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SCREEN CAPTURE / KTVU Asians With Attitude are ordinary citizens who began patrolling Oakland's Chinatown to prevent further violence against Asians Americans. |
A blanket of weariness and anger is muffling the usual noisy and joyous celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Chinatowns and other Asian neighborhoods on edge because of the rash of unprovoked attacks against Asian elderly, fueled by almost a year of rising anti-Chinese rhetoric spewing forth from the Trump White House looking for a scapegoat for the coronavirus.
A suspect has been arrested in a series of assaults against elderly victims in Oakland’s Chinatown, new Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong announced Monday.
The suspect was identified as Yahya Muslim, 28. He was charged with assault, battery, elder abuse and a special allegation of offenses while out on bail, according to Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said Muslim also has two prior felony assault convictions.
In his first press conference minutes after being sworn in as Oakland’s new police chief, Armstrong appeared at a news conference in Chinatown to announce the arrest of Muslim for the violent attack on a 91-year old man caught on video. He is also accused of assaulting two other elderly individuals the same day.“Today we’re sending a message to those that commit crime in this city that we will pursue you and we will arrest you,” said Chief Armstrong. “We all need to band together to take a stand and say this violence is unacceptable.”
Oakland PD and San Francisco police announced additional patrols in their respective Chinatowns. Earlier, New York City had formed the Asian Hate Crime Task Force to combat a year-long rise in attacks against Asian Americans.
The recent attacks in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and New York City brought the level of awareness beyond the Asian American community.
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SCREEN CAPTURE / KTVU Actor Daniel Wu spoke out against the anti-Asian attacks at the Oakland press conference. |
A viral video shared by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen of the incidents and the anger and frustration of Hollywood celebrities Daniel Wu and Daniel Dae Kim. The two actors teamed up to offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the Oakland Chinatown attacks, brought the attention of mainstream media to the anti-Asian racism, something the AAPI communities have been keenly aware of since the pandemic took hold in the U.S.
In March 2020, the FBI warned that because of the coronavirus, that attacks against Asian Americans will likely rise.
The FBI was proven right. Over 2800 incidents of anti-Asian physical attacks, harassment, bullying and verbal assaults have been reported since February on online sites such as Stop AAPI Hate since the coronavirus hit U.S. shores. The number of actual cases is probably much higher since no one knowns how many incidents go unreported.
"We're being smashed in as a one-two punch. There's low-level petty crime that's happening to our community. We're being targeted as easy targets," said Bay Area native Wu. "But at a bigger scale, racist rhetoric from the pandemic has targeted us as being 'the reason for coronavirus,' and so Asians across the board have been targeted by racial slurs, being attacked, being pushed around, being spat on."
Because of the health restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year celebrations in Asian communities have been cancelled, including the parades, restaurant banquets, family gatherings and large celebrations that usual accompany the event that normally brings out the Chinese themed floats, lion and dragon dancers and firecrackers.
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SCREEN CAPTURE / TWITTER A 91-year old man was violently pushed to the pavement in Oakland, CA. |
Over 40 AAPI organizations representing the Asian ethnicities and nationalities signed onto a statement condemning the attacks. The joint statement issued Tuesday cautioned against relying on more policing as a solution and noted that some of the attackers were also people of color.
"We must invest in long-term community-centered solutions that create spaces for cross-racial healing that address underlying causes and create ways for all to thrive," stated the joint letter. "We believe that our strength is in unity, not division, and that our histories and our futures are intertwined. That is why we are committed to working with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Pacific Islander communities for long-term shared vision and solutions to stop the violence in all our communities."
"We must invest in long-term community-centered solutions that create spaces for cross-racial healing that address underlying causes and create ways for all to thrive," stated the joint letter. "We believe that our strength is in unity, not division, and that our histories and our futures are intertwined. That is why we are committed to working with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Pacific Islander communities for long-term shared vision and solutions to stop the violence in all our communities."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed that she is "heaertbroken" over the assaults. “Sadly, the perpetrator in some cases has been African American,” Breed said. “And as an African American woman, as the mayor of your city, I am here to hold everyone accountable.”
Cross-racial discussions are essential “to address that fear in order to move forward together,” said John Yang, president and CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Interracial coalition building should be part of the strategy to combat bias, he said.
In response to a questio during the Tuesday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said:
"I’m not aware that he’s seen the videos, but he is concerned about the discrimination against, the actions against the Asian American community, which is why he signed the executive order and why he has been outspoken and making clear that, you know, attacks — verbal attacks, any attacks of any form are unacceptable, and we need to work together to address them.
"But obviously, the executive order is something he did very early in his administration — it’s still early, but even earlier — because he felt it was so important to put a marker down."
In the first week of his administration, President Biden singled out the anti-Asian attacks in a Presidential Executive Order against xenophobia.
"I’m directing federal agencies to combat resurgence of xenophobia, particularly against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, that we’ve seen skyrocket during this pandemic. This is unacceptable and it’s un-American," Biden remarked prior to signing the memo. "I’ve asked the Department of Justice to strengthen its partnership with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to prevent those hate crimes."
"But obviously, the executive order is something he did very early in his administration — it’s still early, but even earlier — because he felt it was so important to put a marker down."
In the first week of his administration, President Biden singled out the anti-Asian attacks in a Presidential Executive Order against xenophobia.
"I’m directing federal agencies to combat resurgence of xenophobia, particularly against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, that we’ve seen skyrocket during this pandemic. This is unacceptable and it’s un-American," Biden remarked prior to signing the memo. "I’ve asked the Department of Justice to strengthen its partnership with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to prevent those hate crimes."
During an MSNBC interview, Nguyen explained that an essential step for allies and the country as a whole is to break the silence surrounding the current rise in racism and to end the apathy. “Silence erases our humanity,” Nguyen said.
“There is a new Asian American movement emerging and we are not going to be silent anymore. We are not your model minority. We are human and we deserve equal dignity, so stop killing us.”
Word of caution: This post is news laced with my opinion. You are encouraged to seek other news outlets to form your own opinion.
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