“Ching Chong! Ching Chong Chong!”, an American goes by an Asian and screams gibberish in order to degrade the person of asian descent. The attacker stops, looks back at the asian person and screams out “COVID!” out once again. Other people standing by see this whole situation, but pass by, not saying a single thing, with a smile on their face. However, the Asian who experienced racism can’t smile. He came to America to experience their culture and to have fun, but all he experienced was racism towards him and his culture. Asian racism is a huge problem these days, especially because of COVID-19. In America, there is a rise of anti-asian hate crime. According to NBC News, 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents, mostly against women, in the past year. And, since the pandemic, there’s been a 1,900% increase of racially motivated attacks against the asian community in America alone. One reason why cases are increasing is because more people stand up for their equality, and report the racism they received. However, this is not only an American problem. There are some reported cases in the UK and Australia, too. People of asian descent have encountered racist and xenophobic incidents, such as people moving away from them, verbal abuse, and even physical assault. There are many elements that contribute to the sudden surge of Anti-Asian Hate crimes in America.
Authorities such as Donald Trump, the former president of the US, are desensitizing the issue of asian racism, too. When COVID-19 first started, President Trump called it “China virus”, or “Kung Flu”, trying to blame China on the pandemic. “Make China pay”, Trump said. Due to this, many Asian Americans reported hateful incidents. This also made a stereotype about Asian people, blaming them for the cause of the virus. Other people will keep on blaming Asians, due to the influence Trump has given them. People look up on their presidents for guidance, and if that president is a racist, then the citizens would probably become racists too. A leader of a nation should not be mocking or using degrading terms in order to address the nation during the most high-tension period in modern human history. Donald Trump’s actions simply placed a mindset of the people to blame people of asian descent for their misery.
Law enforcement is another problem. On March 16, 2021, in Atlanta, a 21- year- old white man shot and killed 8 people. 6 of them were asians. This was clearly a racially motivated crime. However, the man confessed that it was not racially motivated and it was due to his personal addiction. The Captain of the Atlanta Police Department quoted, “He was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.” To the eyes and ears of those with a common sense, it is obvious that this was a racially motivated hate crime as the killer went to specific asian owned businesses to commit his murders. Law enforcement humanized the murderer, and took the killer’s side. They listened to every single thing he said, and believed in everything. However, they don’t sympathize with those who died, and the families of those who lost their loved ones. It’s like they are trying to hide the existence of anti asian hate in America. They shouldn’t empathize with the criminal, but should help the innocent victims and their family. They should raise awareness about this racism, not try to hide.
Finally, the people shouldn’t be supporting Asian hate. Many people have a stereotype about asian people that COVID-19 came from China, when this is not proven. The frustrated people use violence on others who they think are the cause. Even though COVID-19 “may have” started in China, it was America that spread this virus the most. However, they never blame themselves. Instead, they blame it on Asians and hurt them. If we simply talk about “race” in general, we can conclude that people of all different ethnicities should be classified as equal humans. It doesn’t matter if you have different skin color, or different cultural backgrounds, we are all part of the same race; the human race. When people start to differentiate people by their differences, and claim their superiority truly based on their biased opinion, this is something that is morally wrong. It doesn’t change the past, nor does it accomplish anything. In order to eliminate this issue of anti asian racism, people need to get rid of the stereotypical view towards Asians so that everyone can live in a safe environment without having to worry about getting hurt physically or verbally because of their race.
These are only some of the many ways we can eliminate racism towards asians. These days, racism reports are increasing due to the COVID-19. People around the world are looking for ways to blame someone for their misery during these times of high-tension. With their anger, it brings forth racism, which not only causes harm to the victims, but also can be a trigger to spread like wildfire. In order to stop this madness from becoming more prevalent, racism shouldn’t be allowed, and desensitized in any way. People are all equal. They all deserve equal treatment. They shouldn’t be shot, or hit, or be exposed to rude racial slurs. Racism is like a disease. You can easily become a racist when you are exposed to it. We need to stand strong as a united front to absolutely eliminate it because if we don’t, there will be no peace, and only anguish and violence in the world during one of the most hard times in modern human history.
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