In California’s Alameda County, a Chinese American man was screamed at while mowing his lawn. The local prosecutor said the man was told to get out of America.
In neighboring Santa Clara County, a Vietnamese couple was threatened while in a grocery store. Officials said the man turned his hand into the shape of a gun.
In New York City, people of Asian descent were assaulted, kicked, pushed and accosted on subway trains.
The theme: This virus is your fault.
People of Asian descent have reported being shunned, verbally abused, name-called, coughed and spat on, even physically assaulted as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend American life. As the political rhetoric blaming China for the pandemic escalates, law enforcement officials and human rights advocates have seen an increasing number of hate crimes and incidents of harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans.
‘They … think I’m some kind of virus’:What it’s like to be Asian during the coronavirus pandemic
New York City, for example, has seen 16 coronavirus-related hate crime incidents; many of which involved Asian victims. The city’s human rights commission has received hundreds of harassment and discrimination complaints since February, the majority of which involved anti-Asian sentiments.
Police and prosecutors are on high alert, releasing public service announcements, holding town hall meetings and opening hotlines to ask people to report hate crimes and hate speech that, while not criminal, could escalate to violence.Rosen’s office recently published a public service announcement calling on people to not assign places and nationalities to the pandemic. The World Health Organization has urged scientists, government officials and the media to avoid using geographic locations as names for public health crises.
“This isn’t the fault of Chinese Americans that are here. … Asian Americans are very well integrated into our society,” Rosen said. “If you’re turning on the TV news to hear about the latest research from Stanford about COVID-19, you might be looking at an Asian American epidemiologist.”
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The FBI usually collects hate crime data, but the agency does not have nationwide statistics on violence tied to COVID-19. In a statement, the bureau said:
“The FBI will use all authority granted to us by federal law to investigate and hold those who commit violent acts accountable for their actions. The FBI remains committed to our mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution
