UTAH COUNTY – The recent increase in violence and hate crimes against U.S. citizens of Asian descent during the pandemic has made Americans more aware of the discrimination directed towards Asian-Americans. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against Asian-Americans have risen throughout the nation. In Utah County, Asian-Americans are not immune to these aggressions. Racial discrimination exists here, as shown by the 836 violent crimes against Asians reported in Utah just last year. It affects the lives of Asian-American students as Americans look to place blame on Asians for the pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China.
Over the last year, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism CSUSB, hate crimes against Asians rose 150%. (Link below for more data). Asian hate has affected student's lives in negative ways since the pandemic began, and I interviewed Asian-American students who live in Utah County to see what their experiences during the pandemic were like.
Many students were concerned for their safety and the safety of their families as violence against Asians started to rise. Some students even took things into their own hands. Corey Bang, a Chinese-American student, lamented: "I bought my sister and mom pepper spray. Why do I have to do that? I wish it were safe for them."
Another student, Gordon Liau commented: "I understand that there is racial discrimination against Asians, and it's something that needs to be changed. When this all started, I taught my parents how to shoot guns."Asian elders have been violently attacked since the beginning of the pandemic, resulting in many deaths due to pushing, kicking, and punching. 8 Asian adults were shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia on March 26th, 2020. Liau wanted to protect his parents from the hate he was seeing and taught them to defend themselves in case of an emergency. His parents currently live in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Other students revealed that hate against Asian-Americans is not something new to America. Kiana Creech, a Japanese and Korean student said: "It has always been a thing. It's been an undercurrent. America is focused on other types of racism and doesn't give Asian hate credibility. They don't take us seriously." Creech feels that Asian-Americans are invisible to Americans, even though they share the same nationality.
Asian hate has been reported since the 1800s when Asians were blamed for a smallpox outbreak in San Francisco. Asians continue to be a scapegoat for the COVID-19 pandemic, and rhetoric used by the government itself revealed racist undertones, blaming "the Chinese" for the outbreak, and even calling it the "Kung Flu" or the "Wuhan Flu".
Since then, Anti-Asian Hate Crimes legislation was created by the government in order to denounce intolerance, racism, or discrimination against Asian-Americans from the government. However, Asian-American students still feel overlooked by the majority of people, as they are targeted for something that is not their fault.
"I am not happy about the hate towards elders. It is not okay" – Keanu Mataoa, Chinese-Australian.
Asian-Americans are taking safety precautions and protesting against Asian hate in America. Stop AAPI Hate, a national organization created in March 2020, has reported over 6,000 hate incidents in the United States against Asians. The organization helps victims self-report hate incidents and raises awareness for Asian-Americans. On the website, there is a lot of data and information about Asian hate in America, resources, and press releases. Students can self-report any incidents of online hate, discrimination, civil rights violations, verbal abuse and physical attacks.
Although there are many resources for Asian-Americans, the problem does not seem to be going away soon. After many years of oppression, the pandemic has highlighted the on-going issues that Asian-Americans face as the largest-growing minority group in America. Not only are they considered "invisible" or "white-washed" in pop culture, but Asian-Americans are at a higher risk of being attacked because of their race today than a year and a half ago. Racial discrimination against Asian-Americans has worsened throughout the pandemic, affecting over 6,000 lives.
"It's stupid. Incidents happen from the less educated and the narrow-minded. It's the only thing they've been taught, and that's why they believe it." – Alex Kwon, Philidelphia, Korean.
Alex Kwon believes that America needs to be better educated on racism and discrimination. He said: "Incidents happen from the less educated and the narrow-minded. It's the only thing they've been taught, and that's why they believe it." Most Asian-American students agreed that the United States needs to become more educated on discrimination and racism towards Asians. Ben Song from Korea said that he was "confused as to why people hate on Asians." Most of the hate crimes committed this last year against Asians were because of the worldwide pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate aims to educate Americans on the unfair mistreatment of innocent Asian-Americans through their data and press releases, as well as donating money to Asian-American organizations.
"People in general have a tendency to get angry and point blame, they're good at that. THey like to say that it's all their fault." – Connor Badger, Utah, 1/2 Chinese.
As COVID-19 cases start to drop and school resumes in Utah County, students are anxious about what the future holds. Connor Badger warned: "People in general have a tendency to get angry and point blame, they're good at that. They like to say that it's all their fault. This isn't going away anytime soon."
"This isn't going away anytime soon." – Connor Badger, Utah, 1/2 Chinese.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Asian-Americans self-reported on www.stopaapihate.org. They faced verbal harassment, shunning, physical assault, civil rights violations, and online harassment.
Visit www.stopaapihate.org (link above) to learn more about Asian hate crimes and become involved in your community.
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