ACRS statement on Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay mass shootings
It is with heavy hearts ACRS extends our deepest condolences to the families of the 11 Asian American victims of the Monterey Park mass shooting as well as the seven victims of the Half Moon Bay shooting, many of whom are said to be Chinese farm workers. We are devastated these mass murders took place within 48 hours of each other during our communities’ most sacred times of the year. Lunar New Year is a time of celebration, a time to honor and display our most cherished traditions, and a time to be in the presence of family, friends, and community. Instead, our communities are grieving.
No words address a force as disruptive as violence – especially when our communities are all too familiar with the ruthlessness of colonial violence, white supremacist violence, gendered violence, and gun violence. We must be willing to interrogate the conditions that allow violence to thrive – white supremacy, toxic masculinity, lack of accessible mental health resources, and harmful gun policies. We must strike at the core and embrace complexity if we are to address violence in the way our communities deserve.
In these times, we are called to pour into the systems of care that allow our communities to heal and flourish – community centers, social services, culturally responsive and linguistically accessible mental health care, mutual aid, and so much more. We hold this responsibility close as untreated mental illness, domestic/family violence and intergenerational trauma are real issues of communities that ACRS serves every day.
Tonight, we send love, care, and healing to our community. We mourn with you.
Shomya Tripathy
ACRS Policy and Civic Engagement Director
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