Attacks on East Asians living in the United States increased during the pandemic, revealing the reality of how uncomfortable it is to carry an Asian or Chinese identity in America.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
UPDATimes - Like Tracy Wen Liu's story, even though she was not born in the US, Tracy Wen Liu felt in her daily life "being an American citizen".
He watched football matches, watched Sex and the City, and volunteered at food distribution outlets.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Liu, 31, did not think anything about being an East Asian living in Austin, Texas. "Honestly, I don't think I stand out too much," he said.
But all that changed. The outbreak of a pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 people in the US, making being an Asian in America can put you as a target - and many people, including Liu, have felt it.
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In his case, Liu said a friend from Korea was encouraged and shouted at by some people at the shop, and then asked to leave, just because he was Asian and wearing a mask.
In various states including New York, California, and Texas, people from East Asia were spat on, punched or kicked - and in one case some were even stabbed.
Regardless of what is experienced such as violence, harassment, or more dangerous forms of social or political harassment, a surge in anti-Asian prejudice makes many Asians - referring to citizens of East Asian or Southeast Asian descent - wonder if they deserve to be part of American society.
"My goal when I first came here five years ago was to adjust to American culture as quickly as possible," Liu said.
"Then the pandemic made me realize that because I am Asian, and because of my appearance or where I was born, I could never be one of them."
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After his friend had an unpleasant experience at the supermarket, Liu decided to have a weapon.
"I hope I won't use it," he said, adding, "because if that happens the situation will be very ... very bad, something I don't even want to imagine."
Authorities in New York City and Los Angeles have revealed that incidents of hatred related to people of Asian descent have increased.
Meanwhile a reporting center managed by advocacy groups and San Francisco State University said it had received more than 1,700 reports of discrimination related to the corona virus from at least 45 US states since it was launched in March.
Police officers in 13 states, including Texas, Washington, New Jersey, Minnesota and New Mexico, also reacted to reported hate incidents.
Analysts say those at the top of the leadership have made matters worse - both President Donald Trump and Joe Biden - accused of triggering anti-Asian sentiments to various walks of life in the language they speak when talking about China's role in the outbreak.
And for many Americans of Asian descent, besides feeling attacked, they also feel as if their identity as Americans is under attack.
How serious is anti-Asian prejudice in the USA ?
Many citizens of Asian American descent and Asians in America expressed the drastic changes they experienced after the plague struck.
Kimberly Ha, for example, a 38-year-old woman, said she felt the difference in February, after a stranger started shouting at her when she walked with her dog in New York.
"He shouted: 'I am not afraid of the radioactive Chinese' and began pointing at me, then he shouted again 'you must not be here, get out of this country, I am not afraid of this virus that you are carrying, "The Canadian Chinese woman who has lived in New York for more than 15 years said.
In the following weeks, he also noticed that "one in 10" people he met in public looked angry when he looked at him. "I have never felt that level of hostility before," he said.
While Madison Pfrimmer, 23, who lives in California, has heard about various anti-Asian attacks.
Last April, he helped an elderly Chinese couple in a supermarket in Los Angeles. Madison translates when they encounter an angry woman while throwing expletives and throwing bottles of mineral water at them and spraying disinfectants.
"He shouted, 'how dare you come to the shop where my family is shopping, how dare you come and ruin my country. You are the reason why my family cannot make money,'" remembers Madison who has offspring China.
Madison said he tried to make peace with the woman who scolded him for helping to translate for the elderly couple and throwing a drink bottle at him, soaking his feet.
The woman then crossed again when they were standing in line at the cashier, spraying something that looked like an air freshener or disinfectant toward their body, it was not enough to stop there she also chased the elderly couple to get into his car.
There he took photos of them while shouting "it's your fault", and hurled harsh words like "China", "all dirty people" and "communism".
"I ran up to the couple, told them in Mandarin to get into their car, and put their groceries in - they offered eggs through the windshield," Pfrimmer said.
The woman continued to follow him while driving - until finally Pfrimmer deliberately directed his vehicle toward a police station.
Asian human rights groups and San Francisco State University worked together to start a database called STOP AAPI HATE, which records Covid-19 discrimination reports directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islands in the US.
They received reports from 45 states, where most of the cases occurred in California and New York.
The incidents recorded so far are the most common in the form of verbal abuse. But physical attacks, discrimination at work, and vandalism also appear in the database - women are more targeted than men.
Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian-American studies at San Francisco State University who already runs the database, said he found so many incidents of people who were "coughed or spat on" that he added as an additional category.
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