawaii. Many of its members volunteered to serve even after they and their families were rounded up and forced into the "assembly centers" at issue in Korematsu. Over the course of the war, they became the most decorated unit in United States military history. Twenty one members of the unit received the Medal of Honor. Daniel Inouye, who lost his arm to a grenade, went on to serve as United States Senator from Hawaii for 50 years, becoming the most senior Asian American in politics until the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Heroism in the face of hatred. As an Asian person myself — and as a first-generation immigrant who came to the United States like so many generations of immigrants before me, all the way back to our founding fathers — tragedies like what happened in Atlanta are a personal reminder that the work we do in the law is not just about lofty ideals, but is ultimately about building a society that makes those ideals real, when it matters, when it's about life and liberty.

Kiwi