The New York Police Department reported that hate crimes motivated by anti-Asian sentiment jumped 1,900% in 2020.
A number of attacks against Asian Americans in the last several weeks made national headlines. Then, on Tuesday, tensions escalated dramatically when a gunman in suburban Atlanta killed eight people at spas, six of whom were women of Asian descent. The man who, police say, went on a rampage at the spas, was charged on Wednesday with eight counts of murder.
The shootings resulted in considerable outrage and fear in the Asian-American community. Investigators said they had not ruled out bias as a motivating factor for the shootings.
March 18, an 75 year-old Asian American woman named Xiao Zhen Xie was attacked and punched by a man on a street in San Francisco. She told CBS San Francisco she was “very traumatized [and] very scared.” According to the reports, Xiao’s face appeared swollen and she could not yet see in one eye.
An elderly Thai immigrant died after being shoved to the ground. A Filipino-American was slashed in the face with a box cutter. A Chinese woman was slapped and then set on fire.
These are just a few examples of recent violent attacks on Asian Americans, a part of a surge that started a year ago.
The violence has continued into 2021, and President Joe Biden signed an executive order denouncing anti-Asian discrimination shortly after taking office in January. The executive order was part of a series of executive orders regarding racial equity and civil rights.
“How I wish we lived in a time when laws were not necessary to safeguard us from discrimination.” - Barbra Streisand.
