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Debate on Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
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Debate on Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Introduction
On March 17, 2021, at around 5 in the evening, a total of eight people were killed in
Acworth, a community north of Atlanta and Atlanta, Georgiass respectively. According to the
reports six of the eight people killed in the mass shootings were Asian women (Shapiro, 2021).
Law enforcement arrested Robert Aaron Long after being sought after the first shooting. The
authorities further identified in a briefing with the media that the events were related. The news
was not taken lightly by political figures, with the majority claiming the attack was against the
community and that the true cause should be investigated rather than speculations (Shapiro,
2021). The notion of speculation comes about with the media regarding the incident as an Asian
hate crime considering the rising number of attacks on the Asian minority group.
Context
Though hate crimes against the minority have been part of American history for decades,
spanning back to the 19
th
century, in the past year, the number of cases has significantly increased
(Grad, 2021). Numerous people attribute the rise to the pandemic as it was sourced from South
East Asia, alternatively, some parties attribute the rise in hate crime to be due to the rise of
accessibility and reporting of such incidents. Nonetheless, the fact is that reports of crime against
the Asian minority community are rising resulting in social unrest. Though numerous states have
implemented legal actions and policies to protect the community, the problem is blamed on the
majority white race due to the historic relationship between the two races. However, by assessing
the issue from an objective perspective, the core of the problem can be addressed.
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Argument
Historic Evidence
As previously mentioned, the police stated that the assailant’s main motivation for the
crime was sexual addiction. His statement supported the historic discrimination of the Asian
community in America. The argument is supported by the passing of the Page Act of 1875 which
banned the entry of Chinese Women into the country as they were stereotypically sexualized
(U.S. Department of Interior, para 2). The government also acknowledged violent acts against
the Asian community before the 19
th
and 20
th
century with the passing of discriminatory laws to
prevent their success in the US. For example, the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
which banned the immigration of laborers from China (U.S. Department of Interior, Para 4). The
law stemmed from the 1871 massacre, according to Grad (2021), in 1871, a mob of
approximately 500 Hispanics and Whites entered Los Angele’s Chinatown and bullied, attacked,
fleeced, and killed 19 Chinese immigrants. It is stated that the action was fueled by the
information that the community had killed a White rancher and police officer (Grad, 2021). The
news of the event later fueled the attacks on other Chinese communities across Los Angeles
further deteriorating relations between the minority and majority communities.
Thus, from the historic evidence, the majority white race has discriminated the Asian
community as they oversaw government. Moreover, the minority Hispanic community was
involved as a directive from the white race as argued by Grad (2021). Thus, the events of
Atlanta, Georgia are not limited to the state, the killing of Asians due to political events have
been part of the American history with some attacks being instigated by the military. Burton et al.
support the argument (n.d., para 1) when they documented the events after the attack on Pearl
Harbor. According to the author, the American government during the Second World War
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accused the Japanese-American community for being spies and supporters of the Japanese
Imperial forces. Over 120,000 members of the Japanese American community were forcefully
relocated to concentration camps (Burton et al., n.d. para 1). The action came about after
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 signed Executive Order 9066 (Burton et al., n.d. para 2).
The Japanese-American internment began less than 48 hours after the attack.
Therefore, from a historic perspective, the discrimination of the Asian American
community has been instigated and supported by the white majority race government. By
viewing the discrimination against the Asian community from the described perspective it is
evident that racial discrimination was caused and supported by the majority race. The
discrimination continued after the second world war with organizations such as the KKK (Ku
Klux Klan) discriminating against Asians (Lotchin, 2018). In 1982, a Chinese American, Vincent
Chin was killed by two white men who assumed he was Japanese. He was beaten to death and
during the trial, the white men were only fined $3000 with no jail time. The result of the ruling
was an outrage which led to the movement for pan-Asian American rights. Therefore, the historic
data supports the argument that discrimination in America has been instigated and supported by
the majority white race.
Reasoning
Therefore, as identified in the historic data, there is sufficient evidence supporting the
notion that the Asian American communities have been attacked and discriminated against due to
various national reasons by the white race. Like the current events taking place, the community
is being discriminated against due to the global health pandemic that is sourced from China.
However, it is critical to note that the media has overstated the relation between Anti-Asian hate
crime and the majority white community.
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It is a nationally accepted notion that racism is a social derivative of the majority race
based on the traumatic history between the minority races and the majority white race. However,
it should be noted that though the white population has contributed to the previous discrimination
act. But the current violence against the Asian community has been attributed to other minority
groups. In 2018 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) identified that the greatest source
of violence amongst the various races was from within the same race (Shapiro, 2021).
Additionally, when addressing violence against the Asian community, with an accuracy of
95%, most attacks were from the black minority community (Shapiro, 2021). With the data, it is
evident that though the majority race has contributed to the violence, the majority is from the
black community as demonstrated by numerous social media and news reporting. However, it
should be noted that the data is sourced from 2018 before the global pandemic and the negative
sentiment over the Asian community. The approach assumed by the media considers the historic
background of the Asian community and the majority white race. Moreover, by shifting the
blame to the black community for the violence negated in addressing the issue but shifts the
blame further dividing the country along racial lines.
Conclusion
Overall, the Asian community has endured numerous forms of discrimination from both
the majority and minority races. The recent attacks that have also been reported in other regions
of the world are viewed as retaliations by the populace on the Asian community due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The data identifies that the minority races have as much blame on the
situation as the majority race. The truth of the problem is that violence against the Asian
community has no relevant societal effect as the pandemic has had lasting effects on humanity.
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References
Burton, J., Farrell, M., Lord, F., & Lord, R.
Confinement and Ethnicity: Barbed wire divider An
Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites
. nps.gov. Retrieved 29
May 2021, from
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/anthropology74/ce1.htm
.
Grad, S. (2021).
The racist massacre that killed 10% of L.A.’s Chinese population and brought
shame to the city
. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2021, from
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-18/reflecting-los-angeles-chinatown-
massacre-after-atlanta-shootings
.
Shapiro, B. (2021).
The Racist Left Only Cares About Anti-Asian Hate When They Can Blame
“Whiteness” | Ep. 1218
[Video]. Retrieved 19 May 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ0scilrLAg&ab_channel=BenShapiro
.
U.S. Department of Interior. (2021).
Ulysses S. Grant, Chinese Immigration, and the Page Act of
1875
. National Park Service. Retrieved 29 May 2021, from
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/ulysses-s-grant-chinese-immigration-and-the-page-act-
of-1875.htm
.
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