Racism is one of humanity’s greatest social ills. While racism has always existed, this human tendency to stereotype and ostracize others seems to be worsening despite of globalization. As a result, anti-racism movements have emerged. For instance, Black Lives Matter (BLM) has been at the forefront of confronting racism against African Americans, a major issue in the United States (U.S.). Following the recent anti-Asian Atlanta shootings, Asian Americans have organized their own protests against racial injustices.
On March 16, mass shootings occurred at three spa and massage parlors in the U.S. city of Atlanta. The shooter murdered a total of eight people, six of which were of Asian descent. It was reported by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office that the shooter did take responsibility for the incident and is now being held in custody. It is speculated and widely believed that the shooting was motivated by his hate towards Asians, seeing as he only targeted Asian massage parlors. However, the shooter denied such speculations, citing his sex addiction as the motive of his killings. Regardless, this shooting incited major reaction from the Asian community.
Since 2020, multiple accounts from victims of hate crimes towards Asians such as hitting, stabbing, and cursing have been posted on social media. These Asian hate crimes had mostly happened in but were not limited to the U.S. For instance, at the beginning of the coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia, a video of a woman cursing at a person of Korean descent on the streets claiming that the pandemic was their fault roamed through the internet. The Atlanta shooting became the final straw for Asian Americans, causing hundreds to rally in front of Liberty Plaza in Atlanta, carrying signs with anti-racism slogans such as “Stop Asian Hate” and “I Am Not A Virus.” To show acknowledgement and solidarity, social media platforms were filled with supportive posts of celebrities, Asians, and others, often including #StopAsianHate.
COVID-19 Leads to Surge in Asian Hate Crimes
Immediately after the pandemic began, the number of crimes against Asian people surged, leading Asians to demonstrate their frustration through news outlets and social media. According to Professor Alexa Alice Joubin (Department of English, George Washington University), co-founder and co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute and co-author of the book Race, “The pandemic of COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian racism that was already brewing in previous years during the Trump administration. Due to the stay-at-home order, more people found time to tune into social media to connect with like-minded individuals for socialization and venting.” She added, “The lockdown has slowed down the spread of the virus but accelerated anonymous hate speech online which led to violence in real life.”
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) stated that the police reported a 149 percent rise in Asian hate crimes between the year 2019 and 2020 in the U.S. The center also reported that racist terms such as “China virus” and “Kung Flu” prevailed throughout 2020. According to Professor Joubin, “By late April 2020, more than 1,500 incidents of racism, 125 of which were physical attacks, were reported to the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council.”
Always Present
Even though anti-Asian racism worsened with the pandemic, it has always existed. Anti-Asian racism, in fact, has deep historical roots that continue to affect Asians in the U.S. According to media source TODAY’s interview, Chris Kwok, a board member of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, stated that there are many recorded lynchings and killings of the first East Asian immigrants, but they did not receive much attention. Discrimination did not only occur on a social level, but also a legal one. For instance, in 1882, the U.S. Congress passed a law legalizing a 10-year ban on Chinese labor immigration through the “Chinese Exclusion Act” due to misleading rumors stating that Asians were carriers of contagious diseases.
As these rumors accumulated, it resulted in stereotyping, which then affected media portrayal. This has been an issue since the past when it was common to display Asians as ugly, small, and yellow people. Although modern media no longer portrays such blatantly racist images, according to Professor Joubin, “Popular media often portray the Asian community as perpetual foreigners who are defined by their inscrutable languages and food.” She added, “Films and television programming either lack Asian representation or focus only on negative portrayal of Asian characters, such as the idea that Asian women are either dolls or cunning femme fatale.”
Why Now?
Historical and contemporary evidence proves the obvious racism that Asian Americans have faced for many years. So why did it take so long for Asian communities to collectively fight back in the U.S.? “Compared to other minority groups such as Latinx communities, Asian Americans are more reluctant to report crimes and are therefore invisible in public records.” says Professor Joubin. This reluctancy may have been due to the social constructs that lead to the ostracization of the Asian Americans. According to Professor Hyeyurn Chung (Department of English Language and Literature, Sungshin Women’s University), “Historically, Asian Americans have been regarded as the “soft other.” Adding to this image is that of the “model minority” which depicts Asian Americans as hardworking, diligent, intelligent, and successful people who are eternally grateful to the powerful and, hence, keep their heads down and quietly accept the status quo.”
Because the #StopAsianHate movement was a trending issue, this event also garnered attention in Korea. Information regarding the Atlanta shooting was written all over news outlets as some of the victims were Asian Americans of Korean descent. However, despite such attention, the social media activism did not parallel that from the U.S. This might have been because most people must have not been direct victims of racism. Nonetheless, this issue did bring to light the reality faced by the Asian immigrant communities in the U.S. Professor Chung added, “Unfortunately, hatred and violence against the racial other persists, not only in the U.S. but also in Korea, and more people should participated in calling out for a stop to racism in all of its forms.”
Slanting one’s eyes on purpose or saying *Ni Hao* or *Konichiwa* to every Asian person regardless of nationality are just a few examples of racism that Asian communities in non-Asian countries face daily. With the rise of Asian hate crimes due to the pandemic and the proliferation of social media, the Asian American community’s patience has finally reached an end. The time has finally come to change the long-standing stereotypes and injustices that have plagued the community.