The recent slew of attacks against Asians across the U.S. has raised the level of shock and disgust, but this time it's not just amongst the AAPI community. The general public is paying attention as well. The video of 84 year old Vichar Ratanapakdee being pushed and killed or the 91 year old Asian man being shoved on the sidewalk in Oakland or an Asian woman being knocked down by a stranger in New York or armed robbers ransacking and shooting a store owner…the list of atrocities is long. Why is the world finally paying attention to crimes against Asians? Because so many vulnerable senior citizens are being attacked…the people who should be respected and honored, which is at the very core of Confucianism. In this episode, May speaks to the filmmakers of “Happy Cleaners”, a film about a Korean immigrant family in America that struggles with being “the other”, invisible, less than. It’s a story about the sacrifice of Asian parents and grandparents for their children and why we need to recognize their heroic and painful efforts. May also speaks to Mike Kim, founder of the Korea Legacy Committee, a non-profit group in Korea that feeds the elderly who live in poverty. And here’s the shocking part…nearly 50% of elderly in Korea live below the poverty line, that’s the highest of any of the 37 OECD countries. This episode is sure to inspire and motivate you.
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