Asian hate crimes and speech in our day of America is a real problem and we need to completely eliminate it and make our country a safe place for everyone. We need to punish and hold these people accountable for causing this. 

In recent years, a lot of Asian Hate speech and crimes have been generated from the pandemic and the commonly known fact that it started in China. People are being targeted for something they never did, and are taking all the hate for it. Former president Donald Trump has called the Corona Virus names like "China virus," "Wuhan virus" or "Kung Flu." This sets a really bad example for Americans for a strong public figure to lead our country in these racist comments. 

All of this is not just recent, though. It can be traced all the way back to the Cold War, when the FBI targeted Chinese citizens, Chinese American scientists, and students and questioned their loyalty to the U.S. and there was talk about the “yellow peril”. The yellow peril is a racial color-metaphor which targets Asians in East and Southeast Asia and sees them as a threat to the Western world. Another example of Asian Hate in our history is in 1871, a mob of 500 white and Hispanic men killed at least 17 Chinese immigrants in a racial massacre in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Eight of the men from the mob were convicted of manslaughter, but this was overturned. If these charges can’t be passed, especially for something that serious, then that is a real problem. 

It’s not just Chinese, though.It happens to Filipinos, Japanese, and many other Asian ethnicities too. From an NBC article, John C. Yang, who is the president and also executive director of the nonprofit civil rights group Asian Americans Advancing Justice, or AAJC, addresses the Anti-Asian hate crimes increasing nationwide last year. According to a report, they have increased by 339 percent. Yang says: “Concern peaked around March, after eight people, six of them Asian women, were killed in shootings at Atlanta-area spas. Although some progress has been made, including increased awareness among elected officials, Yang said the issue hasn’t been remedied.” Things like this keep happening, and can be traced back far in our history. If people can’t be held accountable for this, our country will never see a difference.

If statistics are increasing that much in just a year, think about how it will be in two, or ten years. If we, the people of America, don’t come together and make a change, nothing will ever improve. Our government and officials need to punish the perpetrators of Asian Hate crimes/speech, and work together to make a safe country. 

Works Cited:

“Asian Americans Ask How to End the Hate.” VOA,  www.voanews.com/a/asian-americans-ask-how-to-end-the-hate-/6436140.html. Accessed 3/29/22.

“Recent Killings of Asian American Women Force Asians Abroad to Rethink Their Relationship  with the U.S.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/17/asian-american-hate-crime-violence/. Accessed 3/5/22.

Yam, Kimmy. “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Increased 339 Percent Nationwide Last Year, Report  Says.” NBC News, 31 Jan. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-339-percent-nationwide-last-year-repo-rcna14282. Accessed 3/29/22.