Asian Hate Crimes: The Latest Sacrifice on the Altar of White Supremacy

Last week a white gunman killed 8 people at 3 different massage parlors in the Atlanta area. The gunman claimed that the attacks weren't motivated by race, but a witness has said that they heard the gunman say that he would "kill all Asians." The incident is the latest of a number of attacks on Asian Americans and has led to a call to #StopAsianHate.

From what I can see on social media, the black community seems to be mostly supportive, but there are some dissenters. Many people like myself denounce the act of terrorism and note similar circumstances to recent acts of terrorism aimed at black people (i.e. the shooter after killing multiple people, somehow gets captured alive, and having officers appear to show more sympathy with the shooter than the victims). Some of the dissenters note that too many Asians, who are at times referred to as "model minorities" have been silent in the face of black calls for action and as a result black people should not speak up for them.

I personally have a number of Asian American friends who have been very vocal in their support of me and things like the Black Lives Matter Movement. Regardless, this moment is bigger than whether or not to be in solidarity with our Asian brothers and sisters. It's the perfect time to address the underlying source of the anti-Asian sentiments that gave rise to the need for this #StopAsianHate movement. It's the same source that gave rise to the need of the current Black Lives Matter Movement. That source is white supremacy.

White Supremacy as a System, Not a Group of People

One common misconception is that if you have an issue with white supremacy, you must also have an issue with white people. This is not the case. White supremacy is a system, which makes white people the preferred group, but the system itself is not a group of people. This system can be operated and reinforced by people of all races, both on a personal level and on systemic level.

On a personal level, the first time I remember being called the N-word (with an er) was from a young man from Saudi Arabia, when he and I were both around the age of 10. This was around the time of Desert Storm and I remember thinking to myself that it was strange that he had the nerve to look down on me when he being was also a minority and from a place, our country was then occupying. His anti-black sentiments and my sentiments questioning his Arabic descent, as well as my sentiments questioning his middle eastern country of origin, were rooted in white supremacy.

Although many only think in terms of white supremacy on a personal level, it's the systemic level that is the real problem. On a personal level, someone may call you a slur and hurt your feelings, but you eventually move on. It's difficult to move on when there are systems in place that affect your entire community. This has been especially true for minority communities. Widespread biases in the criminal justice, education, finance, housing, medical industries are just a few places where white supremacy affects people of color on a daily basis. These biases further compound historical legal discriminatory practices on these communities, which has resulted in continual negative outcomes for these communities and our nation.

White Supremacy as a Type of Faith

Many think of white supremacy as a belief of only the extremists, like Klan members and neo-Nazis, but Martin Luther King, Jr. in his book "Where Do We Go From Here," notes that it is a religious type faith. When looking at white supremacy from that point of view, as opposed to just a belief system of some uneducated yokels, you begin to view it in a different light. It helps make some sense of why we as a nation seem to have a ritual of events aimed at terrorizing minority communities. From the genocide of Native Americans to the continual unjustifiable killings of African Americans, there seems to be consistent acts of terror which appear to offer a sacrifice on the altar of a false idol of white supremacy. The shooting of Asian Americans in Atlanta being the latest sacrifice.

On a personal level, I take aim at white supremacy often on my social media pages and over the years I've noticed how it seems to deeply offend a number of people. When I think of white supremacy in the same way that I would someone's religious beliefs though, I see why my deliberate targeting of it would offended people, because it's many times unconsciously held as a core religious type of belief. If I regularly made derogatory remarks about Jesus, I would expect a number of Christians to get upset and likely un-follow/friend me on social media. The same seems to be true with white supremacy. Many people have it so deeply ingrained in their psyche that when it is attacked they feel as offended as if they you walked into their church, mosque, or synagogue and told them their entire faith was a lie.

These offenses when compared to the thought of white supremacy possibly resulting in the loss of my life or the life of one of my children, are relatively small. As such, it isn't anything that would make me stop speaking out against it. Nevertheless, realizing that when I speak on the topic, for people to truly grasp what I'm saying, it will take more than an enlightenment on race, but a complete change in their belief system on the subject. This is a much taller order.

Signs of Hope and the Need to Press Forward Thankfully, the idea of addressing the underlying racism, that stems from white supremacy seems to be getting calls since the attack occurred and not just from the Asian American community. People like Rev. Al Sharpton and Sindy Benavides, the Executive Director League of United Latin American Citizens, have expressed their solidarity with the Asian community after the recent attacks. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of black and Asian descent, also expressed her solidarity with the Asian community.

Such gestures are a great start, but I suggest that now instead of just showing solidarity, we double down on the need to address white supremacy in this country. The mass shooting of Asians in Atlanta, the mass shootings of Hispanics in El Paso in 2019, and the mass shooting of blacks in Charleston in 2015 all stemmed from white supremacy. A full throated effort to address white supremacy needs to take place, otherwise it is only a matter of time before we are again expressing solidarity with another minority group. I'd suggest we take a serious look at our practices in every area, because racism affects them all, and be willing to spend the resources necessary to address the racial biases that are negatively affecting minority communities.

Conclusion

I completely support the sentiments to #StopAsianHate. I also strongly suggest that we use this moment for more than just solidarity and do some deeper reflections to address the underlying source of white supremacy. Doing so would address many of the problems holding back all of our communities.