Against My Activism
Updated: 7 days ago
Dear Asian Youth,
Hush.
Be quiet.
Silence yourself.
You’re ruining your aesthetic.
All phrases people have said to me, even my own friends, when seeing
the things I’ve posted
the pieces I’ve written.
I’m expected to follow in their empty footsteps,
sitting on the sidelines just to watch and yell a sugar coated cheer every now and then
Only to be washed away by waves of blissful ignorance
I’m expected to disregard how our world is crumbling into ashes
Rejoice in our privileged bubbles
It doesn’t affect me, so why should I care about it?
Their profiles remain stagnant
As their feed reflects from my glasses
I think, it’s tempting
To just stop.
My mind wanders to all of the times that I thought I wasn’t doing enough
All of the times when I felt burnt out trying to keep up with everything,
What if I went against my activism?
My mother holds my face in her hands
“Anak, don’t be so radical,”
As she scoffs at the videos of
protests and riots
That she would never let me attend.
Her eyes pierce my skin
Slicing through my opinionated words