Brief Reflections on The Rise of Anti-Asian Racism Amidst Covid-19

To be perfectly honest, I’ve been weary about the prospect of going out since lockdown began. Not only because I want to avoid the risk of being infected by covid, but also because of the ever present climate of hostility towards Asians. As someone who is of Chinese ethnicity myself, it’s been disheartening seeing the rise of hate incidents and hate crimes being committed against the Asian community.

While I’ve been fortunate in not experiencing any form of harassment so far, I still lean towards the side of caution, especially since there have been numerous hate incidents in my city. Even when I’m going on walks in my neighborhood and I’m keeping six feet apart from my neighbors, I can’t help but wonder what they’re thinking when they see someone like me walk past them. Do they think that I have the virus? Is that all they see when they look at me? Are they moving away from me because of the guidelines or because of my race? Maybe it’s because of both.

It’s been a week since the Atlanta spa shootings. While I’m grieved by the events that occurred, I am also not surprised. When covid cases rose in the spring of last year, I feared that the public would blame Asians and that increased hostility towards the Asian community would follow soon after. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, my fears turned out to be correct.

According to a report from the organization Stop AAPI Hate, between March 19th, 2020 and February 28th, 2021, they have received roughly 3,795 hate incidents directed towards Asian Americans.[1] And those are only American statistics. According to Canadian organization Fight Covid Racism, there have been 947 incidents reported in Canada.[2] Keep in mind that the number could be higher in the case of unreported incidents.

I should also stress the difference between a hate incident and a hate crime. While both are motivated by prejudice against an individual or group of individuals based on their race, cultural or ethnic background, gender or other similar factors, they differ in the acts that they encompass. Hate incidents typically include acts such as verbal harassment, threats of violence, or physical attacks, whereas hate crimes are criminal acts that typically include crimes such as burglary, sexual assault, or murder.

What You Can Do To Support:

For my non-Asian friends, here is a list of things that you can do to support us during this time. This isn’t meant to be a checklist where you have to tick off the boxes one by one. Rather, this is a list of suggestions and ways that you can show support during this time and moving forward.

1. Pray. First and foremost, I believe that prayer is the most powerful tool at our disposal in the face of hardship. While knowledge and understanding of current events is important, praying and trusting that God will protect the Asian community and that there would be justice acknowledges his sovereignty and the ways he works in difficult situations. Also, prayer that the Holy Spirit would convict the hearts of those who harbour fear or frustration towards our Asian brothers and sisters. For it is not hate that fuels hatred, but fear that fuels hatred. As 1 John 4:18 so clearly states though, there is no fear in love and that perfect love drives out fear. As we continue to pray for the pandemic to end, pray also that racist acts against the Asian community would end.

2. Do research on hate crimes and hate incidents against Asians and the history of Anti-Asian racism in North America. Even reading the official reports that are referenced in this article is a great place to start. Read up on events such as the Chinese Massacre of 1871 or the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, where the Canadian government passed a law to prohibit Chinese immigrants from entering the country. Knowing about the long, overlooked history of anti-Asian racism in North America from discriminatory laws to massacres can help to contextualize and better understand today’s climate.

3. Attend a virtual workshop for bystander intervention training so that you know what to do if you ever witness a hate incident in public. Hollaback! and Asian Americans Advocating Justice (AAJC) are currently partnering together to offer a series of workshops that you can register for on their website. Hollaback! also has a series of infographics on their website that details the 5D’s of de-escalation to use whenever you witness harassment in public: distract, delegate, document, delay, direct. I’ll provide a link to both under resources.

4. Support Asian artists and creators. I know finances are tight due to the pandemic and so donating may not be the most visible option right now but even just sharing articles and posts by Asians writers (this is not me trying to self-promote by the way, this is just me suggesting one of many ways to show support without having to spend money) is a great option. You can also watch and promote videos or short films by Asian content creators. Read books by Asian authors. Buy art from Asian artists. Additionally, it’s a great way to support the arts.

5. Reach out to your Asian friends. My suggestion would be to avoid asking open-ended questions such as, “how are you doing?” or “how are you feeling?” since they put the recipient in an awkward position to answer. Instead, be more specific, ask if there is anything you can buy for them when you’re at the grocery store, or if you can drop off a homemade treat for them, or if they ever want to go on a walk. It’s the small gestures that speak volumes.

Resources:

https://www.ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention/

https://www.ihollaback.org/bystander-resources/

References

[1] Fight Covid Racism. (n.d.). Reported Incidents. Fight Covid Racism. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.covidracism.ca/about

[2] Jeung, R., Yellow Horse, A., Popovic, T., & Lim, R. (2021, March 16). STOP AAPI HATE NATIONAL REPORT. Stop AAPI Hate. Retrieved March 18th, 2021, from https://secureservercdn.net/104.238.69.231/a1w.90d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210312-Stop-AAPI-Hate-National-Report-.pdf