ATLANTA — After shooting and killing eight people on March 16 across three spas, six of whom were Asian women, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jay Baker’s statement of “He was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” towards suspect Robert Aaron Long incited rage and disappointment among the AAPI community.
Sadly, this attitude of trying to humanize the perpetrator and minimizing the impact on the victims, their families, and on a broader scale the community isn’t a foreign concept throughout the history of the AAPI community or of minorities in the United States. This tragic shooting, as well as the sharp increase in hate crimes committed towards Asians and Asian Americans all contribute towards the systemic injustice and racism felt for many years.
NBC News reported a nearly 150% increase in hate crimes targeting Asians in 16 of America’s largest cities alone for 2020. Disregarding the fact that these hate crimes only included those that were reported to law enforcement, that is a significant jump in the span of one year. Although these crimes have been increasingly brought to the public’s attention, these attacks that have happened during the COVID pandemic really highlight the underlying racism and ill-will towards the AAPI community that has been churning for decades.
Historic instances of systemic injustice can be seen from laws passed that explicitly prevented Asian immigration to America dating back to acts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924. Despite the Chinese only occupying 0.002 percent of the population at the time in 1882, “white ‘racial purity’”(History.com) was protected. Chinese immigration was prohibited for a decade, and despite protests at the unconstitutionality of the act nothing was done. The Immigration Act of 1924 expanded upon the previous act by restricting immigration from all of Asia. Another more well known historic instance would be the forced move of anyone with Japanese descent into internment camps during WWII. According to History.com, more than 100,000 were affected by the internment, many of whom were American citizens. Life in the internment camps was tough with harsh conditions, and anyone who tried to escape would be shot.
As previously stated, the rise of COVID also brought forth a rise in hate crimes and violence towards the AAPI community with an increased focus on elders such as a 91-year old grandpa being shoved to the ground by his 28 year old attacker in Oakland, CA. Another violent attack killed 84-year old Vicha Ratanapakdee, who passed away from his injuries in the hospital after being rammed and knocked into the ground.
Through these many instances, there is a distinct us vs. them, deliberate Othering towards Asians and Asian Americans. The victims are thought of as outsiders, the Other that needs to be put down. Placing those of Asian ethnicity in the position of Other, there seems to be the mindset that they are therefore disposable or susceptible to enforce racism upon. The attackers chose to assault elders, knowing they couldn’t retaliate or fight back. As elders, the physical violence would also leave a greater impact on the victims compared to someone in their twenties.
The attackers often act fast and quickly flee the scene, with many of them much younger in age compared to their older victims. Through these actions a sense of superiority of the One can be seen. Seeing these younger attackers raises the question of how ingrained is systemic racism and injustice in America’s culture? What do these attackers hope to achieve through their violent, hate-filled crimes? While America might boast on its improvements on racism and ideals that as one of the most diverse countries everyone is equal, how far has the US really come on issues such as system injustice and racism when its young citizens are purposely targeting the elders of an ethnic minority?
Returning to Sheriff Jay Baker, in addition to the insensitive comments made, it was later discovered that he had bought and promoted racist shirts that had “IMPORTED VIRUS FROM CHY-NA.” written on them on Facebook. With comments like “Love my shirt,” and “Get yours while they last.” coupled with the comments on the Atlanta shooting show a high likelihood of racism in his words and actions. If law enforcement officers are allowed to promote products that point towards racism with no apparent consequences, then this might further support the fact that systemic injustice towards the AAPI community has been ingrained in the American culture and by extension perhaps even the justice and law enforcement of the US.
A common insult hurled at those with Asian ethnicity is “Go back to China” whether during verbal attacks along streets or even playground bullying in school. This highlights multiple issues. First, that this phrase has become normalized as an insult and is frequently used, pointing towards the deeply rooted belief of perceiving those who look “Asian” as the Other. Second, the words show how those of Asian descent do not look like what is believed to be “American” and therefore don’t belong in this country regardless of their background or situation. If that is the case, then the question must be asked: what should an “American” look like, in a country that prides itself on being a “melting pot”? Third, this statement reveals the ignorance towards the fact that there are multiple Asian countries and cultures and assume everyone who might look Asian is from China.
Previously those types of comments might have been brushed off or ignored, however, with the rise in violence and deliberate victim targeting, these so called “casual comments” of casual racism are becoming more widely critiqued and examined under a magnifying glass. Protests against AAPI hate are popping up in large numbers, with slogans such as “#stop Asian hate”, and “Asians are not a virus. Racism is”.
Traditionally, the AAPI community is relatively low-key, with hate crimes going unreported, or a general sense of staying quiet, laying low, and minding your own business. The history of racism and bigotry towards Asians and Asian Americans in American history is usually brushed over in classes in the education system. Generally, very little attention has been given to this entire community whether through school or in news and media in the past.
Nowadays, the dangers of being attacked have risen to the point of Asian communities forming volunteer patrol groups around Chinatowns or neighborhoods with a large population of AAPI such as San Francisco. It’s saddening to see Americans protecting themselves against fellow Americans who believe themselves to be superior due to external appearances or other circumstances. The heightened fear and cautiousness of an entire community underlines the divide among Americans, something that has been highlighted with other recent events such as the COVID pandemic and the 2020 election.
When Trump was calling the coronavirus the “China virus” and “Kung-flu” while he was the president of the United States, some dismissed the racism of his names or the potential damage those words would bring. Nevertheless, Trump’s caustic attitude set the precedent and an example for others to follow, particularly his fervent followers and supporters. If the President was using these terms, didn’t that mean it was ok for others to use them as well? The President represents their country, and all of their actions will have a reverberating effect on the citizens of their nation. Ultimately, the deniers were proven wrong as racism across the country spiked. Words contain power, and power will propel people into action. As white supremacy and white nationalism grew, hate towards the AAPI community and other ethnicities grew as well.
Many times words have simply been dismissed as just words, or just a slip of the tongue, but over time these “slips of the tongue” take on meaning and direction. In this age of social media, one phrase can be reshared millions of times in seconds, one quote can spread to multiple countries. Now, over a year into the pandemic reaching the US, and almost 3,800 hate incidents reported by the group Stop AAPI Hate later, things have reached a boiling state.
In spite of all the negative consequences, the actions of the past year has brought the previously more sidelined issue of systemic injustice towards the AAPI community in America into the forefront and into the public’s view. Prior to 2020, some people weren’t even aware of the racism and issues that the community faces on a day-to-day basis which have been highlighted through the much more public acts of violence and attacks against those of Asian ethnicity. While there is still a long way to go in terms of eradicating systemic injustice in America for the AAPI community, peaceful protests, increased content/media coverage and an increase in the willingness to learn about these issues can help push forward and take a step towards progress. What’s certain is that the AAPI community is here to stay, and is willing to speak up and out.
Works Cited:
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.
History.com Staff. (2018, August 24). Chinese exclusion Act. Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882
30, F., 29, F., 28, J., 24, C., 21, D., 13, R., . . . 25, F. (n.d.). PolitiFact – hate crimes against Asian Americans: What the numbers show, and don’t. Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/mar/19/hate-crimes-against-asian-americans-what-numbers-s/
CBS San Francisco. (2021, February 01). Surveillance video Shows BRUTAL San Francisco assault that fatally Injured 84-Year-Old Man. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/02/01/video-surveillance-footage-shows-brutal-san-francisco-assault-that-critically-injured-84-year-old-man/