For the past year, hate crimes against Asians have been occurring at an alarming rate. Asian-Americans have been targeted with fire, acid, guns, and more. Some people are blaming Asian-Americans for the outbreak of Covid-19, yet they fail to acknowledge the fact that Asian Americans are Americans and have no control over what happens in another Asian country. The stereotypes, racial slurs, and assumption that all Asians are Chinese need to stop.

Racism towards Asians has been normalized, and there is so much discrimination towards Asian Americans that solely walking outside their homes has become scary for them. When other non-Asian Americans tell Asians to “go back to their country,” it’s very hypocritical considering the fact that the U.S. is not white land and belongs to the Native Americans. No matter how long their family has been in America, they came from somewhere else (Europe, Africa, South America, etc.) and weren’t originally from America either.

Here are some of the bigger reported Asian hate crimes that have happened within the U.S in these past two months alone (Feb-March):

1. Last Saturday, Jessica Dimalanta, a 19-year-old Asian girl, was shot in the face in San Francisco. She was walking home at around 3 A.M when a blue Nissan sedan with no license plate suddenly pulled up at a stop sign where she was. Four men came out of the vehicle and started shooting. Jessica was hit in the face by a bullet that went through her right eye. Doctors were able to remove the bullet shell, but fragments of the bullet remain embedded in her face, causing her to be unable to speak or chew anymore. Her brother said that there is a 50/50 chance that she will lose her right eye. She also recently caught Covid-19 so she is suffering a tough battle. Jessica was supposed to start school this week to pursue her dream of being a healthcare provider, but due to her injuries, she may not be able to. Her family describes her as the “sweetest, kindest, and most caring person.” They don’t want money. They just want justice and for her story to be heard.
2. An 82-year-old Korean woman was grieving the death of her husband when she was sent a racist letter on the day of his funeral. The letter read, “Now that Byong is gone makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World. You frickin Asians are taking over our American Community! It is not resting well with all and everybody who lives here – true statement!!! Watch out! Pack your bags and go back to your country where you belong!” Police are investigating this hate crime and believe that the individual who sent the letter is a resident of Leisure World Seal Beach, the same community as the recipient. 
3. On March 20th, a 58-year-old Asian father named Zhou “Brian” Feng was killed while taking an evening walk with his wife. Feng was hit by a gray SUV that veered off the road and struck him. 
4. On February 28th, near Dekalb Avenue and Skillman Street in Bedford Stuyvesant, a 25-year-old female college student named Cindy was choked and slashed with a knife in a brutal anti-Asian attack. Cindy said that she was walking home around 11 P.M when she felt someone was following her. She kept trying to change direction to derail the suspect, but he eventually caught up with her. She said, “When I slowed down, he slowed down. I sped up, he sped up. And then he choked my neck and said ‘be quiet – be quiet I got a knife’ and I just started screaming.” The two began scuffling after the scream and the suspect sliced Cindy’s hand. She then ripped off his mask and the suspect ran away. 
5. A 69-year-old Asian father was assaulted while walking his dog around 7 P.M. last Friday in Irvine, California. The victim told police he’d seen the attacker playing soccer in the area with a dog that appeared to be in his care off-leash nearby. The victim had taken his own dog to avoid any kind of conflict that may happen since the suspect’s dog was a large Husky, which approached them aggressively, officials said. The suspect and dog returned minutes later. The victim lost hold of his dog’s leash, after which the two dogs began fighting, so he tried to separate them. While trying to do so, he was hit in the head from behind the young male and taken to the hospital after the incident, while the assailant left the scene. 
6. A group of 5 or more teens in the Bay Area have started a challenge called “Slap an Asian” in which they target Asian elders and Asian women on public transportation. The fact that these teens want to make attacking people a trend is absolutely disgusting.
7. An MTA driver and a pedestrian teamed up to prevent a man from attacking two Asian elders outside an Asian supermarket in Brooklyn. The man was assaulting two of these elders in broad daylight and they could have been killed if the pedestrian and bus driver had not intervened. The police were called and the suspect has been arrested. 
8. An Asian-owned nail salon in California recently received a letter laden with racial insults. The beginning of the letter stated, “TO ALL ASIAN: Hey you nasty, ugly, smelly, disgusting, pancake face, stir-fry cockroach eaters, dog/cat eaters, toe nail cleaners, raw monkey brain eaters, go home!!!” The rest of the letter is a list of someone telling Asians that nobody wants them here and that they don’t belong. America was stolen from Native Americans and it is a melting pot with all kinds of people, making this racist letter even more nonsensical than it already appeared. These infuriating and racist incidents need to stop.
9. On March 13th, Ron Tuason, a 56-year-old Asian American army veteran, was attacked and called racial slurs while grocery shopping. He is of Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish descent, and when the incident happened, he tried to take a video on his cell phone until the suspect knocked it out of his hand. Tuason, who uses a cane to walk, was wearing his veteran’s hat at the time. “When he noticed me, he got aggressive and charged across the street. ‘Go back to where you came from, you caused this problem’ referring to COVID, and do you want to get hurt/ You’re not a veteran, I’m a veteran,” recalled Tuason. Soon after, the San Francisco Police Department located the suspect and arrested 53-year-old Victor Brown for assault, battery with hate crime enhancement, resisting arrest, and possession of narcotic paraphernalia. Brown had three warrants prior to the arrest, including for the battery of a bus driver in Santa Clara County. 
10. A 28-year-old Asian mother of a three-year-old was fatally shot in Compton, leading to activists gathering and calling for a hate crime investigation. The victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was named Sia Marie Xiong and had dreams of becoming an esthetician.

A few other recent stories in NYC all involve a man assaulting and/or peeing on Asian women in the subway and being violent to Asian children. In San Francisco, Asians are being robbed of their businesses and homes and Asian elderlies are being pushed to the ground. All over the U.S, Asian women are being hit by cars and dragged to death. There are too many incidents to count and so much pain that the Asian community is dealing with.

 If you want to help, stand up, speak up, and defend the Asian community if you see something happening. These racist hate crimes are happening everywhere. Donate to the AAPI community! Check on your Asian friends! Be aware and educate yourselves on what is happening! If you see something, do something! Report hate crimes and call 911!