After the recents shootings that took place at three spas, where the lives of innocent Asians were targeted, we take a look at just how devastating these crimes are, and how they are occurring at an awfully rapid rate

On Mar 16, 2021, eight innocent lives were taken in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, leaving citizens around the world dumbfounded at this obvious hate crime towards the Asian community. 

There were eight citizens pronounced dead by the attacks, as identified by Time Magazine: “Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49 and Daoyou Feng, 44, were identified Wednesday, and Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Soon C. Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; and Yong A. Yue, 63, were identified Friday.” A ninth citizen, Elcias R Hernández Ortiz, 30, was also shot during these crimes, but has managed to survive. Six of the people killed were of Asian descent, most of them being Asian women.

The person who committed these crimes, identified as a white male by the name of Robert Aaron Long, vehemently claims that these attacks were not xenophobic or racially targeted. However, Rep. Bee Nguyen, who spoke for the Time, stated that the shootings were at the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny, and xenophobia.” 

Both people in the Asian community, as well as supporters of the community, were met with disdain at Long’s response to his crimes. Now, riots and protests are taking place all over the world, not just for the lives lost at Long’s hand, but to all Asians who have been continuously racially profiled for far too long. 

As per Time, “U.K. police data suggests a rise of 300% in hate crimes towards Chinese, East and South Asians in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019.”

Whether it be the xenophobic acts that blame the Asian community for this pandemic, or the innocent lives lost simply because of their their skin, the people have had enough.

A #StopAsianHate rally took place on Mar 20 in Atlanta to gather citizens in support of the Asian community, and to express their condolences to those who lost their lives in the shooting. On the same day, an Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) rally took place, marking just a few of the responses by citizens to put in their collective efforts to end the racial bias towards Asians. 

Because of the pandemic and safety reasons, many citizens cannot participate in rallies. However, this does not mean that people cannot reach out and help make a change. 

Those who are truly interested in helping the Asian community fight off this violence can start by educating themselves at any of these resources: Fight Covid-19 Racism, Act 2 End Racism, Project 1907, or any other certified resource on the Internet. The #StopAsianHate campaign has also launched a GoFundMe that citizens can use to donate to try and end the violence targeted at the Asian community. 

The world’s climate as of right now is far from peaceful. Whether it be the global pandemic that has caused countries all over the world to be in shambles, or the recent uprising in racially targeted crimes that has arisen from it, people all over the world are searching for answers as to when this violence will truly come to an end. 

In order to avenge the deaths of those who have been victims of these racially targeted crimes, it is up to those in support of them to bring awareness to this issue, and hopefully turn the idea of racially targeted Asian crimes into a distant memory.