Disaster struck in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday night, when shooting broke out at three separate massage parlors. By the end of the night, 8 people were confirmed to be dead, and a man was taken into custody. The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and one charge of agravated assault. While this event is tragic on its own, there is one thing about it that makes it seem so much worse to many people. This factor is that 6 of the 8 people killed were Asian-American women.
If you pay close attention to news or social media, you will have probably seen that there has been a lot of talk about the upward trend of violence against Asian-Americans recently. In the past year, the estimated percentage of attacks against Asian-Americans has increased by about 150% nationwide. Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group for Asian-Americans, said that they received 3,795 reports of hate crimes being committed. This number is assumed to be only a fraction of the actual number of hate crimes. Reports have shown that most of this violence is coming from major cities in New York and California, such as New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. These crimes also go beyond comments or threats. There have been a lot of beatings and murders as the problem has worsened over time.
There are a number of different opinions as to why the hate towards Asian-Americans has risen so high over the past year. However, the one that has rang the loudest comes from the fact that they are being blamed for the existence of Covid-19 and the pandemic. This idea mainly stems from the fact that the origin of the Covid-19 virus is believed to be in Wuhan, China. For this reason, some feel that all Asian-Americans are to blame. They have become a scapegoat for the current state of things. That is essentially how the theory breaks down. Those who have gone further with this idea have widely blamed President Trump for promoting this blame and hate by calling Covid-19 the “China virus”. However, prominent leaders in the US such as Congress members etc, have stated that the problem goes beyond these things. The problem has existed for a long time, and this is yet another time that it is showing its face.
Steps are starting to be taken at all levels across the nation in an effort to raise awareness about the problem in hopes that an answer can be found along the way. At the government level, president Biden signed an executive order on January 26, which was aimed to stop xenophobia against Asian-Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris has also stated that the Biden administration will continue to take action against racism and discrimination in the country. A House Judiciary panel will be hearing from leaders and witnesses of the hate to try to find areas in which the government can help more through legislation. In more local terms, people have held peaceful gatherings, advocating for the end of the discrimination and the end of the hate.
In the case of the shooting that took place in Atlanta, there are multiple different thoughts surrounding the matter. Advocates for Asian-Americans are saying that the attack was clearly racially motivated, using the fact that six out of the eight deaths were Asian-American women. However, the suspect continues to state that his attack had nothing to do with race. His claim is that he has a sex addiction, and saw the massage parlors as a problem that would lead him to giving into temptations, as he believed that these parlors offered services like prostitution. It was for this alleged reason that he chose to “eliminate” the issue at hand. When police finally caught him, he was about 150 miles south of Atlanta and believed to be heading to Florida. He had a 9mm handgun and didn’t resist arrest.
There is still a lot to be discovered about the shooting in Atlanta, as well as about the development of the hate crime issue. With that being said, if there are major updates to any of these situations, you can expect to see an article from us discussing the matter. But for now, have a good weekend everyone.
