During the previous post, I spoke about the latest mass shootings in Boulder and Atlanta, and for good reason. One of the cases is still potentially a hate crime and still under investigation. Reading a bit about the guy’s history, I see enough things to at least not think it’s a repeat of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. In that case, two individuals targeted Arbery, pursued him, confronted him while armed, and eventually shot him. In last week’s case, if you read the headline, it seems extremely plausible that it was a targeted crime, but there’s a chance that it wasn’t focused on race, even though statistically speaking, it is very possible.
All of this is very different to the countless other cases of violence against Asians and Asian Americans and the surge in incidents since the pandemic begun. Terms like Kung-Flu and China virus are benign to a certain type of person that fails to see the danger and damage done with these and many other terms. Some people have even said things on the lines of celebrating Kung-Flu because it’s hilarious. I’m not saying that I don’t see the humor, I’m saying that using that term in every day vernacular is asking to target people of Asian descent and I really don’t think that’s a stretch with what people capture on film.
The U.S. has a storied history of violence and within its abundance of abuse, there’s a wealth of racial violence and racial tension. The first problem with that statement is the flat out refusal of the problem and saying that things are blown out of proportion. Yet statistics say otherwise, as does behavior, as do headlines, as do people complaining that their free speech is being infringed upon, even if it is hate speech. People would have you believe that white settlers came and conquered peacefully when the reality is that Native Americans across North, Central, and South America were basically exterminated numbering in the millions by the English and Spanish settlers, representing the single largest genocide in recorded history.
Slavery is also well documented and to see recently that some people think it’s a shame it was abolished, as well as lamenting women’s ability to vote shows that there is definitely a dangerous thought tendency in recent times. It's not the norm, it's not the majority, but it is there, and denying it is as dangerous as encouraging it. Maybe this has always been a sentiment, but for people to outwardly and comfortably make an argument against voting rights for women and minorities in the 21st century shows why there has been a rise in violence against Asian people, not to mention other minorities.
Has there been a rise in violence towards Latinos and Black people as well? Of course. Middle Eastern people and people who are Jewish and Muslim? Them too. The phrase, “Go back to where you came from” is unfortunately very common and has always been very common in this country. What’s saddest is when a white person tells this to a Native American, and do so un-ironically. The problem is when you have people playing both sides of the narrative at different times to cater to what serves their interests best, depending on what they want to project or achieve. Case in point, people calling for an end of violence against Asians, while also having quotes that could be tied to anti-Asian sentiments because it caters to their base, i.e. referring to COVID-19 as the Asian virus to offer a common and easily verifiable example.
Unfortunately, if anti-Asian sentiments cater to any sort of audience, then logic dictates that certain parts of the population are anti-Asian. In fact, if you look at most minorities, there are countless events documenting discrimination towards people of other races, religions, gender, and color. Black people face a lot of this and one of the favorite counter points from certain sectors is to talk about Black-on-Black crime to sway the conversation elsewhere, preferably far away from the point. This can be argued for or against depending what sources you wish to quote. But that’s another topic and I only bring it up for one reason, no one ever talks about Asian-on-Asian crime and my experience with Asian communities is of a lot of solidarity. Do all Asian countries get along? Not really, but this is a complicated concept in and of itself.
Let me explain from my perspective. As a Latino, I can understand some of what Asians might experience, specifically the blurred lines of countries of precedence. Thanks to Bad Bunny, J-Lo, Benicio del Toro, Ricky Martin, and Hurricane María, people are more aware of where Puerto Rico is located. For reference, it is the smallest of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean. The official languages of Puerto Rico are English and Spanish and politically speaking, it is a confusing mess that most people don’t understand, but that’s beside the point. What is the point is that it is an Island in the Caribbean and people who come from Puerto Rico identify as either Hispanic or Latino. Before these high profile people and events, when I would say I was from Puerto Rico, I would often get questions like: how long does it take to drive from Puerto Rico here, where in Mexico is that, where in Central America is that, or where in South America is that? Fortunately, people knew that by being Puerto Rican I was Latino, but beyond that, there wasn’t a lot of knowledge regarding where Puerto Rico was, not to mention what it was.
When you’re Asian and you say you’re from Laos, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, and other countries, you might get asked where in China that is. If you say you’re from Cambodia, some people might think you’re from an African country, even if it's nowhere near the African Continent. The only distinction that I think is common is that for the most part, people at least know Japan and China are different countries located in different places. This could be in part due to World War 2 or maybe the prevalence of cuisines, where Chinese cuisine is very different from sushi. This means that like Latinos, Asians are lumped into the same demographic and aren’t differentiated, even if culture, customs, cuisine, religions, and history show drastic disparities. What I mean by this is that using terms like China virus and kung-flu are an attack on all Asian people.
In recent months and particularly weeks there has been a rise in attacks against Asian people. I’d like to say it culminated with last week’s murder spree, but that would mean that it would be a peak, and that the end was in fact near. Unfortunately, I don’t see this stopping, because although we are not seeing cases of police brutality against Asians, we are seeing attacks on them. Also, just because we don’t hear about police brutality against Asians doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Abuse against this demographic has long been overlooked and swept under the rug and it wasn’t until George Takei’s Broadway show Allegiance, that many people (myself included) were made aware of Japanese internment camps and how prevalent anti-Japanese and in general anti-Asian sentiments were and continue to be. Which begs the question, why isn’t this more top of mind? This can be due to representation (or lack thereof) and the fact that it doesn’t get the ratings other headlines get. That doesn’t change that it is a reality people are facing.
Last week, a young man went on a killing spree. There is a possibility that it was a hate crime. This is still under investigation.
However, beyond that case, there are several other instances where Asian people have been targeted and attacked. This is not speculation. This is fact. Cases where there is no gray area and it was a blatant aggression against a person of Asian descent for being of Asian descent, and unfortunately on more than one occasion against elderly people. These were not accidents and they sure as hell are not isolated cases. What we do to recognize there is a problem and that it’s our duty to protect our fellow human will determine how we respond to yet another crisis. But for that, we need to recognize that there is a problem…and there lies our first obstacle, because few deterrents are more effective than denial.
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