Fighting the Spike in Violence Against Asian Americans
Updated: 3:36 PM CST Feb 19, 2021
Fighting the Spike in Violence Against Asian Americans
Updated: 3:36 PM CST Feb 19, 2021
SOLEDAD: I'M SOLEDAD O'BRIEN. WELCOME TO "MATTER OF FACT.” VIOLENCE AGAINST ASIANS HAS BEEN SPIKING DURING THE PANDEMIC. AND NOW A DEADLY INCIDENT IS DRAWING NEW ATTENTION TO AN OFTEN UNDERREPORTED PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO STOP AAPI HATE -- AAPI STANDS FOR ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER -- IT'S RECEIVED NEARLY 3,000 REPORTS OF PEOPLE BEING SPAT ON OR VERBALLY OR PHYSICALLY ATTACKED SINCE LAST SPRING. AAPI IS JUST ONE GROUP TRACKING HATE INCIDENTS, SO THE NUMBER COULD ACTUALLY BE HIGHER. ACTIVISTS SAY RACIST RHETORIC ABOUT COVID-19 MAY BE FUELING THE RISE. WHILE THE MOTIVATION IS NOT CLEAR FOR SEVERAL OF THESE ASSAULTS, THE EFFECTS ARE THE SAME. WE HEAD TO THE BAY AREA TO MEET YOUNG ACTIVISTS TRYING TO STOP THE VIOLENCE. >> THIS TIME OF YEAR IS LUNAR NEW YEAR, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF AAPI PEOPLE AND IT'S BEEN REALLY HARD, I THINK, FOR A LOT OF THE AAPI COMMUNITY. >> WE'VE BEEN SEEING A RISE IN INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE. >> A LOT OF OUR ELDERLY ARE BEING TARGETED. THOMAS: I'M THOMAS FILES, I'M 17 YEARS OLD AND I'M A SENIOR AT CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA. KAILENE: I' KAILENE APANA AND I'M 17 YEARS OLD AND I'M A JUNIOR AT THE URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO. WE HAVE A YOUTH CAMPAIGN THAT WE STARTED IN THE SUMMER OF 2020, AND IN THIS CAMPAIGN, THE YOUTH INTERNS INTERVIEWED OVER 1,000 YOUNG PEOPLE. OVER A THIRD OF THEM HAD PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH HATE INCIDENTS. THOMAS: WE HEAR THINGS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, CHING CHONG OR THE LING-LING JOKES. KAILENE: WHEN THE PRESIDENT USES THINGS LIKE CHINA VIRUS AND KUNG-FLU, IT GAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE LICENSE TO USE THAT TYPE OF LANGUAGE, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE AAPI COMMUNITY. >> THIS IS NOT NEW TO OUR COMMUNITY, THE ANTI-ASIAN RACISM. MY NAME IS CYNTHIA CHOI AND I'M THE CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CHINESE FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. >> I FORMED A VOLUNTEER GROUP TO PROTECT THOSE IN CHINATOWN. IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE. CYNTHIA: HISTORICALLY, ASIANS HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO BEING SCAPEGOATED, TO BEING BLAMED WHENEVER THERE'S BEEN AN ECONOMIC CRISIS OR HEALTH CRISIS. THE IMPACT IS DEVASTATING FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND THAT'S WHY WE WERE HERE TODAY. >> THERE IS BUT ONE FAMILY. THOMAS: A LOT OF TIMES WHEN IT COMES TO RACISM IN AMERICA, I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ARE LEFT OUT OF THAT DISCUSSION. KAILENE: I THINK THAT COMES FROM OBVIOUSLY THE MODEL MINORITY MYTH. AND THE IDEA THAT THE AAPI COMMUNITY IS LIKE SOMEHOW AHEAD AND THAT'S JUST LIKE NOT TRUE FOR EVERY PERSON AND THAT DOESN'T FU
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Fighting the Spike in Violence Against Asian Americans
Updated: 3:36 PM CST Feb 19, 2021
We’re seeing more viral videos of unprovoked violence against elderly Asian Americans across our social media feeds. Unfortunately, those are just the latest in a sharp spike of attacks. And activists say racist rhetoric about COVID-19 may be fueling that rise. Since last spring, more than 3,000 incidents of verbal or physical violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been reported. That’s about the same time the coronavirus began to spread rapidly across the U.S. after being originally discovered in China. We travel to the Bay Area where a group of young activists are trying to put an end to the violence.
We’re seeing more viral videos of unprovoked violence against elderly Asian Americans across our social media feeds. Unfortunately, those are just the latest in a sharp spike of attacks. And activists say racist rhetoric about COVID-19 may be fueling that rise. Since last spring, more than 3,000 incidents of verbal or physical violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been reported. That’s about the same time the coronavirus began to spread rapidly across the U.S. after being originally discovered in China. We travel to the Bay Area where a group of young activists are trying to put an end to the violence.
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