In three deadly shootings across Atlanta spas on March 16, eight people were murdered. Seven of them were women. Six of them were Asian.
These attacks by the shooter, a 21-year-old white male, follow many recent hate crimes against the Asian American community since the pandemic began a full year ago. Yet, police still contend that the attacks were not “racially motivated.”
Ever since Donald Trump called COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” essentially blaming China for the pandemic as a whole, hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen drastically.
There have been nearly 3,800 reports of incidents of discrimination against Asian Americans according to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks incidents of violence and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.
According to CNN, The New York Police department reported 28 arrests for hate crimes against Asians in 2020, up from three in 2019 and two in 2018. The Los Angeles Police Department reported 15 in 2020, up from seven in 2019 and 11 in 2018.
The issue of COVID-19 being racialized to place blame on the Asian community isn’t just an issue within the U.S.— it is a global crisis.
There have been increased reports of crimes targeting Asians in Canada, Russia, Brazil and New Zealand. The U.K. also reported a 300 percent rise in hate crimes against Chinese, East and South Asians in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019.
The actual number of incidents, however, could be much higher because hate crime data is unreliable and underreported.
The 1990 federal law known as the Hate Crime Statistics Act, requires the Justice Department and the FBI to track annual hate crime statistics. The statistics however, are likely a vast undercount because not all law enforcement agencies are required to submit their data to the FBI for the annual report. There are more than 18,000 agencies in the U.S., yet over 3,000 did not submit data. Of the 16,000 that did submit data, only one in seven of the agencies reported an instance of a hate crime in 2019.
The pandemic remains a massive issue in the U.S., and those in the Asian American community are facing the consequences.
However, despite the obvious hateful nature of this attack, and the rise of crimes against Asian Americans rising drastically over the past year, media outlets still refuse to call these brutal murders hate crimes, and refuse to coin the murderer a domestic terrorist.
Why? Because he’s white.
The media, with all of its power and ability to form public opinion, has failed to accurately acknowledge and cover racism against Asian Americans, not only throughout the pandemic, but throughout history.
The lack of media attention surrounding Asian American hate only further perpetuates the idea that it is a non-issue, and makes it so racism towards Asian Americans is socially acceptable.
We, as journalists, must do a better job to cover these events to stop the spread of racism and immunize this country of its deep-rooted prejudices and bigotry before more innocent people continue to be hurt.
People rely heavily on the news, so the public needs to be able to see these events for what they really are. Most people don’t even read stories past the headlines, so by refusing to call these shootings for what they are — hate crimes — the public is not being properly informed.
The trend of news outlets blatantly ignoring the tragic gravity of these situations is not going unnoticed.
Asian Americans should not have to deal with these attacks only to have the true narrative of their stories be left unheard by the media, and by extension, the entire world. For too long, Asian American hate has been accepted in public spheres.
It is time the media, with immense power to form public opinion, takes ownership for its poor history of framing, and covering, racism against Asian-Americans.
The pandemic has released a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, and this past year is a prime example of how not nearly enough is being done to protect minorities in our country.
Racism is the real virus, and it is deadly too.
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1 Comment
I’m getting tired of the racism card. It all boils down to a lack of respect for another human being when a murder occurs, whatever the underlying reason; the victims are just as dead if the Georgia perpetrator was a fellow Asian or a demented white guy. But the fellow Asian helps no one’s agenda. You don’t hear racism when another Asian store owner is killed in a black neighborhood in Atlanta.
The virus is not racism it is the lack of respect for anyone other than self (primacy of self is the default condition which can only be adjusted with much attention and effort). Our “beloved” ex-president is a prime example of lack of respect as is the reaction he got from many of those who disagreed with him, it was often hateful. The feeling was mutual which was totally non-productive, the lack of respect was evident and worthy of a “is/is not” argument between children.
I don’t know if it is the journalists task to come up with solutions to this problem but as American citizens we need to find a solution. I find my solution in Christianity, a daily struggle.
If you don’t like Asian discrimination now wait while the global competition with the PRC heats up.
And yes, the Chinese virus, Muslim terrorists and White terrorists can all be accurate descriptions of certain individuals and groups but should not be used indiscriminately or in an inflammatory manner; denying their existence is a lie.
Don’t waste time trying to prove something is a hate crime under the law, let a jury or judge adjust the punishment according to circumstances.