Joy Ruckus Club Presents Their “I Hate Being Hated” Festival

Joy Ruckus Club recently hosted critical anti-Asian violence “I Hate Being Hated” festival in order to combat the increase in aggression towards the Asian American community. This event focused on addressing all Asian-American citizens and had many organizations present their own statements about the issue. The OCA, Laotian American National Alliance, Muslim Alliance, and many more had so much to say about protecting the community and spreading awareness to educate the general public about the Asian-American community’s history in the U.S.

“I Hate Being Hated” began with a few words from one of the festival’s hosts, C-Tru. He, as well as many others, performed in-between speeches made by well-known artists, students, and organization leaders. Those who tuned in were encouraged to donate hearts for the cause, and the proceedings would then be sent to Stand with Asian Americans, a group of Asian American business leaders of America.

Viewers sent a lot of positivity to the presenting groups and in between were met with musical performances; for example, C-Tru performed some of his own songs. In addition to this, Portland Taiko, V8MUZIK, Harriet Brown, Ian Chang, Ted Park X Parplay Pass, Malibu Mitch, DJ CAM GIRL, Tim Chantarangsu, Azra, Afgan, and Geoff Ong all performed.

At the Festival

Malibu Mitch offered his own perspective on the meaning of the festival and said, “I’ve always believed in standing for something or you’ll fall for anything. Standin’ ur ground & stayin true to urself no matter what obstacles are in ur way.” Meanwhile, DJ CAM GIRL stated, “Growing up, being Asian was not cool. I was called a chink, I was made fun of for bringing “smelly” food to lunch, I’ve had instances of people yelling “ching chong” at my mother and me out in public. This is not ok.”

The artist also stated, “Our Asian brothers and sisters being physically attacked on the streets is NOT OK. We will not be bystanders in this dire situation. I’m thankful that we as Asians now have the voice to make some noise for some seriously needed change. We must work together to #STOPAAPIHATE. This is our country too. Stop hating us.”

The organizer of the event, Kublai Kwon, added, “I Hate Being Hated is many things. ‘I Hate Being Hated’ is a song with 14 Asian vocalists on it that will be released worldwide the Friday before the “I Hate Being Hated” event. The “I Hate Being Hated” event is an Asian-American awareness festival that will mix performances by top Asian artists such as Tim Chantarangsu, Ted Park, and Maliibu Miitch with statements by community leaders such as Subtle Asian Traits, KIWA, and Unity Against Hate.”

“I Hate Being Hated is a mantra also, that Asian Americans will not tolerate anti-Asian hate crimes and that the Asian American community is strong to stand up to such discrimination. By fundraising for the Stand with Asian Americans campaign, I Hate Being Hated aims to make a significant contribution to the organization that is one of the most prominent current leaders in Asian American activism,” Kwon also stated.

The music served as a representation of Asian-Americans expressing themselves artistically in a country that is, unfortunately, designed to beat them down. What was more meaningful were the voices of all who volunteered to speak up and offer their own stance on the anti-Asian American stir happening right now in what we call our country. 

From a Personal Perspective

I’ve been wanting to write about the Asian American perspective for some time now, but have not gotten a chance to. Luckily, Joy Ruckus Club reached out to us and let me join their “I Hate Being Hated” festival. Since the horrifying shooting in Atlanta months ago, I had the desire to give the world my own take on how I felt these issues were affecting the community. It is more than just a trend that makes its way across social media platforms, and seeing my classmates post about it on Instagram when I’m certain that they do not truly care is the first problem.

It has occurred for many events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the Covid crisis in India, and most recently, the Israeli-Palestine conflict. As a group that has felt its “time in the spotlight” only to be ignored weeks later, Asian Americans stand with every other community that faces the same repetitive trend treatment.

Those who tuned into Joy Ruckus Club’s festival, however, got a taste of people from across the country sharing a single viewpoint. The power that we all hold to come together when faced with a central, centuries-long worth issue gives me hope that one day society will confront its errors. But that day is long from now unless we take control and show the world what we are made of. 

The world premiere of the “I Hate Being Hated” song and remix will be this Sunday 6/13 at our “I Hate Being Hated” virtual event!https://t.co/eDXUTual5N pic.twitter.com/3vRohN4rNb

— Joy Ruckus Club (@JoyRuckusClub) June 12, 2021

What This Entails

The concept of Asian American discrimination, and really all discrimination, has come from a long history of colonization, white supremacy, and racial stereotyping. I cannot go in-depth with these concepts, but for a long time, Asians have not been welcomed positively into this country. Although all immigrants who settled in America, including the Irish and the German, faced backlash, there was none as severe as Chinese immigrants during the late nineteenth century. In this day and age, we should not dwell on history. They have been documented and written in the books, forever to be ingrained in the story of this country. However, what we can manage to change is the outlook of the current and future generations.

We cannot allow ourselves to be stuck in the past, in a world where even fifty years ago, yellow-face was a trend in TV and Hollywood, and that is what I find to be the purpose of the “I Hate Being Hated” festival. The speakers were wholeheartedly dedicated to one goal and purpose. College students, novelists, and actresses even offered their time to speak up and tell the world how they felt about this issue.

It proved how no matter what your background is or where you ended up in life, these problems and how we deal with them define who we are. If we cannot stand up for ourselves, we will never find peace as citizens of this country. We will always be seen as outsiders, always be portrayed as one stereotype or the other, whether that be the model minority myth or the accented foreigner.

“I Hate Being Hated” collaborated with many meaningful organizations: Georgia APA Bar Association, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Laotian American National Alliance, Muslim Alliance of Indiana, Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, APA Medical Student Association, Asian Coming Together, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian Pacific Fund/Stand With Asian Americans, Unity Against Hate, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, Asian Pacific Community Fund, Stop AAPI Hate, Washington State Commission on APA Affairs, Asian Leaders Alliance, Asian Business Association San Diego, and Asian Real Estate Association of America. While tuning in, these groups had very valuable mementos and comments to add.

Final Words

As an Asian American Muslim, I listened to the Muslim Alliance of Indiana’s speech as they said, “The Muslim community in the U.S. and worldwide is also no stranger to hate. This is why the hashtag ‘Stop Asian Hate’ and ‘Stand With Asian Americans’ are more than a viral slogan for our community. It’s a vital movement that brings awareness to a disheartening number of anti-Asian hate crimes, microaggressions, stereotypes, harassment, and oftentimes violent assaults that lead to murder.”

“The Muslim Alliance of Indiana and the community that we represent and are made up of stands with and for Asian Americans. The safety of our loved ones must be prioritized.” The festival made me and my fellow Muslim Asian Americans feel represented and safe knowing that there are others out there who share the same struggles and beliefs that I do.

So fun! Thanks to you and Andrew for performing at “I Hate Being Hated!” https://t.co/GXQS2qRrVa

— Joy Ruckus Club (@JoyRuckusClub) June 17, 2021

In the week following the “I Hate Being Hated” event, Joy Ruckus Club also hosted a K-pop SuperFest as another way to embrace the Asian community and give back to international K-pop fans. During a time where Asian American awareness has become more prevalent, it is important to support these groups and donate whenever possible. Follow Joy Ruckus Club’s Instagram and check out their website for information on past festivals.

They have had enormous press coverage and been featured at the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Forbes, AllKpop, Soompi, Arirang TV, South China Morning Post, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and many more. Tune in to Joy Ruckus Club’s next activity to support the Asian American cause and stand up to Asian American hate.