By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — It started with a letter from a Hmong resident in Dunn County who wrote about being the target of mistreatment and harassment.
In response to the fact that violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased by 150 percent in the United States over the past year, the Dunn County Board approved a resolution at the April 21 meeting condemning violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The Asian Americans who are suffering indignities are our friends and neighbors, and the people who are committing the indignities are our friends and neighbors, said James Tripp, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
“It is time for us to speak up,” he said.
Approving a resolution to bring attention to the problem is one action members of the county board can take to promote a kinder society, Tripp said.
Robert Bauer, county board supervisor from Mondovi, said he agreed with the sentiments Tripp expressed but wondered why the resolution should only speak to hate and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Why stop there? Why not include other groups, too, such as Native Americans and the Amish? he asked.
Tripp acknowledged it is important to recognize that other groups also suffer from violence and hate crimes but pointed out since violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased by 150 percent, the resolution will help highlight the increase and the need to do something about it.
“It is time to see all of us as fellow human beings,” he said.
Cop-out
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he agreed with Tripp, too, but that he could not support the resolution.
The Dunn County Board has a greater responsibility than “just passing a resolution,” Bjork said.
If board members witness hate against Asian Americans, they “need to speak up,” he said.
Bjork said county board members should act on items of which they have personal knowledge, but that he, personally, has not heard or seen anything that was against Asian Americans.
“I think it’s kind of a cop-out … I can’t support the resolution. I think it’s a cheap way out,” Larry Bjork said.
Sheila Stori, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said she becomes angry when she thinks about all of the circumstances under which people are targeted and bullied: fat — glasses — white — black — dumb — smart.
“Everyone (is affected) in some way or another. Someone has bullied or hurt us,” she said.
The letter to the county board is saying it has happened, no matter whether members of the Dunn County Board have seen it, Stori said.
“We need to stand up … it is a start to say ‘yes’ to this resolution,” she said.
COVID
John Calabrese, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said Larry Bjork’s comments prove why the Dunn County Board should vote for the resolution.
The incidents of hate are happening, even if individual county board members do not see the incidents or are not aware of them. The 150 percent increase is not in Dunn County but is occurring across the country, Calabrese said.
As community leaders, if the Dunn County Board approves the resolution, it does not mean board members should then forego any action to help the Asian community, he said.
Someone may think “Why is the Dunn County Board voting on the resolution?” and then might start looking into it and find out COVID-19 is part of the reason for the violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans, Calabrese said.
According to the resolution, “the use of anti-Asian rhetoric intensified this past year and has resulted in Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic.” The resolution also notes that “the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize that naming COVID-19 by its geographic location or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigma.”
The resolution brings awareness, and the awareness goes out into the community, said Steve Jenson, county board supervisor from Elk Mound.
Wrapping paper
“There is hate out there all over … hate is something that needs to go away entirely,” said Tim Niehoff, county board supervisor from Menomonie, adding that it does not matter if someone is “black, brown, blue, yellow, grey or pink.”
“We are all presents from God. We just have different wrapping paper … we need to condemn hate in general,” Niehoff said.
The resolution, he said, is one step, and the county board should think about “is there something more we can do.”
One suggestion at the executive committee meeting was to make sure the resolution is well publicized, said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
The more publicity — the greater the impact, she said.
“As leaders in the community, we are on notice,” Stori said.
The Dunn County Board unanimously approved the resolution condemning violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
According to the resolution, 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for seven percent of the population of the United States.
The resolution also notes in the last year, “Asian American and Pacific Islander women were the victims in 68 percent of the 3,800 incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
In addition, the resolution states since the start of 2021, “there has been a surge in anti-Asian attacks targeting elderly Asian Americans.”
