Another Year of Increased Asian Hate & Violence

“According to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization tracking instances of violence and verbal abuse, there were more than 10,900 incidents reported between March 2020 and December 2021.”

(Race was, by far, the most common reason for a discriminatory incident to occur, listed as a reason in 91.5% of the 10,905 reports.)

Yesterday, hundred of people gathered in Times Square in New York to protest Asian hate crimes.

(NY has seen the largest spike of hate crimes against Asian-Americans, with 133 recorded in 2021.)

It was spurned by the latest NY hate crime, just two days ago, when a 67 year old asian woman was brutally attacked by a 47 year old man at her front door- but also marking a year since Robert Allen Long allegedly opened fire in three Atlanta spas, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women.

“For decades, the discrimination that Asian Americans have faced — including everything from exclusionary immigration policy to outright erasure — has been rendered invisible. In large part, that’s been due to the “model minority” myth. First popularized in the 1960s, it implies that all Asian people are successful and well-off, obscuring both the diversity within the group as well as the disparities that people experience.”

One positive thing that has come with the awareness of asian hate crimes being raised, is at the federal level, Congress approved the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act last May, which designated an official at the Justice Department to focus on Covid-19-related hate crimes, provided more funding to law enforcement for hate crimes reporting, and bolstered training resources to help police address hate crimes.

But more is needed. More awareness, more inclusivity and more change at the structural, systemic level.

Working in solidarity with other communities of color is vital to combat a broader system of white supremacy and collectively build political power.

May justice come to the asian communities, the BIPOC communities, the LGBTQ+ communities.

May the cis white communities educate themselves and do their part to protect these groups.

May a world exist someday soon that is not based on other-ing, corruption, fear and violence.

Sources:

https://www.vox.com/22820364/stop-asian-hate-movement-atlanta-shootings

https://nypost.com/2022/03/16/rally-against-anti-asian-violence-held-in-times-square-year-after-atlanta-spa-shootings/

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/ny-woman-punched-125-times-foot-stomped-in-brutal-hate-crime-beating-police/3598054/