Here's an excerpt from a story I did for AsAmNews while down in Atlanta.
The next day I travel up north towards Acworth, where Young’s Asian Massage is located.
I get this feeling in my stomach the farther we drive out of the city.
Even though I understand where I am on the map, how many miles away it is from Atlanta, it feels so far away and I can’t help but think to myself that there was so much time to turn around.
There was time to re-think.
To not take more lives.
While I try to re-route that feeling, talking with the driver, a young White man about our shared experience from the Midwest–him originally from Chicago, myself originally from Milwaukee–I still have this sinking feeling.
We talk about the shootings. He tells me how sad he is about them and that it’s good people are coming down here to report on it.
I ask him if he thinks it should be classified as a hate crime.
He says yes without hesitation.
Reaching Young’s Asian Massage, my stomach sinks even more, and even though I’ve asked the driver if it’s easy to get a ride back at least two or three times and he’s said yes, I don’t want to be here without a known way back. We talk and I make a change on the destination to head back into Atlanta, and he agrees to wait for me.
The story has a documentation of photographs from each of the 3 memorials as well as 4 interviews with different people I interviewed while down there. I have a lot more thoughts on Atlanta and everything else going on.
Here's the link: https://asamnews.com/2021/04/01/a-community-pauses-and-reflects-after-the-atlanta-spa-shooting/
