The long Western legacy of violence against Asian Americans

[Dill]

(03-16-2021, 06:53 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Quote:The question is about as straightforward as it can be, without assuming the answer from the get go. I can refine it a bit, though.

If "we are all responsible for our own actions," then why have more individuals been responsible for racist attacks against Asians this year than in the first quarter of 2019 or 2020?

Likely a myriad of reasons.  As stated before racism towards Asians has always been prevalent in some communities.  Seeing as how the virus originated, indisputably, from China and China certainly aided in it's spread by its complete lack of transparency I don't know that some people, already so inclined, would need any more justification for their violence or hate.  Now, if, as you heavily allude to, Trump is solely, or mostly, to blame then why would so many of the attacks be carried out by communities in which Trump holds little to no sway?

The second time you have mentioned Trump. I have not mentioned him at all.  I posited a null hypothesis in which the rise in attacks is random. If we were to approach the issue like social scientists, we'd need to show why the attacks cannot be explained as a random surge of the "usual" causes.

Without help from Trump, enough people stopped drinking "Corona" Beer to hurt the company's profit margins. So I think you are indeed correct to ask if just the word "China" might move to enough people (of all races),  and with a similar susceptibility to random connotation, to anti-Asian violence.

One step, perhaps the next, would be to interview as many perps as possible. Or read whatever statements they made to police and press.

I should also add that I am not sure where all these attacks are being carried out. But certainly some of them are by white people, and it seems possible that they have been listening to Trump. Not something to rule out before hearing the perps own reasons, if offered. Also, I would never assume that because a person was Latino or Black that he did not listen to Trump--especially if a xenophobic person committing acts of violence against Asians. But assuming connections to Trump before any can be demonstrated is not definitely NOT the next step.

(03-16-2021, 06:53 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Quote:The answer cannot be a generalized abstraction, like "racism," since that was already there in 2019 and 2018. Something more time- and environment-specific is needed. It is also possible the attacks are genuinely random, like a June snowstorm. We could even start with that as a null-hypothesis (i.e., if we investigate, we'll find no causal pattern beyond those already existing).

Sure it can.  Do you not think racist attacks increase after a particularly negative news piece featuring an act by a person of a certain race?  Do I think it's solely caused by this, absolutely not, but you absolutely cannot discount it as you just attempt to definitively do.

Hate crime laws are already on the books, so I don't know what further legislation would be needed, or warranted to prosecute these crimes.  What would such "solutions" even look like?  

Saying "racism" is the cause of the anti-Asian violence is like saying "disease" is he cause of the spreading pandemic. People who want to stop the spread of the violence or the pandemic need more specific causes, which can direct research and prevention efforts.

Couldn't follow your second statement, so I am not sure what you think I am "definitively" discounting. If you think I am discounting "racism" as one factor enabling some individuals to target Asians, you are wrong. Racism may be a necessary, but not sufficient cause in this case.

If we are thinking simply of "prosecuting crimes" then probably the laws we have are good enough. I think the purpose of the legislation I alluded to was to prevent more anti-Asian violence. Laws on the books aren't doing that.  We can't know what "solutions would look like" in this case until we get a clearer picture of causes.