Battling the Virus of Hate Crimes
“You people don’t deserve to be here.”
A routine visit to a Korean supermarket turned into an unforgettable encounter for 17-year-old Justin Kim and his mother.
“My mother and I shop at this market often, we come every weekend,” said Justin, a Los Angeles resident.
As Justin and his mom were pulling out of the parking facility, a Lot attendant stopped them, and yelled, “Go back to China, we don’t need your kind here!”
Justin’s mom, holding back, utterly glared at the attendant, and drove off. “I told my mom that she should’ve said something back,” said Justin. “Like we didn’t do anything wrong!”
Justin’s encounter is a spectrum of a larger racial issue that has emerged in the past year in America. Stop AAPI Hate received 3,795 incidents from their report center from March 19, 2020, to February 28, 2021; where they admit is only a “fraction of the number of hate incidents.” In their report, they found “68.1% cases of verbal harassment” nationally. Additionally, they also found that Women report hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. The largest ethnic group that experiences harassment are Chinese with a stunning 42.2%, followed by Koreans with 14.8%, Vietnamese with 8.5%, and Filipinos with 7.9%; according to Stop AAPI Hate’s report.
This increase of hate has spread alongside the COVID-19 virus, seemingly like another strain. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 4 out 10 Asians are experiencing discrimination based on their race. According to multiple news outlets like NBC And CBS (recently seen on March 9, 2021), hate crimes towards Asian Americans has risen by 150%; mostly in big cities like Los Angeles and New York.
This has been the cold, hard reality for Asian-Americans living in America. Day-to-day chores have been infiltrated with consternation, as close friends and family members experienced scenarios such as Justin’s.
“These hate crimes and racial profiling are acts of brutality and resentment towards Asian Americans, and it’s horrifying, you know? Just to see these grandmas getting spit on, and kicked in the face, “ said Praise Byeon, a 17-year old Los Angeles resident. Who after a long pause ended her statement with: “It’s scary.”
On March 17, 2021; names of the victims who were murdered by a white male in Atlanta were released. The shooting that murdered 6 Asians and 2 Whites sparked an increase in awareness, causing many from other ethnicities and backgrounds to show their support towards the Asian community with a simple “#StopAsianHate.” This hopes to then continue a movement and spread awareness to eliminate hate towards Asians; who have a history of being scapegoated. With this influx of national awareness, members of the Asian community - like Justin Kim - are feeling a sense of optimism.
“As we raise awareness and shed light on this tragic topic, we as the next generation of Asian Americans need to learn from this and fix our society,” said Justin. “We as minorities need to work together with other race groups and stand up to racism. I see a beacon of hope at the end of this tunnel.”
PC Credit: Jessica Li