The title of this blog post shouldn’t have to be said, but that’s the world we live in. There is no justification for hate and crimes against a specific race or people, yet that’s the world we live in. Yes, this is the world we live in, but we must no longer accept that notion. Maybe we haven’t been accepting this notion, but were complacent in how we went about combatting this racism and hate that has been constantly spread. In order for change to be made, we must make a change in our mindset and our actions. That sounds like common sense (because it is), but breaking from the routine we might be used to is harder said than done. But, it needs to be done.
The recent tragedy in Atlanta has highlighted the many issues with what we need to combat. One thing that needs to be reiterated is that the man that killed these eight people was apprehended by the police, and is still alive. This man shot and killed multiple people like Dylann Roof, Kyle Rittenhouse, and many more white males that were then safely taken into custody after the fact. Am I saying the police should have killed them? Absolutely not. What I am saying is that if the police are able to safely apprehend armed and dangerous individuals that are white, why are we not able to do that with people like George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, and the many more senseless killings of black men and women? This question needs to be answered and dealt with now.
What else was reiterated in this tragedy? Rhetoric matters. The obvious Anti-Asian rhetoric of Trump and his handlings of the COVID-19 pandemic is something that has not only increased hate crimes, but made it seem ok to his allies and supporters. In terms of the Atlanta shooting though, another disturbing show of intolerable rhetoric came from a captain within Georgia’s sheriff’s department when he said that the shooter was “at the end of his rope” and “had a really bad day”. What? I’m sorry, if I’m having a really bad day, I don’t go out and murder innocent people. Actually, I know for a fact that the majority of people don’t do this either, but this type of rhetoric is showing sympathy to a person who does not garner any. This type of rhetoric makes what he did seem ok. That is far from ok. You know what is ok to do if you are having a bad day? Eat a pint of ice cream. Put on your boxing gloves and hit the heavy bag. Shit, do anything that will not hurt or endanger other people or yourself. Rhetoric is something that people continuously push back on because of the first amendment, but we need to hold people accountable for their actions. If somebody kills eight people, it wasn’t because he was having a bad day, it is because he senselessly killed eight people due to their race and gender, and that needs to be said.
I have seen people saying that this Anti-Asian sentiment is new on various social media outlets. Of course, that is far from true. This Anti-Asian sentiment has been alive for hundreds of years in America. From the indentured servitude starting in the 1800s to the internment camps during WWII and the continuation of this racism beyond, Anti-Asian sentiment has been among us for too long. This hate and racism might be heightened in the current moment due to the pandemic and rhetoric perpetuated throughout the media, but this is far from new.
The other aspect of this senseless shooting is that this man, a self-prescribed sex addict, wanted to eliminate these spas which he deemed as temptations. This is fucking ridiculous. This dives into the misogyny as seeing women as sexual objects as well as the fetishization of Asian women that work in these spas as sex workers. Let alone, what is killing these innocent individuals going to do to curb your temptation? The idea that this is what his brain went to, killing Asian women only proves the point more that this Anti-Asian racism needs to be combatted on all fronts.
This is far from everything that needs to be said, taught, or changed about this Anti-Asian racism, but it is something I wanted to highlight in this forum today. Look into resources to educate yourself, find organizations to donate to that help in combating this racism and misogyny, and be verbal in your fight against this racism. We cannot change anything if we stand idly by, so continue to educate the people around you and be a staunch supporter in combating this Anti-Asian hate. We need to change the white supremacy that has been instilled in our country and fight to create a society that treats everybody as equals no matter their race, gender, or sexual identity. #StopAsianHate
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