Anti-Asian racism and xenophobia on the rise due to pandemic

Reports of physical violence and verbal harassment against Asian Americans are on the rise due to widespread anti-Asian sentiments amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Graphic by HARRY LADA, Art Director

Every time the front door swings shut behind her parents, Emily Lam, the president of Chapman’s Asian Pacific Political Alliance (APPA), watches nervously yet feels helpless. 

This has become a common reality for Asian Americans who fear the possibility of a racially-motivated attack after they step out of the safety of their homes. As COVID-19 deaths continue to rise across America — soon to reach 500,000 — so has an intense anti-Asian sentiment feared not only by Lam, but by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) nationwide. Xenophobic rhetoric has proliferated as a result of increased physical and verbal violence. 

Organizers of “Stop AAPI Hate,” a reporting database that tracks hate crimes and racist attacks against the AAPI community, recorded over 2,808 reports of hate incidents nationwide from March 2020 to December 2020. 70.9% of the occurrences involved verbal harassment, and vulnerable groups such as women and the elderly were especially targeted. 

“Unfortunately, attacks on (Asians) are overlooked and swept under the rug,” said Lam, a senior political science and peace studies double major. “(It’s) not taken seriously … and no one really cares about it … That's really upsetting.” 

In order to spark dialogue around anti-Asian hate, APPA organized a virtual community check-in Feb. 16. Lam expressed her satisfaction in seeing allies attend and offer their support. 

Many have argued that the rhetoric surrounding the coronavirus gives a “green light” to racists. For instance, former President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus” and the “kung flu.”

“We know from our data that it had an impact because many individuals who reported to our site (Stop AAPI Hate) said that the perpetrator used (former) president’s language, like ‘Wuhan virus,’ ‘China-virus’ and ‘kung flu,’” said Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and the executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council.. 

Kulkarni also added that the Grand Old Party put out a 57-page memo in April 2020 for Republican candidates’ campaign strategies, which insists that calling the coronavirus the “China virus” is not racist. However, others argue that rhetoric instilled an anti-Asian sentiment. 

“Trump isn't a stranger to using race in any of his arguments or as motivation for some of his policies. He was pushing anti-Asian rhetoric; not just through his language, but also through a lot of the policies he was pushing,” said Cheryl Lee, vice president of Chapman APPA. Both Lam and Lee voiced the need for recognition of anti-Asian racism in addition to furthered allyship for BIPOC communities.

Racism against Asian Americans has its own history in the United States. Similar to present-day resentment towards Asian Americans, the 1899 plague bubonic outbreak in Honolulu and the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory System outbreak resulted in racist stereotypes painting Asians as unhygienic, diseased and bizarre. Further, the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese internment camps, the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and post-9/11 discrimination against South Asians, Sikhs and Muslims has been speculated to mirror the violence, bigotry and civil rights violations that are still occurring today. 

“The East gets demonized, is perpetually foreign and (is viewed) as ruthless, untamed, exotic and inscrutable,” said Stephanie Takaragawa, a Chapman sociology professor.

Pete Simi, a research expert on white supremacy and extremist groups and a Chapman professor, told The Panther that hate groups take advantage of moments of national crisis to recruit followers, advertise their beliefs and spread racist conspiracy theories.

“COVID-19 is certainly not going to be lost on (white supremacists) in terms of realizing that it’s an opportunity to ... influence the hearts and minds of the individuals that they're trying to shape,” Simi said. 

C.K. Magliola, a Chapman professor of women’s studies, told The Panther that county officials’ next steps should include providing safe and affordable housing, employment opportunities and community-driven support systems to AAPI individuals in an effort to combat discrimination. She emphasized that this approach would offer a more peaceful alternative to increasing policing in AAPI communities. 

Simi acknowledged that aside from overtly racist propaganda circulating online, racially-charged memes have been taken less seriously under the guise of humor, despite holding the capacity to still inflict harm on the AAPI community. Kulkarni similarly noted that instances of xenophobia aren’t as overtly made clear in public settings.

“A lot of it is everyday occurrences that happen … at the grocery store, at the pharmacy, at work,” Kulkarni said. “A number of individuals have told us that it was one of their neighbors who said something (racist) to them.”