Tim Ryan should know better. His 'us versus China' ad promotes hatred of Asian Americans

Tim Ryan is making things worse. When COVID came, Asian Americans experienced an increase in assaults by people blaming them for a disease that originated in China. One elderly Asian man was attacked and killed in San Francisco on a sidewalk two blocks away from where my 90-year-old parents live. A local woman had a cyclist spit at her and say “go home” as she walked on a path in Stow.

None of that is Rep. Ryan’s fault. But when he launches an ad where he simply yells the word “China” over and over, he is fanning fears that will result in more Asian Americans being attacked. This has happened throughout our history. It resulted in angry white mobs chasing Chinese Americans out of mining towns throughout the West. It led the U.S. government to round up Japanese Americans and incarcerate them in camps. It caused people to assault Sikh and Muslim and Indian Americans after 9/11, and call them terrorists, simply because of how they looked.

Video: Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio says it’s 'us vs. China'

Some of the policies of the current government of China are indeed a threat to American workers, and to democracy as a whole. I’m not defending that. Ryan has a strong record of supporting workers, but repeating the word “China” over and over again does not identify the policies you will change. It does not explain how you will support American workers. It does not distinguish you from Republicans. All it does is channel anger and resentment. It promotes hatred.

I thought Democrats were better than that.

More: Betty Lin-Fisher: It's time to speak up amid Asian American hate

My parents used to take walks in their neighborhood every day, trying to stay active and healthy. Now, they don’t walk outside unless one of my siblings can go with them. But they try to stay active, so they still walk — on the patio in the back of their one-bedroom flat. It’s about 30 feet wide, so to get in their exercise they walk back and forth, 20 or 30 laps at a time, like bears in a pen at the zoo.

That’s why I’m taking this personally. I am a staunch Democrat. I don’t imagine Ryan's opponent this fall will support better policies than Ryan's. But if his campaign doesn’t improve its messaging, to make it substantive rather than race-baiting, he will have lost my vote.

Brant T. Lee is president of the board of Asian Services in Action Inc. (ASIA) and professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Asian Americans urge Tim Ryan to adjust message, halt China ad