Stop the Asian Hate Crimes

 

Hate-crime against Asians has been happening in America for generations and yet, we are nowhere near stopping it. Long before the coronavirus hit, we can see the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by the government itself, in removing Asians from this country and make their life a living hell. During World War II when the Pearl Harbor attack happened, all Japanese were locked up in those concentration camps because of the fear of spies in the country and so many more unrecorded hate crimes. The issues with these hate crimes are not getting any better over time. There are many reasons as to why the situation is not improving. First, the sudden hit of the covid-19 pandemic and the blaming on who is responsible, which often ends up being Chinese even though it just happens to occur first there. Second is the build-up tension between white Americans and Asians through years of silencing and forcing us away. And perhaps most importantly, fear, of immigrants ranking higher in them in school, of outsiders taking all their jobs and speak in languages they cannot understand, and of different viewpoints politically, socially, and economically.

Today, I want to look at the news special by ABC News honoring the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which is covered in many episodes on YouTube. We can see the point of view of Asian Americans on the issue of recent shootings targeting Asians, on the spreading history of anti-Asian racism, the fear of being targeted, and taking action in solving these issues. The conversation features all Asian speakers from diverse backgrounds of occupations, national ties, and ages to help us better understand from different pathways.

As mentioned earlier, because of Covid-19, we have seen a sharp rise in anti-Asian hate, and many incidents occurred. On March 16, the shootings happened in Atlanta, Georgia at 3 different spas, and the arrested suspect, Robert Aaron Long was arrested. Notably, out of the 8 victims of this, 6 out of them were Asian women. Though the motive is yet uncovered by the authorities, the attack was likely an anti-Asian hate crime. In Oakland, California, an 84-year-old  Vicha Taranapakdee was shoved to the ground and die later in the hospital when he is not even Chinese, which means that these attacks are not only targeting Chinese Americans but all Asians (more on those with Eastern Asian physical features). We can see that there are many more crimes like this happening at the beginning of “Asian Americans witness generational divide on condemning racism”. According to NBC News, while the overall hate crimes rate in 2020 decreased by 7%, the ones that are targeting Asians are increased by 150%, from 49 to 122. This shows that more and more people are labeling Asians as the cause of the pandemic.

The coronavirus blaming became a big excuse for these kinds of crimes, that China was the cause of all this, and they should pay for what they did, of eating unfamiliar cuisines and putting the virus on the human race. It has enabled the spread of racism, national insecurity, and general xenophobia (Gover, 649). But after all, it is just an excuse, the real intention is that they are racist and just need something an excuse so they can openly attack, and gain supports for it. The former president, Donald Trump had spoken on the issue of coronavirus on many different occasions and each time he gave it a new nickname, the “Kung flu”, “Chinese virus”, etc. along with many different White House officials. If even the leader of our country does not recognize the meaning of these terms and the damages it causes, then how do we expect regular Americans to. The correct term is coronavirus disease; it is not by China or in any way responsible by Chinese people. True the first cases might happen in China, but it is proven to be easily spread and hard to control. If it is anyone responsible, it should be the U.S, Wuhan is cleared, Australia does not have any cases, Vietnam is doing great in getting it under control. So why the mighty and powerful America so bad at getting this under control.

This is not the first time or the first group that America has scapegoated a group, 9/11 happens and Muslims were blamed; the HIV epidemic broke out and the LGBTQ+ community is at the stake, and now the coronavirus. America never wants to take the blame for itself and be done with it. Of course, there has to be a target where they can unite on and bully. Why is the spreading of the virus in America because of China, what about the anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, or those who do not social distance? It is the American attitude that got us where we are. Maybe if we stop blaming for one second and stand together to solve this, it would not be as bad.

The model minority myth also plays a part in instilling fear into people who believe in race hierarchy/ white supremacists and the generalization of all Asians, rendering them the same. Asians are viewed as “restaurant or convenience store owners who arrived in the United States with no money and worked long hours to finally own a piece of the American dream or as eye glass-wearing, awkward nerds who spend countless hours in the library reading math and science books”(Wong 38). This made supremacists fear that they will eventually lose their place at the top rank when all those immigrants take over all the high-earning jobs. It also means all Asians are the same, contributing to the xenophobia that is already a difficulty. Additionally, it also affects Asian American personally as they find themselves hard to live up to the expectation of society and family who believe in those stereotypes. This can interfere with their self-identification as Asian Americans and their mental health.

While hate crimes are continued to happen, many Asian Americans are not handling it well. According to Justin A. Chen during research, Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) students are significantly more likely to have considered or attempted suicide due to the endorsement of stress, anxiety, hopelessness compared to the white students (Chen 445-446). The research was done before the pandemic and I would assume it is much worse than this considering isolation, targeting, and even more anxiety.

The news special touched on the topic of division between the old and young generation on fighting against the anti-Asian hate/racism. Vivian Ho, one of the guest speakers mentioned her experience of wearing a shirt with Sandra Oh’s quote “It’s an honor just to be Asian” in the attempt to celebrate her heritage and simultaneously fighting for the right to be Asian in this country. Her mother, on the other hand, sees this as a danger Vivian is putting herself in for basically flagging herself as being Asian in the crowd.

Through this, we can see the different points of view of people who are on the same side. Some prefer to be silent and remain safe while others are taking enough of the harassment and decide to stand up. This shows that the older generation tends to be more conserve and prefers to be safe over being heard. This is partly because they have been through trauma through the ages of suppression when America is still openly racist (which it still is after the pandemic, but much more suppressed through the years). Another is because of parental instinct, of not wanting their children to be hurt or being too politically involved.

This results in cases like Vivian, where they are scared to display anything Asian-related. Many have experienced this where their parents force them to hide away their Asian-ness by dressing “whiter”, acting “whiter” and speaking the white people’s language. Of course, doing this might get us into a circle of predominantly white friends but does not conceal us away from the dangers of racists. They will not care about how you act; bullets do not fly away from white wannabes. What should have been hidden, if we have the intention to at all, is our yellow skin, our Asian physical features, and hundreds, thousand years of heritage. But it is impossible to do that, we are born like this and the only option we have is to take it head-on. This is also the view of many of the younger generation as we have fewer things to fear and are taught to be more open about our feelings.

The news special mentioned the increase of policing as these incidents increase and Samantha Grasso has voiced her opinion on it. In summary, she does not trust the one who constantly abused their power and has damaged us and our trust to protect us. They have increased the police funding again and open even more branches to the department. The murder of George Floyd recently raised the issue with police brutality, and many have not been completely restoring their trust. I completely understand her point of view, but what else do we have in this desperate time to put pressure on the criminals.

There are many hopeful solutions to the issue of Asian Hate, but nothing is completely certain in stopping it. One way that was mentioned in the news special, increasing voters’ number of Asian Americans. Their voice has been silenced for so long that the fear of participating in political issues and interfering with the white majority will eventually cause them harm. This point of view needs to change, even though the younger generation is speaking up their voice, the older generation still makes up a tremendous number of votes and until we are united, it cannot be resolved. Another, making verbal hate crimes punishable by law. As in many countries, verbal hate crime is unlawful and can be charged but in the U.S it is still an ongoing debate for its complication with the First Amendment. Debunking the model minority myth will also help in increasing awareness on the issue, along with teaching about Asians America in general.

In conclusion, hate crime against Asian Americans is still a big issue in America. It is rooted deep within the country’s history and has yet to change. Many Asian Americans have suffered and are scared for life concerning maybe one day they will be attacked and leave their family behind. There are many different ways to approach this issue and make this country more tolerable to live in and stay true to its promise of the “American Dream”. Consider donating to organizations that are dedicated to helping those in need and fixing the issue like Stop AAPI Hate or check out the official New York City government website for more information.

 

Reflection

Writing and refining the thesis statement throughout the research was kind of challenging and fun at the same time. The first draft of my thesis was longer and includes information that I find irrelevant to the topic and a lot of history summary. As I go through research, I found more claims to support my thesis, therefore, cutting back on the history and cut down on the irrelevant information.

At first, I did have trouble finding information because the topic is quite well covered, and I got overwhelmed by the amount of article and cannot figure out which one is the best fit for it. I first found an article that actually fits my need and usually I check their references and links attached in the article, they turn out pretty useful as well and also stay relevant to the topic I was researching. As I read through more and more articles, I can picture more clearly of what I am searching and use the correct key term to find them.  There are of course many sources that I read through, intended to use, and ended up discarded because the direction of my writing has changed, and I figure they no longer fit in the essay. More often, it relates to the topic but offer no additional information or includes unreliable details.

While analyzing my text, I found my grammatical errors and unclear way of writing things. I often use Grammarly and double checking manually to ensure it delivers the right idea. On the flow of the essay, I tried my best to make sure one idea connects to another, but it may not be the best as writing is not my best talent.

The resources I used includes information that can both support my thesis and the critical analyzes of the News Special. For example, the minority myth is applicable for both the thesis and the reasoning underneath.

 

Sources Cited

ABCNews. “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Bridging Generations.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-UVYbWv3rs.

ABCNews. “Asian Americans Witness Generational Divide on Condemning Racism.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJX-NHqaZQ&t=2s.

ABCNews. “AAPI Communities on Finding Solutions, Igniting Voices and Taking Action.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 May 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_fy5xQnCk.

Chen, Justin A., et al. “Psychiatric Symptoms and Diagnoses Among U.S. College Students: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity.” Psychiatric Services, vol. 70, no. 6, 2019, pp. 442–449., doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201800388.

Yam, Kimmy. “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Increased by Nearly 150% in 2020, Mostly in N.Y. and L.A., New Report Says.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 Mar. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-nearly-150-2020-mostly-n-n1260264.

Samantha Grasso. “If This Is What Fighting Asian Hate Means, I Don’t Want It.” Discourse Blog, 15 Apr. 2021, discourseblog.com/daunte-wright-policing-anti-asian-violence/.

Bit, L. (2021, March 27). What are the solutions to stop the hate against Asians? AsAmNews. https://asamnews.com/2021/03/23/what-are-the-solutions-to-stop-the-hate-against-asians/.

Lee, Yueh-Ting, et al. “How Did Asian Americans Respond to Negative Stereotypes and Hate Crimes?” Shibboleth Authentication Request, journals-sagepub-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0002764207306059.