In March, the FBI warned that there would likely be a rise in hate crimes in the United States against Asian Americans because of the rhetoric around China and COVID-19. Dr. Lucy Li, an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, personally experienced this surge firsthand.
Two months ago, Li, who is Chinese American, was walking to the T when a man approached her and started yelling a racist diatribe at her.
“Why are you Chinese people killing everyone?” he yelled, according to Li.
She told Jim Braude on WGBH New’s Greater Boston Tuesday that as a doctor, she was “angry at the irony of the whole thing.”
Li is one of the many Asian American health care workers that has experienced racism because of the pandemic. Since Li was accosted, she has been trying to warn her Asian American colleagues and talk with them about how to handle racist hate speech.
“I think it is incredibly important to lead by example and to always be there and be supportive of each other,” she said.
