After COVID-19 broke out last year, hate crimes targeting Asians around the world have surged, and this is especially true in the United States. There have been many incidents, but the Atlanta spa shootings on March 16th raised the awareness of Asian hate crimes around the world. The incident has led to the #StopAsianHate movement to stop Asian hate crimes around the world, but the crimes are ongoing. Let's take a look at the incidents involved and the response of the American society and the world to the Asian hate crimes.
Asian Hate Crime in the U.S.
Atlanta Spa Shootings
On March 16th , eight people were killed in a series of shootings at three massage shops near Atlanta, Georgia. According to the Associated Press, all three sites were massage shops run by Asian-Americans, and six out of eight deaths were women of descent Asian, with the other two being a white man and woman. The first shooting occurred at 5 p.m. at ‘Young’s Asian Massage’ in Acworth, Cherokee County, a suburb northwest of Atlanta. At this time, two Chinese descent women, one white woman, and one white male were killed, and one Hispanic man was injured. The second and third rounds of shooting occurred at 5:50 p.m. at the massage parlors ‘Gold Spa’ and ‘Aromatherapy Spa’ in north-east Atlanta, killing four Korean-Americans. Finally, the suspect Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man on the run, was arrested in Crisp County, south of Atlanta. Investigators have also raised controversy over an announcement of Long's possible sexual addiction on March 17th and it is too early in the investigation to know if the victims were targeted because of their ethnicity. Long's motive for the crime is not clear, but the police and authorities have focused on hate crimes targeting Asian people.
According to the BBC on March 18th, investigators said they were not sure whether the victims were attacked for racial motives. However, many speculated that the recent surge in hate crimes against Asian people is not disconnected to the sentiment of blaming Asians for the COVID-19 Pandemic. The BBC reported that Stop AAPI Hate, a group tracking attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders said the motive for the shooting was unclear, but that "there is a great deal of fear and pain in the Asian American community right now that must be addressed." Atlanta police said they have increased patrols around businesses similar to where the shooting took place. Other cities are also keenly aware of the possibility of similar crimes and have worked on countermeasures. The New York City Police Department's counterterrorism branch said it would deploy police forces in the Asian-American communities across the city even though the incident is not linked to New York City. Seattle police also said they would increase patrols and outreach to support its Asian-American community.
Asian Hate Crime in New York
Even after the Atlanta shooting, Asian hate crimes continued. On March 29th, CBS New York reported that a video of a black man indiscriminately assaulting an Asian man was released, prompting the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to investigate. At the beginning of the video clip, a black man fiercely fought with an Asian man on the New York subway. Then, the black man pinned the Asian man to the subway bench and punched him on the face and head, eventually putting the Asian man in a chokehold. The black man got off the subway slowly after the Asian man passed out. While a black man was the assailant in the video, there were many other citizens on the subway, but the incident became even more controversial because no one actually stopped the beating, only saying "Stop it."
On the same day, a 65-year-old Filipino woman was indiscriminately assaulted by a man while walking on the street in Manhattan, New York. The burly man suddenly kicked the woman in the stomach as she was going to the church nearby 43rd Street in Manhattan. Then, the woman was knocked to the sidewalk and the man repeatedly stomped on her head. In addition, the New York police said, "The man yelled ‘You don't belong here’ with abusive language." The New York Times reported, however, that two security guards of the building did not aid her until the man left the scene, and that one of them closed the front door of the building when the woman was struggling to stand up.
President Biden's Call for an End to Asian Hate Crimes
Since last year, "racist crimes" that target Asian people in the U.S surged. The COVID-19 Pandemic, which has plagued the world for more than a year, was the main cause of Asian hate. According to YTN, hate crimes against Asian-Americans in 16 major cities in the U.S. in 2020 increased by 150% from 2019. According to Stop AAPI Hate, more than 3,800 criminal reports were filed from March 19th, 2020 to February 28th, 2021. People of Chinese descent accounted for 42.2% of the victims, while people of Korean descent accounted for 14.8%, the second largest single group. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern in his first national address on March 11th to mark his 50th day in office, saying that “there have been vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who've been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.” He also said, “It's wrong, it's un-American, and it must stop." According to the New York Times, a few days later, after the Atlanta spa shootings, Biden again called to U.S. citizens that speak out and act against the hate and violence towards Asian people.
Biden visited Atlanta, and met with members of the Asian community before speaking at Emory University. He started his speech saying, "I had a chance to meet Asian leaders, and I heard heart-wrenching stories from them." He said, "whatever the shooter's motive, we know this. Too many Asian Americans cross the street worrying. They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed.” Moreover, he noted that Asian-American women suffer more than Asian-American men. He also said, “that’s been true throughout our history, but that has to change. Because our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act.” Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, of Asian descent herself, visited Atlanta with Biden, also said she and the Biden administration would not stand by in the face of racial violence.
#StopAsianHate Campaign
The recent surge in Asian hate crimes has started a movement of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S. and all over the world. In particular is the #StopAsianHate movement. The campaign spread online and offline to prevent Asian hate crimes. Starting from an offline rally, the phrase "Stop Asian Hate" appeared, and the phrase was shared around Social Media. Street rallies were held in several U.S. cities, and on March 19th in Los Angeles, Koreans protested the Atlanta shooting, calling for the eradication of hate crimes targeting Asian communities. Participants at the event traveled around Koreatown for about 40 minutes with more than 100 cars with the phrase ‘Stop The Hate.’ Protests also took place the next day, March 20th, in various cities around the U.S., and according to the Washington Post, hundreds of citizens and activists, including Koreans, participated in the March 20th afternoon rally in Atlanta. In addition, rallies took place in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, and Sandra Oh, a Korean-American actress, made a surprise appearance at the Pittsburgh rally, saying, "I'm proud to be Asian." Online posts containing hashtags such as #StopAsianHate and #AsianLivesMatter, led by famous celebrities such as BTS and Ariana Grande, spread rapidly on Social Media platforms Instagram and Twitter.
The Atlanta shooting served as a spark for the world to realize the seriousness of ongoing Asian hate crimes, including being a great motivator for the Stop Asian Hate campaign. However, there continue to be hate crimes targeting Asian people. According to CNN, the London Metropolitan Police Agency noted the number of hate crimes against East Asians increased by 95% in June~ September 2020 from the same period in 2019. Asian hate crimes have occurred not only in the U.S. but also in the U.K., Australia, and France. As we are at time when a second Atlanta incident is possible anywhere in the world, so attention should be focused on whether hate crimes against Asian people, in the U.S. and Europe, can be stopped.
