Melissa Tao shares anti-Asian hate incident

By Derek Tahara

He/Him/His

On April 18 in Capitola, Melissa Tao was away from her car grabbing coffee with her boyfriend at Verve Coffee Roasters. When she returned to her car, she noticed something was left on the windshield of her car and thought it was trash or a gift left by someone.

What she found on her car windshield: a Starbucks cup filled with what appeared to be urine with anti-Asian messages scrawled on it.

“I realized what was written and what was in the Starbucks cup and was extremely disgusted and saddened by whoever did this,” Tao, a Watsonville Buddhist Church member wrote in an email to the Young Buddhist Editorial.

Tao took to Instagram to shed light on her experience, which was one of several anti-Asian incidents occurring over the past year since it was reported the novel coronavirus first originated in China.

Given this incident, the former Watsonville Buddhist Church YBA member shared advice:

“to stay strong and be proud of who you are...allow your feelings to process and reach out to your loved ones in order to support you emotionally and physically.”

“Be a part of your community, volunteer, donate to local non-profit that support POC, educate youth, spread equality and love, and surround yourself with people that make you feel your best. Build the confidence to triumph those who try to bring you down,” Tao explained on how people can educate themselves on the Asian American experience.

To view Tao’s Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0wmFch3tp/.