Like many Asians in America, I was — and am — inspired by Andrew Yang’s rise to political prominence. Running a charismatic and innovative campaign, Yang showed that Asian Americans can and should fight to make a difference in our country. But no amount of admiration could cancel out my disappointment after reading Yang’s recent opinion piece in the Washington Post.

In his April 1 op-ed, Yang argues that Asians must combat COVID-19 by “show[ing] our American-ness in ways we never have before.” He recommends that we “wear red white and blue” and “show without a shadow of a doubt that we are Americans who will do our part for our country in this time of need,” apparently to remind our neighbors that we are not to be feared.

But Yang’s message is misguided at best. To save lives and fight the virus, the best thing that Asian Americans can do is embrace our Asian-ness — and understand that doing so need not be in any tension with our simultaneous American identity.

Asian culture is in many ways primed to combat infectious disease, which makes it all the more frustrating that suspicion and even harassment of Asians has increased due to fears of coronavirus. Before New York told people to stay inside their homes unless necessary, I observed the tension between Asian hygiene and anti-Asian prejudice almost every time I commuted to and from work. Every day, I’d step on a packed 7 train only to find that every seat was occupied — except for a single spot next to an older Asian woman wearing a face mask.