Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg and Yee Leng Xiong, a Marathon County Board member, Village of Weston Board member, and D.C. Everest School Board member, have called on all Wausau and Marathon County leaders and residents to condemn and stand firmly against all forms of hatred.
The shootings in Georgia last week and the tragic murder this week in Wausau have highlighted and exacerbated the public dialogue around race-based hatred, Rosenberg and Xiong said in a news release this week. There have been more than 3,800 hate incidents committed against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) citizens since the pandemic began last year.
“Harassment, bullying, and trolling have no home here in Wausau and Marathon County,” Rosenberg said. “It is our duty as leaders in our community to advance inclusion and belonging for everyone in our community no matter what ethnicity or background they bring with them.
I’m especially concerned about the social media conversation I am seeing that seems to devalue Asian women’s lives. Every person in our community deserves to be treated with dignity.”
Rosenberg and Xiong are committed to working with Wausau and Marathon County governing bodies to recommend policies that protect every resident and ensures marginalized populations are specifically safeguarded from race-based attacks. Specifically, Rosenberg and Xiong call on all leaders in Wausau and Marathon County to follow recommendations from the AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin by:
• Publicly condemning racist language, the racist association between the virus and the Asian community.
• Urging the media to cover the anti-Asian violence to help bring awareness.
• Encouraging the reporting of hate incidents. Many hate crimes go unreported, which hinders the ability to appropriately track, allocate resources and address the root causes.
If you are being harassed or have been assaulted, please report those crimes to your local law enforcement agency. Call 911 if you are experiencing an immediate threat.
