Assignment 2_3 (1)
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Debate
According to Shapiro (2021), the events of March 17, 2021, which saw a total of eight people were killed, six of them being Asian women was not a hate crime but a notion supported and expressed by the media. In other words, he was in supports of the identified cause of the crime which was sexual addiction. He supported his argument by reviewing the fact that all three
spas where the shootings took place were part of an erotic review site that offered explicit massage parlous. He continues to state that the services attracted hobbyists and mongers looking for sex. It should be noted that the information was sourced from Polaris, a non-profit organization that aims to end human trafficking. Therefore, Ben Shapiro argues that the media and the left are seeking to further express and take advantage of the anti-Asian hate crime to blame it on whiteness and larger white supremacy. Counter Argument Hate crimes against the Asian minority community have been part of American history for decades, spanning back to the 19
th
century, and in the past year, the number of cases has significantly increased (Wang et al., 2019). 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 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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Supporting Data
First, it should be noted that though the spas that were identified in a membership-only review site for offering explicit sexual services, it does not offer physical evidence rather speculations. The notion is supported by Chen, an advocate for sex trafficking victims
(Robles, 2021). In her argument, she states that discussions on violent clients in the massage business are a notion that is normally avoided. In other words, when massage customers initiate sexual intentions during massages and they are declined, they become violent. Additionally, not all Asian women working in the massage business are willing to offer sex which often results in violent behaviors by the clients (Robles, 2021). Shapiro’s argument further breaks down when the suspect stated that he had a sexual addiction problem and viewed the spas as temptations. Therefore, violent action against the spas can be viewed as a hate crime since he targeted spas with mostly workers of Asian descent. The police contributed when they stated that the attacked spas were not part of a human trafficking organization but were legally operating businesses.
Secondly, as previously mentioned, the Asian community has been had a violent history in America from as early as the 19
th
century, the notion is supported with historic and contemporary evidence over the issue. For example, in 1871, the country experienced the worst atrocities against the Asian community(Grad, 2021). Though the event was not isolated, it represented among the most vicious acts against the minority group. Nonetheless, 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
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majority communities. However, it should be noted that the Hispanic community was involved in
the event. According to Railton (2019), the anti-Asian sentiment reached its climax with the passing
of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which banned the immigration of laborers from China. The
legislation is stated to have stemmed from the previously passed Page Act of 1875 which banned the entry of Chinese Women into the country (Railton, 2019). It is viewed by numerous historians as the end of open access to the United States. The author further identifies that the Page Exclusion Act is a forerunner to the dehumanizing tales that described Asian women as sexual objects not worthy of being regarded as part of the American image (Railton, 2019). It was also during the 1800s that the Los Angeles government wanted to relocate to China Town as it wanted to expand its development and viewed the community as a nuisance. Therefore, historic data identifies that violence against the community has had a long history with numerous
deaths and laws designed to limit the prosperity in the country. Despite this, the discrimination of the Asian community continued into the 20th century with the first form of discrimination being implicated by the American government during the Second World War. Lee et al. (2016) identify that the Japanese-American community was accused of being spies and supporters of the Japanese forces after the unwarranted attack on Pearl Harbor. Over 120,000 members of the Japanese American community were forcefully relocated to concentration camps (Lee et al., 2016). The action came about after President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 signed Executive Order 9066. The Japanese-American internment
began less than 48hours after the attack. The assembly was presented as a military exercise critical for protecting the American west coast (Lee et al., 2016). Another attack against the Asian community took place after the end of the Vietnam War when refugees were accepted into
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America. They faced discrimination and hate as they were attacked by the public and radical social groups such as the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) (Lee et al., 2016). The result was a Chinese immigrant being killed in 1982 under the assumption that he was Vietnamese. Therefore, there is sufficient historic evidence supporting the notion that the Asian American communities have been attacked and discriminated against due to various national reasons. 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.
Lastly, Shapiro (2021), attributes most of the anti-Asian violence on the black community
bringing about the Black-Asian conflict as expressed by Huang and Huang, (2021). The authors stated that though some attacks on the Asian community have been attributed to the black minority community, it does not account for most of the events (Huang & Huang, 2021). Perry et
al. (2020) supported the argument in their study that identified Christian nationalism, which has mostly white respondents compared to black respondents who had the strongest xenophobic views of the pandemic (Perry et al., 2020). Additionally, the black community has also been a victim of the pandemic with record levels of discrimination and killings. Therefore, his argument
not only absolves the historic and discriminative American system but also shifts the blame of anti-Asian hate crime to the minoritized black community. Conclusion
Overall, based on the data collected concerning Asian discrimination in America, it is evident that Ben Shapiro is not addressing the problem from a holistic perspective. The shootings
in t Atlanta are one of many attacks on the Asian community and he fails to address the historic
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role of white supremacy, from the perspective of preserving white race dominance. Additionally, the evidence collected from the BJS is not representative of the current situation with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and political atmosphere. From a personal perspective, the tense political atmosphere of the previous administration contributed to the rise in hate crime. Nevertheless, the data identifies that the media’s approach to the issue is justified, anti-Asian hate crime is on the rise and it is being driven by the current political environment. It is important to note that the US is a highly diverse country and racial discrimination is a problem plaguing the country. 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
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
. Huang, J., & Huang, T. (2021). Why the trope of Black-Asian conflict in the face of anti-Asian violence dismisses solidarity
. Brookings. Retrieved 20 May 2021, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2021/03/11/why-the-trope-of-black-asian-
conflict-in-the-face-of-anti-asian-violence-dismisses-solidarity/
. Lee, S., Park, E., & Wong, J. (2016). Racialization, Schooling, and Becoming American: Asian American Experiences. Educational Studies
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(5), 492-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2016.1258360
Mineo, L. (2021). A long history of bigotry against Asian Americans
. Harvard Gazette. Retrieved
19 May 2021, from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/03/a-long-history-of-
bigotry-against-asian-americans/
. Perry, S., Whitehead, A., & Grubbs, J. (2020). Prejudice and pandemic in the promised land: how
white Christian nationalism shapes Americans’ racist and xenophobic views of COVID-
19. Ethnic And Racial Studies
, 44
(5), 759-772. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1839114
Railton, B. (2019). The Chinese Exclusion Act and Early Asian American Literature. Oxford Research Encyclopedia Of Literature
. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.914
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Robles, F. (2021). The killings targeted an industry with a history of concerns about sex trafficking.
. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 20 May 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/sex-trafficking-massage-parlors.html
. 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
. Wang, L., Bordon, J., Wang, K., & Yeung, J. (2019). Acculturation, enculturation, perceived discrimination, and well-being: A comparison between U.S.-raised and non–U.S.-raised Asian students. Asian American Journal Of Psychology
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(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000117