Why are hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise?

Editor’s note: 8 people were murdered in the Atlanta area the the night of March 16 when a white supremacist carried out a series of terrorist attacks targeting spas staffed by Asian workers. The Party for Socialism and Liberation expresses our deepest sympathy and solidarity to the loved ones of those who lost their lives in these horrific massacres. The following article was originally published March 7, and analyzes the roots of the wave of anti-Asian hate sweeping the country. “Imperialism is the root cause of racism. It is the ideology which upholds colonial rule and exploitation. It is the ideology which breeds fascism, rightly condemned by the civilized people of the world” — Claudia Jones Over the past year, we have seen an alarming surge in racist violence directed toward Asian Americans. A United Nations report identified more than 1,800 racist incidents against Asian Americans over an 8 week period from March to May 2020. These attacks have included denial of access to public spaces, verbal harassment, physical assault, vandalism, and in several cases even murder. Moreover, these incidents have targeted the elderly and most vulnerable. This wave of attacks has caused panic and confusion among Asian Americans and forces us to question: What is motivating these cruel and cowardly assaults? Are they purely an organic and spontaneous response to current events? Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/why-are-hate-crimes-against-asian-americans-on-the-rise/