The spa shooting that occurred on March 16 led to a further uproar on the concept of Anti-Asian Violence. Six out of the eight victims were Asian women. Since the grand majority of the victims were Asian, this made the public believe it was a hate crime against people of Asian descent. 

Anti-Asian American violence has been around since the beginning of time. It began when Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps during World War II, and it’s very much present now. 

Parallel this Anti-Asian hate crime to the hate crime Hispanics faced for the zoot suits. There’s reason to believe that people have committed heinous hate crimes against minorities because of people’s race. 

That’s racism. According to NBC News, there have been “3,800 Anti-Asian incidents, mostly against women, in the past year”. 

The problem presented itself earlier last year when the Coronavirus appeared. Many people blamed China for the cause of the virus, even when studies showed that it didn’t originate from there. Donald Trump helped racial tensions rise by calling it the “Chinese-virus”. These Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen 150% since the pandemic. 

This country has a long history of racial discrimination against Asians. At this point, speaking up about it probably won’t be effective because those who are violent against Asians simply won’t listen. The change needs to come from a system that won’t condone racist views.