AANHPI may be in for a rough time in the upcoming Presidential election

Anti-Asian attacks has coincided with emboldened White supremacist groups.

In case you haven't noticed, the 2024 Presidential race has already begun with 18 months to go before the the election. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders should gird themselves for campaigns which will target them as an important vote-rich demographic and as "the other."

Since the start of the pandemic, it has been a fearful three years for AANHPI, blamed for COVID19 and economic tensions generated by deteriorating China-US relations. The campaign season will most likely increase the xenophobic hate towards AANHPI.

Each of the last four presidential campaign cycles has shown an unmistakable pattern: Reported hate crimes increase during elections, according to the Leadership Conference Education Fund report — “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate.”

WHITE SUPREMACISTS

And while not all hate crimes and hate incidents are committed by white supremacists, as this paper outlines, white supremacists have been particularly active during the last four presidential elections. From the mainstreaming of hate and the failure of social media platforms to adequately address disinformation, the current climate is rife with opportunities for the trend of increased hate to continue into the 2024 election — unless action is taken.

In March 2023, the FBI released the most recent statistics on hate crimes. These data showed that 2021 was the highest year on record for reported hate crimes since the FBI began publishing the data in 1991. But because law enforcement agencies do not have to report any data on hate crimes to the FBI, this is not the full picture. In fact, 2021 had the lowest amount of participation from law enforcement agencies since 2012. Even though the most recent data show the highest number of reported hate crimes on record, we know the reality is far worse.

FYI: View the full report “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate” ›

Tragically, since 2015, reported hate crimes have nearly doubled. The Trump candidacy empowered white nationalists and provided them with a platform — one they had been seeking with renewed intensity since the historic election of America’s first Black president in 2008. Since 2015, communities across the country have experienced some of the most violent and deadliest years for hate in modern history.

Today’s political climate is highly charged. From white supremacist and anti-government movements coalescing and moving more into the political mainstream, to conspiracy theories circulating online and public officials amplifying hate, there are few — if any — signs that tensions will lessen. Movements grounded in attempts to whitewash history and deny the rights of the LGBTQ+ community have turned hate into campaign platforms.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Contributing to this climate are social media companies that have not internalized the lessons of the past and have set the stage for a 2024 election year that is at least as toxic online as past elections. Platforms have policies in place that curb and prevent the spread of hate and voting disinformation, but they do not consistently enforce them. 

Furthermore, major platforms,such as the Elon Musk-owned Twitter, have cut back or eliminated their trust and safety staff and hollowed out protections against hate incitements on their platforms.

Some of the key concerns that spurred the Leadership report is based on  the FBI report that showed, among other findings:

Anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate Crimes: The most recent

• Data from the FBI showed a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crime incidents reported from 2020 to 2021.

• Hate crimes have increased by more than 80% since 2015.

• 2021 was the highest year on record for reported hate crimes since the FBI began publishing the data in 1991.

• Anti-Islamic (Muslim) Hate Crimes: From 2020 to 2021, the community was subjected to a 40% increase in reported hate crimes.

• Anti-Sikh Hate Crimes: The number of reported anti-Sikh hate crimes has increased significantly, reaching a record high in 2021. Currently, anti-Sikh hate crimes are the second most common form of religiously motivated hate crimes after anti-Jewish hate crimes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Leadership Conference Education Fund’s “Cause for Concern” series first published in 1997 — provides the following recommendations for how to address the current state of hate ahead of a deeply concerning 2024 election cycle:

• Social media platforms must invest in de-platforming hate for the upcoming local, state, and national elections.

• The federal government must confront and address white supremacist violence without further criminalizing communities of color, religious minorities, and other marginalized communities.

• Congress must mandate hate crime data collection and reporting.

• Public officials must speak out against hate.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-China legislation, racist laws and the green light to express racist beliefs and suppress the true diverse history of the United States, have already been expressed by Republican candidates, from Nikki Haley to Ron DiSantis to Donald Trump.

It will only get worse as the campaign heats up and conservative candidates try to outdo each other to garner the votes of the extreme right.

As the fastest growing segment of the US population, the majority of whom are first-generation immigrants, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders  need to pay close attention to what is being said and who is saying it.  And when it comes time to vote: Remember.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.