Rinna Rem is certainly gaining attention for her “White Friends, Pay For My Therapy” fundraiser, as reported by the Independent. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Rem’s petition on a fundraising website called YouCaring.com explains Rinna’s reasoning behind wanting her “dear white friends” to pay for her therapy. Rinna is an Asian-American woman who blames the racism she experienced on a daily basis in Portland as the basis for her needing therapy.

As seen in the screenshot, Rinna has raised $1,914 out of her $2,400 goal as of this writing. In the description, Rem reveals her perspective of growing up and living in the PDX area, which is the region around Portland International Airport. It was the pressure of living in such a Caucasian area that Rinna blames for her stress as a Thai-Cambodian female.

“The stress of living as a Thai-Cambodian woman in such a white city replete with constant interpersonal and institutional racism has a big toll on my health and wellbeing. I see an amazing therapist to cope with this s***, but I spend $100/month on therapy for bi-weekly appointments. Now it’s your turn to pay!”

As expected, the hubris of Rinna asking her white friends to pay for her therapy isn’t winning Rem any praise online. On Reddit, the “White Friends, Pay For My Therapy” thread — which has been renamed to White people should pay for my therapy (and linked to on imgur.com) — is getting a plethora of colorful comments. That Imgur image has received more than 72,000 views, with folks aghast that Rem would blame them for her problems, and go so far as to ask for money to pay for her therapy.

Rinna describes how stress from daily racist incidents builds up, and can help contribute to mental health disorders among minorities in comparison to other races. She notes that suicide was the No. 2 cause of death for a certain age group of Asian-Americans.

“Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Asian-Americans aged 15-34.” Risk factors include the experience of discrimination. Read more here: Suicide Among Asian-Americans.

The 29-year-old Rinna goes on to describe how tired she has become, having endured liver disease and a host of other illnesses. According to Rem, she also must endure the chronic conditions of Marfan’s Syndrome, depression and pressures that affect her heart. That’s when she drops the bombshell that she wants her “white friends” to help pay for her therapy to save her life.

“Help me pay for therapy to deal with the stress of racism. Please don’t let racism shorten my life or kill me. Love,

Rinna”

For those who may ask Rinna why she doesn’t relocate away from the Portland area, perhaps to an area deemed more Asian-American friendly, Rem explains that saying that is akin to telling somebody to go back to their own country.

“I shouldn’t have to deal with racism anywhere and I shouldn’t be expected to abandon my hometown and family either.”

What’s interesting on the “White Friends, Pay For My Therapy” page is that Rinna has posted images of the emails she’s received in the wake of her fundraising efforts. Some call Rem names such as n***** all the way, repeated many times, down the page. Others call her a b**** and worse words. Still others are lengthy emails that try and describe their point of view about Rinna’s petition.

Rem even has posted screenshots of an email address from the Huffington Post, with a reporter likely trying to get in touch with Rinna. Indeed, Rem’s “white people to pay for my treatment” petition has appeared on the Daily Mail — as well as other websites learning about the Asian woman’s therapy pleas.

[Image via YouCaring]