Yo, is the government the One?

Yo, is this the government the One?

Asian Hate

In March 2021 there was a shooting event that happened at different spas near Atlanta, Georgia.. Although the shooter did not admit his actions were due to racism against Asian-Americans, “experts have said the killings are inextricably connected to racism and hate” (Marc Ramirez). This event is an example of the American governments systemic injustice towards Asians and Asian-Americans. 

The injustice that caused this event was racism, more specifically it was racism towards Asian-Americans. One of the driving forces behind the recent increase in racism towards Asian-Americans is COVID-19 and the American government. The government has persuaded some people to believe that Asians and Asian-Americans are the root cause of this pandemic. This belief has enhanced the persecution of Asian-Americans because the people who believe Asians and Asian-Americans started the COVID-19 pandemic also blame Asians for any job loss or death that has personally affected them.

This injustice of racism and hate is not one of coincidence or randomness. This injustice is continuous, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As records have shown, “in a report released this week before the Atlanta killings, Stop AAPI Hate said it recorded nearly 3,800 anti-Asian incidents – including harassment, discrimination and acts of violence – between mid-March 2020 and late February 2021” (Marc Ramirez). This is not the first time in American history that Asians and Asian-American people have faced racism. Due to the governments own rhetoric, law, and actions through history, Asians and Asian-Americans have suffered discrimination and racism continuously and systemically over time.

 

The Increase of Asian Hate

The Asian-American racism that has continued through the years in America, can partially be blamed on the U.S. Government. The increase in anti-Asian incidents, as mentioned above, has not increased randomly. The U.S. Government, specifically the former president Donald Trump, frequently blamed Asians and Asian-Americans for the spread of COVID-19 (NPR). However, this alone does not explain how Asian hate has increased.

The media is biased, so news radio stations, newspapers, news television, etc. write and publish stories that align with their political beliefs. For example, Fox News typically publishes Republican/Conservative stories, while CNN typically publishes Democratic/Liberal stories. The media has many flaws, just as the government. Through the biased media, the government reaches its audience, but the media companies decide what their viewers hear. As an example, CNN most likely limited and or condemned the former presidents blame of Asians and Asian-Americans as the cause for the spread of COVID-19. However, Fox News most likely did not limit, and maybe even praised, the use of Asians and Asian-Americans as the cause of COVID-19. 

For those who only watch, listen, and or read news that does not limit, censor, or condemn any remarks of Asian hate, there is imperfect information. Those people may not think to ask themselves, “what could our country have done to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19,” because the government places the full blame on Asians. Because the government puts full blame on Asians, it encourages those with imperfect information to be racist towards Asians (the blame gives a reason for people to be racist).

In 2020, “over 22 million jobs disappeared at the start of the pandemic” (NBC News). With the government adamant that Asians are to blame for COVID-19, those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and hear news that is uncensored for Asian hate, are encouraged to be racist and act on it. Asian hate news alone can cause racism and people to act on racism, but when someone loses their job because of a pandemic that other people started, it gives people even more incentive to be racist and act on that racism. As a result of the government and their own racist remarks over the COVID-19 pandemic, we see people, like the shooter in Atlanta, act upon their racism towards Asians.

 

Oneness and Otherness

In Simone de Beauvoir’s book The Second Sex she explains what makes someone the “One” and what makes someone the “Other.” The point of this book is to give examples of Oneness and Otherness, and to understand the relationship of men (the One) and women (the Other). Reciprocity between the One and the Other can be achieved, and this book looks at why men and women have not achieved this reciprocity/equality yet.

In the introduction, de Beauvoir gives a general overview of what Oneness and Otherness is, how it happens, and how to realize equality between the One and Other, so that there is no more One or Other. There are several examples de Beauvoir uses to show the relationship between the One and the Other. For example, “in small-town eyes all persons not belonging to the village are ‘strangers’ and suspect; to the native of a country all who inhabit other countries are ‘foreigners’” (Simone de Beavoir). As shown from the examples de Beauvoir gives, Oneness and Otherness can apply to the smallest and largest of populations.

The question is, why do the villagers see a person who does not belong as a stranger and suspect? How does the One become the One and the Other become the Other? Simone de Beauvoir gives a relatively simple answer, “the Other is posed as such by the One in defining himself as the One” (Simone de Beauvoir). In terms of the village example, the villagers define themself as the One and anyone who is different from them is therefore defined as the Other. The people who are perceived to not belong (the Other) do not define themself as the Other. 

Lastly, how is the barrier of Oneness and Otherness broken? Can equality be achieved? In short, equality can be achieved through collaborative events. Collaborative events force the One and the Other to realize their relationship with one another over time. In Simone de Beauvoir’s words, “as a matter of fact, wars, festivals, trading, treaties, and contests among tribes, nations, and classes tend to deprive the concept of Other of its absolute sense and to make manifest its relativity; willy-nilly, individuals and groups are forced to realize the reciprocity of their relations.” Through these events the One and the Other are forced to celebrate, fight, and compete with each other. However, the barrier of Oneness and Otherness is not broken quickly, it takes time and many collaborative events mentioned above to eventually break.

 

The Government is the One

The U.S. Government’s blame on Asians for the COVID-19 pandemic is not the first time they have “fanned the flame” for Asian hate, racism, and violence in America. One of the first anti-Asian acts in America was People v. Hall, which ruled that “people of Asian descent could not testify against a White person in court” (The Washington Post). This came about when Asians were immigrating to America for jobs and the white people were upset that Asians were “taking their jobs,” which started the acts of violence towards Asian-Americans (The Washington Post). The court ruling that followed the acts of violence is the government condoning racism and violence.

 In 1882 a bill was passed called the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration for 10 years. This act was extended, but finally repealed in 1943 (The Washington Post). This immigration restriction came at a time when the economy was struggling, however it did not struggle for 60 years, and shows that the government continued to endorse racism against Asians and Asian-Americans. 

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor the U.S. Government forced all Japanese-Americans in internment camps for the duration of the war, over suspicions of Japanese spies (The Washington Post). Not only did the government force many people to do this, the conditions at the internment camp were not ideal, “conditions in the camps were extreme, blazing hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter” (The Washington Post). Another example of government racism towards Asians and Asian-Americans.

The government’s view of Asians as suspicious and strange is almost exactly how Simone de Beauvoir’s villagers saw the people who did not belong as strangers and suspicious. The United States Government is the One and Asian-Americans are the Other, not to mention African-Americans and other races and ethnicities in America. Through the government’s rhetoric, laws, court cases, and actions, they have successfully defined themself as the One. The One defines the Other, and the U.S. Government (the One) has also successfully defined Asians and Asian-Americans as the Other. Asian-Americans had no choice in the matter, they were forced in their “role.” 

This is the problem, the government has defined the One and the Other, and it is time to break that relationship. To break the relationship we can use Simone de Beauvoir and The Second Sex as a guide. As she mentioned, collaborative events can help break the relationship with enough time. One type of collaborative event that is already happening are Stop Asian Hate protests, which many people attend. This is just the beginning of a Oneness and Otherness relationship that needs to be broken.

Donate and or learn more about stopping Asian hate here: https://stopaapihate.org/

 

 

 

Works Cited

Beauvoir, Simone de, et al. The Second Sex. Vintage, 2010.

Brockell, Gillian. “The Long, Ugly History of Anti-Asian Racism and Violence in the U.S.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Mar. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/03/18/history-anti-asian-violence-racism/. 

Popken, Ben. “2020 Was the Year the Jobs Went Away. But When Will They Come Back?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 17 Dec. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/2020-was-year-jobs-went-away-when-will-they-come-n1251505. 

Ramirez, Marc, and Trevor Hughes. “’Stand Up, Fight Back’: Atlanta Rally Decries Anti-Asian Violence, Mourns Spa Shooting Victims.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 21 Mar. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/20/atlanta-shooting-surveillance-video-aaron-long-march-victims/4780302001/. 

“The Rise In Anti-Asian Attacks During The COVID-19 Pandemic.” NPR, NPR, 10 Mar. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/10/975722882/the-rise-of-anti-asian-attacks-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.