Eight people were killed in three Atlanta spas last year. Sixteen of the victims were Asian women.
As a dedicated group, tracking hateWe were shocked to the core when we heard about this tragedy in our local community. AAPIs all across America felt the pain of this tragedy and responded with reckoning, resistance and determination. Nearly all states saw protests by members of our communities, who held rallies, and demanded that their stories were told.
But a year later, the recent killings of Michelle Alyssa Go and Christina Yuna Lee—and the Nearly all 11,000 incidents of hate that we’ve received since we began tracking—remind us that little has changed. The reason there has not been much progress is that our elected representatives have primarily called for increased policing. From the NYPD’s Asian Hate Crime Task Force to the federal COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, law enforcement has been offered as the answer to anti-AAPI hate. But if we truly want to protect our community, it’s time to acknowledge that policing isn’t the primary solution answer.
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Because we are aware of this factThe AAPI Community members can be reached at Most likely to report hate crimeto the police. Not all reports are ignored by law enforcement. blatant racism in police department ranks and officers’ White nationalism and its connections. In past polls, MajorityMany Asian Americans believe that law enforcement does not treat racial or ethnic groups the same way. AAPIs may be scared to report crime, compromise immigration status, or face profiling due to the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
It is also known that the criminal justice system in America has never held police officers and white Americans responsible for crimes committed against AAPPIs. Vincent Chin’s murderers are an example of this. FaceOfficers who are caught will not be sent to prison. killeding Kuanchung KaoTo the Chinese American teens who were recently shot and killed by police officers Christian HallFilipino American Angelo Quinto. Even after the Atlanta shooting, the investigating officer Captain Jay Baker—who promoted racist T-shirts on social media that called COVID-19 an “imported virus from CHY-NA”—put out the narrative that the murders were not racially motivated and that the white shooter had had “a bad day.”
We also know that the majority of hate felt by AAPIs is not motivated by criminal acts. Approximately 85% of the incidents reported to our tracking center are outside of law enforcement’s scope.
The problem with investing in an ineffective solutions like policing is that they’ll keeps us from adopting methods that will actually make us safer and that our community actually wants. These are methods that invest in communities rather than in policing.
Greater access to resources is a benefit for communities. lower crimeThey may be also less likely to suffer hate. A recent surveyWe conducted Nearly three times as many Asian Americans who have a high school degree experienced hate incidents at work than those who had a college education. Additionally, the AAPIs are also affected. Choose prefer Investment in the community is more important than law enforcement. The top three options for dealing with hate are community-based activities, education, civil and human right enforcement.
Programs such as victim support and survivorship can be funded through community-based investments. These programs include language access provisions, culturally relevant help and language access provisions that allow AAPIs to move on with their lives. Violence prevention programs are designed to prevent crimes from ever happening and to strengthen solidarity among AAPIs with other communities of colour, rather than pitting them against each other.
Ethnic studies is a study of race or ethnicity. It focuses on communities of color’s histories, issues, and voices. Schools can invest in AAPI education. Asian American studies programs—which are increasingly being considered around the country—promote racial empathy and solidarity, while decreasing bullying and harassment in schools, helping AAPI students thrive.
Finally, investments in civil rights enforcement can help governments and businesses hold accountable those who harass AAPIs in public space, shops, or on public transport. This could especially be vital for AAPI woman, as this investment could make a significant difference in their lives. ReportTwo-thirds of hate incidents are committed by men. They also suffer daily harassment from the public.
Even one year later, the Atlanta shootings left our community devastated and still in pain. If we don’t change our approach to life, then we may find ourselves back in the exact same spot next year. The only way to stop hateful acts against the AAPI is by not utilizing fear-driven policing. Reacting to racism with effective, real solutions is not the way to go for true transformation.
