Anti-asian hate crimes in Canada have spiked nearly seven hundred percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The news is filled with hate stories, like the Asian women in Atlanta who were viciously murdered at their place of work and the elderly Asian woman in San Francisco attacked on the street in broad daylight. Despite these news stories, the narrative being perpetuated doesn’t identify these acts as hate crimes. Instead, the Atlanta shooter, Robert Aaron Long, was simply “having a bad day.”
The failure to acknowledge these acts as hate crimes stems from the bigger issue of neglecting the racism in our society. Attributing the heinous attacks on Asians to a bad mood, a random occurrence, or a sex addiction does not represent the reality we live in. The fact is, Asian people are being targeted and discriminated against because of their race.
Asian people are not only fetishized in our society – they’re treated as inferior. Alongside the unprovoked attacks on elderly Asian people and stereotypes surrounding Asian names and culture, Asian people are constantly faced with microaggressions. Take the incidence of NBA player Jeremy Lin, for example. Lin was called ‘coronavirus’ on the court, and the fellow NBA player who was responsible has not been identified nor penalized. If reputable sports institutions cannot even hold the perpetrators of racist acts accountable, it’s terrifying to think about the day-to-day experiences Asian people must deal with on their own.
