Behind the Mask: The Rise of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Written by Xin Ran Zhao
Graphics by Mahak Saxena
Recently, it appears like the same face masks protecting us from COVID-19 are used not only to hide our faces, but our humanity as well. With over a year of social isolation and extraordinary anxieties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, many people have become exhausted, hurt, and honestly traumatized from the pain and burden of the difficult year. To release this pent up anger, many people have targeted Asians, the perpetual foreigners that have supposedly brought the “Chinese virus” into America. This racist driven idea was directly caused by the rhetoric used by the media and influential political leaders. According to Stop AAPI Hate, close to 3,800 racially motivated hate crimes were reported in America since March 19, 2020. Even these alarming numbers may only be the tip of the iceberg, as many incidents could have gone unreported due to victims fearing repercussion or doubting the seriousness of the crime. Furthermore, Asian Americans are even more vulnerable as they are taught to be the perfect model minority and to not complain about racism and bigotry because they “have it better” compared to other minorities. However, this veil of blatant racism has now been shed, and we as a society have to face yet again the reality of how people of color are treated. Instead of microaggressions or subtle racist jokes, now, racism against Asians had accumulated a body count. We can no longer be complacent with these acts of injustice.
On March 16, 2021, a rampant gunman, who will not be named in this article out of respect for the victims and their families, shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in a shooting rampage in three Atlanta massage parlours. The victims are Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69l; Yong Yue, 63; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44. In mass shootings like this, it is especially crucial to remember the humanity of the victims and not allow these individuals to fade into mere statistics. Xiaojie Tan was the owner of Youngs Asian Massage and was planning to celebrate her 50th birthday with her daughter which was only two days after her death. Hyun Jung Grant was a dedicated and hardworking single mother and left behind two sons alone in the United States (a Gofundme for her children is linked below). These stories are powerful in reminding us of the individuality and life the victims lived, however, it is also important to not pry for more information and allow the families to mourn on their own time.
The aftermath of this crime sent shock waves to Asian communities across North America. Although the gunman’s motives are not yet confirmed, and not all of the victims were Asian, it is important to note that the location of the attacks was premeditated as the gunman was a frequent guest at these parlours. Yet the media and former sheriff deputy appears to justify his heinous actions with harmful rhetoric by explaining that he was merely “at the end of his rope” and that “yesterday was a really bad day for him.” A bad day does not constitute the spread fear and outrage in the Asian community. A bad day does not constitute the destruction of eight families and the loss of mothers, fathers, wives and daughters. A bad day does not constitute murdering eight innocent civilians due to personal motivations.
Yet after a great tragedy such as this, it can be easy and seemingly logical to point fingers and look for a greater ideology or systematic behaviour to blame for the attack. The gunman should not be punished because of the color of his skin or his gender but because of the horrific crime he committed. It is too easy for the media to pigeonhole the gunman’s identity and fit into a political narrative or agenda. Due to the overdue racial awakening in recent months, it appears that society is attempting to overcompensate for their white guilt by claiming that all actions committed by white men are a part of a systematic racial issue and that race must be at the forefront of every issue. However, this only allows the media to feed into the racially motivated outrage and pick and choose stories that feed into their own bias. This allows the media and online “activist” accounts to ignore stories such as the murder of Pak Ho, a 75-year-old Asian man, by a Black man in Oakland on March 12, 2021. Or the story of the stabbing of a 36-year-old Asian man by an Arabic man who claimed that “if he dies, he dies.” These stories in no way are aimed to draw away from or even justify the actions of the gunman in Atlanta. There is no justification or excuse for a mass shooting of any kind. Nonetheless, it is important to not rush to judgement and keep in mind the narrative that is being painted in the media. Additionally, it is imperative to remember that white men are held to a lower standard in society and are more forgiven in the justice system. This is a delicate issue to approach with a politically motivated viewpoint. All that can be said is that in this case, three predominantly Asian-run massage parlours were attacked by a man who claimed these parlours fueled his sex addiction. In his mind, foreign Asian women were diminished to the hypersexualized and fetishized archetype used in the media. Instead of attempting to categorize and find scapegoats for this crime, we instead must address the harmful stereotypes of Asian women in the media.
In the media and many Western films, Asian women, especially foreigners, are commonly depicted as promiscuous, sexual objects for American men’s entertainment. In the film, Full Metal Jacket, a Vietnamese woman is portrayed as a prostitute trying to seduce two American soldiers with phrases in broken English such as "me so horny" or "me love you long time." This scene was used to depict Asian women as overtly sexual and an easy object to get with. On the other hand, Asian women are often fetishized for being subservient, passive, and quiet which men perceive as seductive and exotic. These stereotypes not only play into the way Asian women are perceived by society, in particular by white men, but they also have damaging effects on how Asian women perceive themselves and their own sexuality. They can be perceived as being merely sexual objects or fantasies of men and are not seen as complete individuals and human beings. Instead, they have to be acutely aware of the submissive, traditional and docile ideal that men have cast upon them and are forced to reflect on their identities in terms of these stereotypes. The perception that the Atlanta shooter had on these Asian women, that they were sexual objects he had an addiction for, correlates to the previously described stereotypes which can make many Asian women wonder if their sexuality is all they’re used for.
The grief and anger that comes from horrific crimes like these can fuel a lot of online outrage. While it may be helpful to share resources on Instagram, these sources often end up in circulation among people who are already more inclined to be progressive and actively anti-racist on Instagram. Signing petitions and calling governors may be helpful, but politicians always have an incentive to pursue their personal agenda. The best way to support the Asian community at this time is to listen and learn from them not as Asians, but as humans. As simple and inconsequential as it may seem, doing the real work of having difficult discussions with family members and setting aside your own bias to listen to a different perspective is how we can grow and change as a society. Yelling into the void on social media only works to fuel more anger and performative activism. The real work that must be done is not glamorous or exciting. But it is what change starts with. Do not use this grieving time as an opportunity to become a white saviour or follow a trend and put on an act. Social media activism is not real activism. Below are online resources to begin the fight against racist violence. However, I would personally highly encourage everyone to go beyond the interest and to truly question your own bias, beliefs, family values and perspectives you include in your life. To truly make a change, we must all individually take steps to improve ourselves and our communities which will all accumulate into something much greater than us.