Time to end the anti-Asian demonization
This nation has a long history of anti-Asian demonization and violence: The 1871 lynching of 17 Chinese men and boys in Los Angeles. The Chinese exclusion act of 1872. Japanese internment during World War II.
Now, here in the 21st century, we are once again witnessing a disturbing, and increasing, trend of horrifying attacks that is terrifying Asian Americans across the country. Those fears intensified on Tuesday when six Asian women were among eight people killed in shootings at three Atlanta-area spas.
Meanwhile, in California, the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center received 1,691 reports of anti-Asian discrimination between March 2020 and February of this year. Here in the Bay Area, antiAsian violence has also escalated.
Three people, one a 91-yearold man, were injured in unprovoked attacks in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood on Jan. 31. A 75-year-old immigrant from Hong Kong died after he was robbed and assaulted March 9 in the city’s Adams Point neighborhood.
In San Jose’s Diridon Station, a Filipina on March 10 was grabbed by the neck and thrown to the ground as her attacker yelled anti-Asian slurs.
In San Francisco’s financial district March 15, a 59-yearold travel agent who grew up in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States 22 years ago was knocked unconscious when an assailant struck him from behind. On Wednesday, a 75-yearold Asian woman was standing at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change when a man ran up and punched her in the face.
As a nation, as a state and as a region, we must collectively stand up in support of the Asian-American community and denounce the violence or any signs of subtle or overt racism.
Instead, what we’re witnessing is an appalling partisan divide in which some Republican lawmakers in Washington refuse to distance themselves from former President Donald Trump’s xenophobia that has fueled antiAsian sentiment.
A new University of California, San Francisco study demonstrates the corrosive effect of the former president’s bigoted language. A year ago, as COVID-19 spread around the globe, the World Health Organization, fearing an anti-Asian backlash, urged avoiding terms such as “Wuhan virus” or “Chinese virus.”
But, as we know, Trump did just the opposite. And, as the researchers found, his tweets with the hashtag #chinesevirus sparked a surge in anti-Asian phrases on Twitter. Of course, while the Twitter effect was directly measurable, the bigotry wasn’t limited just to that platform or to social media — nor just to Trump.
It was on stunning display Thursday when the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on anti-Asian discrimination. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, tone deaf to the current moment in our history, felt compelled to argue that “all Americans deserve protection.”
And demonstrating that his racial insensitivity knows no bounds, he doubled down. “We believe in justice. There’s old sayings in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree,” he said. “You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. That’s what we believe.”
If Republican leaders want their party to stand for something other than divisiveness, they need to denounce the inflammatory language that’s fueling violence across the nation.
It’s time to end the racist dog whistles. It’s time to end the violence.