Asians in America air their anger over killings
Print Edition
ASIAN Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with attacking three Atlanta-area massage parlors and killing eight people, most of them Asian women.
Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings that happened on Tuesday evening.
“I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is because Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long ... We’ve been raising the red flag,” said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlanta-based Asian American Advocacy Fund.
Many were also outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told police the attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed that he targeted the spas because of a “sex addiction.” Six of the seven slain women were identified as Asian.
Meanwhile, from Phoenix to Philadelphia, Asian American organizations nationwide organized events aimed at showing unity. Asian Americans United, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and several other partner groups held a vigil on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said yesterday that violence against Asians in the US was “outrageous and distressing,” leaving China “deeply concerned.”
American authorities should “take practical measures to resolve issues of racism and racial discrimination at home, and earnestly safeguard and protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the United States,” Zhao said.
Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting center for Asian American Pacific Islanders, since March 2020.
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