In San Francisco, Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old man, was abruptly pushed to the ground during his morning walk. Two days later, he passed away. In San Jose, California, a 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted and robbed. A 61-year-old Filipino man was brutally attacked as well, and another 91-year-old-man was thrown to the ground. These are just a few of the many Asian American targeted hate crimes that have been occurring and becoming more common since 2020. In fact, during 2020, the NYPD reported that hate crimes towards Asians dramatically increased by 1,900% in New York City. Meanwhile, in other major U.S. cities, anti-Asian violence jumped about 150%. Stop AAPI Hate, a database that records and responds to racial violence, has received at least 3,795 reports of anti-Asian hate crimes since March 2020. As it may be evident in the examples above, anti-Asian violence has been especially taking place in the Bay Area (particularly San Francisco and Oakland’s Chinatowns). Further, violence recently occurred in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16th, 2021 when eight people, consisting of six Asian women, were fatally shot in massage parlors.
One might be wondering why there is a sudden increase in anti-Asian hate. Well, a factor that many people believe to be the cause for this jump in anti-Asian hate crimes is the xenophobic language that has been used to place blame on Asians for the spread of Covid-19. Specifically, former President Trump and public officials would refer to the coronavirus as “the China/Chinese virus” or “Kung Flu,” which has led to many other citizens believing that it is acceptable to use the same rhetoric. However, it is important to be aware of the fact that these phrases are damaging; they focus blame and frustration on one country and group of people for a pandemic, consequently resulting in more hatred/violence. While Covid-19 originated in Wuhan, China, this pandemic should not be blamed entirely on China or any Asians/Pacific Islanders for that matter. Instead, the people at fault should be those who were not staying home, not wearing masks, not following other CDC guidelines, and/or decided to travel and go out excessively.
The model minority myth has also largely contributed to discrimination towards Asians. Beginning during the Civil Rights era, the model minority myth places stereotypes on Asian Americans, suggesting that they inherently follow the law, achieve greater success, and are generally more intelligent and hard-working than other ethnic minorities. Bianca Mabute-Louie, a racial justice educator, adds, “There is a stereotype and an assumption that Asian Americans have class privilege, that they have high socioeconomic status and education, and that any discrimination doesn’t really happen or feel legitimate.” Therefore, these stereotypes and generalizations have caused many people to not take Asian American struggles or racial discrimination seriously since it “can’t be that bad.” This is a very inaccurate and dangerous fallacy, considering the fact that Asians have been facing discrimination for hundreds of years, whether in the form of lynchings or exclusionary acts.
Undoubtedly, this recent rise in Asian-American targeted violence is absolutely terrible and saddening. These hate crimes are a prime example of what can happen when people are ignorant and blindly believe in stereotypes/generalizations against a certain minority group. According to the co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, Jeung, community efforts, holding people accountable, education, and solidarity are the only effective ways to fight against racial injustice. Moreover, AAJC (Asian Americans Advancing Justice) is encouraging everyone to “sign their collective community statement, donate to the Atlanta victims and their families,” and share any helpful resources they have (pbs.org). Also, just taking action in some way or reporting discrimination/violent incidents is crucial in making a difference as hate crimes tend to be underreported. There are volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, and options to call elected officials, which I will provide links for below! There is also an informative YouTube video about this topic that I recommend called, “We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Hate.” Let me know how you think, as a society, we can work to reduce racial discrimination or any general thoughts/questions you have on these matters!
Link to informative video about Anti-Asian hate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WUuya94QE
Resources:
https://time.com/5938482/asian-american-attacks/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/asian-bias-atlanta-shooting.html
Hey Dori, in order to really reduce something as terrible and ongoing as racial discrimination, us as a society need to actually talk about the subject and educate those that aren't aware of the right information. If someone is expressing hate or another emotion based on wrong facts, it is only leading to the spread of more hatred and unethical judging of others.
ReplyDeleteDori, thank you for this post. It is always important to speak out against bias and hate, and education is the first step. This particular issue hits even closer to home for me, since my daughter is Asian-American.
ReplyDeleteHi Dori,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for bringing light to this subject. We need to educate ourselves and learn what is going on in the world. It is so sad to see all this hate towards so many different people for no reason whatsoever. I agree that taking action and fighting against racial injustice is so important. It is so sad that there is so much hate in this world.