On Tuesday, March 16, 8 people, six of whom were Asian women, were recently killed in a mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old man from Woodstock, was identified as the shooter and took full responsibility for his actions. Long defended himself, claiming that his motive was not racial and that he committed the crime due to his sex addiction which the salons were apparently fueling. Long told authorities that the massage parlors were “a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.” Captain Jay Baker from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s office also stated that “it was a really bad day for [Long] and this is what he did,” receiving a lot of backlash for his comment on the shooting.
As the shooting is still being investigated, millions of people continue to grieve for the 8 victims, protesting against violence towards Asian-Americans, particularly Asian-American women, which has increased at an alarming rate since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Authorities have yet to classify the mass shooting as racially motivated, which many believe perpetuates the idea that racism and sexism are entirely separate, when in reality, they intersect. Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociology professor from Biola University, recently expressed her concerns in an interview with NPR All things considered. She discussed the ongoing fetishization of Asian women in American society, particularly in the media, and how it connects to the recent attack. Yuen explained that because of the normalized fetishization of Asian-American women, their bodies are viewed as objects for “white male pleasure.” She then went on to describe Long’s defense as “dehumanizing” to hear as an Asian-American woman. President Biden has also commented on the shooting, acknowledging the pain Asian-Americans are going through, but has not directly classified the attack as a hate crime that was racially motivated.
Emotions after the shooting are still fresh, but brutal attacks against Asian-Americans are continuing at shocking rates, and have not stopped since the Atlanta shooting. Just this Monday, on March 22th, an Asian-American woman heading to a protest against violence towards Asian-Americans was attacked in New York City. She was badly injured and given crutches. Unfortunately, her story is not the only one to be told this past month. A countless number of Asian-Americans, especially the elderly and the women, have been physically and verbally abused, with comments like “You’re the reason Covid-19 started” made towards them. Not only are these comments inflammatory, but they spread false information, further endangering Asian-Americans around the country.
While the attacks on Asian-Americans continue, the Asian community is divided on whether to turn to the police for assistance or not in these trying times. Some believe that more police are needed, while others wish to defund the police force. The Asian community also faces the severe underreporting of attacks against Asian-Americans. John C. Yang, the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice [AAJC], told ABC news that the real number of attacks is \”a far magnitude different than the reports that our organizations are receiving,\” and that distrust in law enforcement and the U.S. government is a major factor.
The best way to help the Asian community right now is to continue to check up on Asian-American peers, donate to GoFundMe’s and victims’ families, report any hate crimes, educate yourself on the history of this deep-rooted racism and xenophobia, stand up against any inequality in workplaces/schools, and amplify Asian-American’s voices.