Asian Hate Or White Privilege/Terrorism?

Are the recent attacks, assaults, and murders of Asian-Americans the product of Asian hate, GOP/Trump xenophobia, White privilege, or White terrorism?

Top News Today
For centuries, Black Americans have been subjected to hatred, racism, lynchings, and more in America.  Now, regrettably, Asian hate is the new target.

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Donald Trump spent the better part of 2020 referring to the novel coronavirus as the “China Virus” and the “Kung Flu.”  Too bad Trump has no filter and didn’t give a fig that words matter and are powerful and have consequences.

Not long after he began blaming COVID-19 on the Asian community, mainly MAGA fanatics and white supremacists began exacting revenge on Asians in America.  Hate crimes rose almost overnight with Asians reporting being coughed on, pushed to the street, sucker-punched, and even killed.

Now, Asian-Americans are traumatized and say they don’t feel safe to even leave their own homes.  Let’s look at a few reasons why:

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• In February, a Chinese man was walking home near New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood when a stranger ran up behind him and plunged a knife into his back.
• Also in New York, a Chinese American woman reported that a “man on the subway slapped my hands, threatened to throw his lighter at me, then called me a ‘ch*nk b*tch.’  He then said to ‘get the f*ck out of NYC.’”
• In Washington, DC, a Filipino-American woman was waiting for a train at a metro station with her boyfriend when a man shouted “Chinese b*tch,” then coughed at her and her boyfriend and physically threatened them.
• In San Francisco, 59-year-old Danny Yu Chang was attacked early last week while taking a walk during his 2pm lunch break.  “Someone pushed me, attacked me from the back, started punching me,” he said.  He added that he’s afraid to leave his house and now wants to move out of the Bay Area.  “Emotionally, I’m traumatized by what’s happened.”
• In Oakland, 75-year-old Pak Ho was robbed and killed while walking in Chinatown. “I warned him not to go to Chinatown and I asked him if he had seen the news. He said he didn’t watch television and I warned him that elderly Asian people were being targeted,”  his care manager said.
• Last week in Atlanta, a 21-year-old White male strategically went to 3 separate massage parlors where he shot and killed 8 people.  Interestingly, 6 of them were Asian.  Robert Aaron Long had previously visited at least 2 of the spas and told police he committed the crimes because he has a sexual addiction toward Asian women and wanted to eliminate the temptation.

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According to Stop AAPI Hate (a hate tracker created last year by several Asian-American groups), nearly 3,800 incidents were reported over the course of a year during the pandemic.  That’s significantly higher than last year’s count of around 2,600 hate incidents nationwide over the span of only 5 months.  Verbal harassment and shunning made up more than 90% of the incidents, while physical assaults accounted for nearly 9%.

What’s this all about?

“Let’s call it what it is,” said community activist Don Lee. “These are not random attacks. We’re asking for recognition that these crimes are happening.”

“I think the political leadership under Trump really put a target on the backs of people perceived to be Chinese. It’s Sinophobia,” said Chris Kwok, a board member for the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

“I just want to go to work and save and feed my family at home. That’s all,” said Vanny Mann, a Cambodian American who is scared for her life following the Atlanta attack.

So, what’s really going on in America?  And, are these attacks the product of Asian hate, GOP/Trump xenophobia, White privilege, or White terrorism?  Interestingly, the correct answer is all of the above.

With people out of work, out of money, and stuck at home during the pandemic, tensions were already high and many were looking for a scapegoat to place blame.  Then came Donald Trump, who never missed a chance to proudly display his blatant brand of xenophobia and referred to the novel coronavirus as the “China Virus” or the “Kung Flu.”  His words poured gasoline on the already smoldering fire of a segment of White Americans who were angry they had to wear masks, couldn’t go to their regular beer pubs, were being told what to do (and not do), and were forced to miss out on other splurges of white privilege.  Of course, their reaction was to go after the “Asians” Trump said were responsible for their decayed way of life.

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White mentality is also at fault.  For example, when the Atlanta shooter killed 6 Asians, Atlanta Police Captain Jay Baker diminished the crime by saying the shooter was simply having “a bad day.”

“He understood the gravity of it [the shooting]. He was pretty much fed up, and kind of at [the] end of his rope, and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” Baker said.

Um… NO!!!

If someone is having “a bad day” they may kick over a chair, or scream at their spouse, or eat a gallon of ice cream.  However, murdering 8 people is called MURDER.  Targeting 3 specific Asian businesses to commit said murder is called a HATE CRIME.  And watering down a hate crime murder to the simplistic act of having “a bad day” is called WHITE PRIVILEGE.

So, let’s be clear.  These are HATE CRIMES, WHITE TERRORISM, and WHITE PRIVILEGE all in one — with Donald Trump having lit the match that set off the explosion.  It’s time to call it what it is and to STOP ASIAN HATE and end ALL RACISM NOW!!!

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OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
STOP ASIAN HATE!!!