STOP ANTI-ASIAN HATE
by Dr. DJ Ida
The recent shootings in Atlanta are a painful reminder of increasing anti-Asian sentiment as documented in the 3/16/2021 National Report from Stop AAPI Hate (https://stopaapihate.org). Our hearts go out to all the victims, families and loved ones of not only these shootings but all the other hate crimes the community has experienced. While the authorities are saying “it’s too early to confirm this is a hate crime,” it is impossible to ignore who the victims are and the impact this is having on Asian Americans around the country: 6 of the 8 killed were Asian women. Anti-Asian sentiment has been fueled by the intolerant, hateful and divisive language including the use of such terms as “kung flu” and “China virus,” which clearly added to the racial tension.
The psychological trauma around hate crimes is particularly important because of the insidious nature of these acts and what it represent to the victim and the community. It isn’t about “being in the wrong place at the wrong time”. It is about being perceived as being the wrong type of person all the time. The attacks on a mosque in Minnesota, or a Buddhist Temple in LA, the senseless attacks on an elderly man in San Francisco’s Chinatown and the painful shootings on March 16 raise the alarm for our communities around the country. As we begin to slowly move out of quarantine, people are worrying how safe it will be to venture out into the public. The fact that most of the victims in the Atlanta shooting were Asian women raises the question of looking more deeply into acts of violence against both women and Asians.
Racial trauma is real and can be emotionally paralyzing. It can result in fear, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, humiliation, sleeplessness, and high levels of stress. One of the hidden consequences of racial trauma is the handing down from generation to generation. Mental health providers are well aware of secondary trauma that is experienced by succeeding generations of those who directly experienced the Killing Fields, were forced into the concentration camps of Executive Order 9066, those who experienced mass shootings and racially motivated attacks. Hate crimes are difficult to combat because of the shame it brings to the person. Shame is debilitating because it makes a person feel unsafe to be who they are, to speak out or to identify with a particular group be it racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, religious or other identification.
The emotional pain is deepened when leaders either condone racism them through their silence or openly encourage it. President Biden has shown leadership by issuing on 1/26/21 his Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
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