The
shootings in several Atlanta spas have raised concerns regarding the Asian
Americans into the headlines. And it’s not like it happened just once –
unfortunately, the accidents keep increasing every single day to the point that
celebrities have started speaking about the incident.

This
has led to a sense of fear amongst the entire community – they’re afraid that
they could get attacked any day. The problem has been there since the beginning
of the pandemic, for which we can thank our ex-president.

We’ll
share one example one with you: in the January of last year, Yuchen Ye visited
her parents in China and, when she came back wearing a mask on the train, she
was being stared at – and it was really hostile.

This
happened in March and April, because that’s when people didn’t understand what
the coronavirus actually was. Due to this incident, Yuchen started covering her
face as much as possible. She was not just worried about her work visa anymore,
but also felt that she had to continuously prove herself to the world that
she’s not carrying the disease.

As
you may already know, due to the coronavirus, the Asian community is being
attacked viciously and is being discriminated against.

These
are not just one-off incidents of xenophobia, but pre-planned attacks. You can
see the recent attacks in Atlanta as an example. The violence against the seniors
is making headlines and doesn’t reflect too well on the nation.

And
it’s not like there’s just physical assault – people are getting discriminated
and treated differently just because of the way they look. It’s exhausting and
anxiety-inducing. The stress caused by such fear is incomparable, because every
person is afraid that they’ll be the next target.

Although
the accidents started last year, the intensity as well as the frequency of the
physical assaults has only just increased. Because of this very reason, studies
have started emerging. The recent publication by Dr. Gloria Wong, for example,
has revealed that there’s been a significant rise in the micro assaults. 

In
addition to this, the study also concluded that every day racism has led to the
development of poor self-esteem amongst the Asian community. They’re
experiencing a sense of inferiority and low self-worth, because of which, the
anxiety has doubled.

In
recent times, many celebrities have talked about these vicious attacks. As per
AAPI, Asian Americans are now taking more mental health services than any other
group. And we’re already aware of the stigma related to mental health that is
so evident within the Asian communities.

Last
year was tough on everybody, not just the White community. Hence, we must keep
in mind that mental health services are disrupted and it was a bad space for
everyone to be in. Hence, to be put through so much stress— when you’re already
feeling low— is really saddening.

It
was a time when people were isolated, depressed, and anxious to their core.
They were concerned about their health, they had no idea what the future held,
they were grieving the loss of a family member, and there was a significant
level of financial insecurity as well.

People
from the Asian community have been forced to “go back to their country”, treated
poorly at their workplace, and unnecessarily targeted due to their features.

“Some children have shared things such as
‘They tell me to go back to my country, but this is my country’ or ‘they said I
ruined our country.”

Like
we mentioned before, people have been making derogatory jokes on a daily basis,
which has resulted in significant demoralizing. Even young kids would talk
about Asians in a derogatory tone and speak about the fact that they “eat
bats”.

These
incidents are essentially labeled as microagressions and they’re highly
alarming. Avoiding eye contact and walking past an Asian American person and
“feeling scared” is also a sign of microagression.

It’s
obvious that one of the most significant people behind this is Donald Trump,
because he gave the impression to Americans that coronavirus is a Chinese
Virus. He asked people to drink bleach at one point as well!

Anyway,
you can tell by his statements that he knew nothing about the virus and that he
was the wrong person to be a President at the time. He is the reason why so
many Americans are openly being racist and discriminating against the Asian
American community.

Anyway,
like our page for more information on anti-Asian racism,
as we’ll be covering this topic even more in future.

The surge of anti-Asian attacks are
a painful reality in the world as of now and its not just restricted to North
America. The Atlanta shooting highlights were only one of the many attacks.
Thus, it’s time we all come together and stop the rising anti-Asian attacks.