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History of Anti-Asian Violence in the USA - Coggle Diagram
History of Anti-Asian Violence in the USA
Barriers to Economic Mobility
“In 1885, a mob of five hundred armed white men forcibly expelled 700 Chinese residents from Tacoma, WA. They kicked down doors, dragged the Chinese from their homes, pillaged their businesses and marched them out of town.”
“A confluence of factors have allowed anti-Asian racism to reach full force during the coronavirus pandemic: more than 500,000 lives lost, economic uncertainty and record unemployment, political division, and international turmoil.”
“the unemployment rate for Asian Americans spiked by more than 450 percent in the first six months of the pandemic”
(12:18) “Asians were never paid equal wages...for the same work as white workers...They were often just shunted into certain economic positions where there was no ability for economic mobility"
(12:36) “Our capitalist system has relied upon an exploitable source of racialized labor to ‘develop’ the United States”
(31:28) “My father was given only $14, at the time, to leave camp”
Abuse, Trauma, and Psychological Terror
“In 1871, seventeen Chinese immigrant men were lynched by a mob of 500 in Los Angeles; this was the largest mass lynching in U.S. history.”
“In 1932, Native Hawaiian prizefighter Joseph Kahahawai was abducted, shot and killed by four white vigilantes after a white US navy wife falsely claimed that she had been raped by Kahahawai"
“The 1980s represented another increase in anti-Asian racism. An economic recession, an increase in xenophobia, media stereotypes, and inflammatory anti-Asian language by government officials and business leaders relating to US trade tensions with Japan, resulted in violence.”
“Attacks on Asian Americans — ranging from Korean shopkeepers to Lao and Cambodian refugees were so many in 1987 that the Los Angeles Times published an article titled ‘Wave of Violence Against Asians Plagues the Nation.’”
Asian American business owners were vulnerable to acts of hate while working
"a Hmong American family returned to their house to find a sign posted at their door: “We’re watching you,” the note said. 'Take the Chinese virus back to China. We don’t want you here infecting us with your diseases.' It was signed, 'Your friendly neighborhood.'"
When the Nisei were in Japanese internment camps, (20:50) “were young adults, adolescents, or even children. And those are key stages of identity development...the incarceration was a powerful communication to them about how the US viewed their status in this country”
(24:11) “Rumors spread that if the FBI came to your home and found Japanese language books, your father or uncle or mother would be taken away. And fear gripped the community”
Government-Sponsored Violence and Exclusion
The perception of Asian Americans as a threat to American Patriotism
Troubled times trigger violent xenophobic acts and language on the micro and macro levels of American society
“In the week and months after 9/11, hate crimes directed against Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Americans increased by 1,600 percent throughout the nation”
“Throughout much of our history, Congress and other elected officials have promoted and legalized anti-Asian racism through its laws and its actions.”
“During this past year, some of our highest elected officials deliberately and consistently used racist language tying COVID-19 to Asians...phrases like the “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan virus” and telling Americans to “blame China” for the pandemic.”