Are hate crimes against Asian Americans not receiving the attention they should be?

Over the past year, hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have noticeably increased. Specifically, there is an increase of racially targeted violence against Asians during the pandemic. There have recently been several incidents in which innocent Asian individuals have been attacked, through some form of violence. One such event occurred in Manhattan, in which a man was walking home near Chinatown, when a stranger suddenly ran up behind him and suddenly plunged a knife into his back. The attacker was charged with attempted murder, but not as a hate crime. The announcement outraged Asian-American leaders in New York City; Many of them protested outside the Manhattan district attorney’s office, demanding that the stabbing be prosecuted as a hate crime. Though these occurrences have been brought to our attention, such incidents continue to occur.

Researchers examined responses from more than 16,000 people of all major races who participated in the online survey at the end of March. They found that so far this year, roughly 1 in 10 Asian Americans had experienced hate crimes or hate incidents. In comparison, 6 percent of the general population had this year. The survey, released Tuesday, by AAPI Data, a policy and research nonprofit group, showed that Asian Americans have experienced hate incidents at a significantly higher percentage than the general population, but are also among the least likely to say they are, “very comfortable,” reporting hate crimes to authorities. 

Bringing awareness to this topic is one major method for reducing such hate crimes. The Student Government here at FDR have created an anti-Asian hate petition on behalf of Asian students in NYC. Through this petition, they are hoping to provide more police presence near our school building, on public transportation, and in Asian communities, helping ensure students feel safe when traveling to and from school. Another goal of the petition is to bring greater awareness to these hate crimes and aim to have this topic addressed immediately. To support the petition, students can either share the petition with their friends or support the cause by giving three dollars. The link is below.

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchng.it%2FnX2bx6YZ&data=04%7C01%7Cmperez22%40schools.nyc.gov%7C75852f9c227646789e3808d8fab6ff9f%7C18492cb7ef45456185710c42e5f7ac07%7C0%7C0%7C637535011166192790%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=LkrMqcomhyuGmITbOip7k0QEqxsBVjyGLopAHC2reD0%3D&reserved=0