I had a quick powwow recently with my friend Randy Kim, host of the podcast Bánh Mì Bites, going over some names.

It got me thinking about why I’ve been posting more Asian American Pacific Islander content these few months. And the truth is, it’s not just content. It’s conviction. Because right now, we are under attack.

The growing wave of xenophobia in this country isn’t just about rhetoric anymore. It’s seeping into public policy, into the way people look at us, and into the kind of America some people want to bring back—an America where we are perpetual outsiders.

Recent studies show something deeply troubling. Americans now distrust Asians more than they did in recent years. This isn’t a random shift in opinion. It’s the direct result of how leaders talk about us.

When the President of the United States makes offhand remarks that reduce whole communities into caricatures or threats, it shapes the national mood. When conservative media figures echo that same hostility, it hardens into policy. Suddenly, immigration laws are rewritten to “protect American jobs,” university admissions debates become proxy wars against “Asian overrepresentation,” and our loyalty is questioned every time foreign policy turns to the Pacific.

It’s not new. This country has a long history of doing this.

We’ve seen Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment, Pacific nuclear testing, and Filipino veterans denied their due. What’s new is that the mask has slipped again. The old fears are repackaged in modern language: “national security risk,” “unfair advantage,” “foreign influence.”

The faces of suspicion just look more like mine now: Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Samoan, Micronesian, Hawaiian.

That’s why I’m doubling down on my posts. Because silence makes space for lies to grow. Because every time someone tries to make us invisible, the antidote is visibility. Every photo I share, every story I tell, every reminder of our history—those are acts of resistance.

We built railroads. We served in wars. We fought for civil rights alongside Black and Brown brothers and sisters. We were there in every chapter of America’s story, even when America didn’t want to admit it. And we’re still here, organizing, creating, writing, feeding our communities, healing others, and reminding this country of the truth it keeps forgetting: that we belong.

So no, I’m not pulling back. I’m leaning in harder. Because to be Asian American or Pacific Islander today means knowing that your voice matters in a time when others want to silence it. It means standing tall in the storm, refusing to apologize for existing.

I’ll keep posting. I’ll keep speaking. Because if we don’t tell our stories, someone else will, and they’ll tell them wrong.

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