⚠️⚠️ T/W ⚠️⚠️ Here in the US the month of May is known as Mental Health Awareness Month & Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This week both causes, both of these communities have lost someone. #HanaKimura, a 22 yr old wrestler, took her own life on May 23. At 3am she posted alarming tweets & pictures of cutting her wrists: “Nearly 100 frank opinions every day. I cant deny that I was hurt. Im dead. Thank you for giving me a mother. The life I wanted was to be loved. Thank you to everyone who supported me. I love it but Im weak. Im sorry. I dont want to be human anymore. I wanted to be loved. Thank you everyone. I love you. Bye.” Hana was a 2nd generation wrestler. Her mother #KyokoKimura (slide 5) wrestled for 14 years for Stardom, Ice Ribbon, & others. The two held the Artist Of Stardom trios titles. Kyoko’s final match of her career was against Hana. She debuted March 2016 wrestling for Wrestle-1, Sendai Girls, Ring Of Honor & Stardom. By 2019 she led her own cyber goth unit called #TokyoCyberSquad. She won the 2019 5Star Grand Prix, the most prestigious tournament & was selected to wrestle in Madison Square Garden (slide 9). Her last fight was March 24. She was a strong young woman, a fighter, but still thought she was weak. She had been #bullied as a child growing up #multiethnic, half #Japanese, half #Indonesian in Japan. Becoming a public figure brought on #cyberbullying. It escalated further after she joined the reality show #TerraceHouse & got into an argument w/ a fellow cast member. Days before her death she reposted hate filled tweets sent to her. Now shes gone. She could still be here. It hurts to see. I hope the people reposted were reported cuz it was a cry for help. The old adage “if you see something, say something” is real important rn w/ cancel culture running amuck. Doja. Kehlani. All #WOC. We get it more than most. So dont engage. Report. Block. Repeat. Theres a difference between calling someone out for a mistake & harassment. #Obama has a point (slide 10): “You’re not brave, not woke, not an activist. You’re throwing stones cuz your source of relief is to hurt others” #RIPHanaKimura #WCW #aapi 🇮🇩🇯🇵 (at Japan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAtGpJWlEh2/?igshid=kz7qsm4uypbz
