A dramatic increase in violent attacks and hate against Asians-America was made worse after a mass shooting in Atlanta Tuesday. While the confessed shooter said that he wasn't targeting Asian people, he just happened to drive 30 miles, in two different counties and three locations that all were coincidentally run by Asian-Americans.
A Washington Post report revealed that the fear is getting worse as the hate persists.
"I've never been this afraid to be Asian in America," Dorothy Kuo told the Post. She said that she had to explain to her 6-year-old daughter what had happened. "I told her 'Mommy is having a hard time focusing today because last night there were eight people killed.' I just told her, honestly, what happened."
She explained that since the pandemic, she'd been refused service at a restaurant because of what she looks like. "Even then, I've never felt what I feel now," she said.
Like many, Jane Kim Coloseus was furious when she heard the Georgia police saying it was too early to determine if the shooting was hate-related.
"As an Asian woman, it brings out a lot of the experiences or harassment we have received throughout our lives in general, and just have that completely invalidated because of what the suspect is saying," said Coloseus. "To me, the equation is pretty straightforward. It is racially motivated."
Attacks on Asian Americans began to increase with the COVID-19 pandemic and attacks against China from conservatives like President Donald Trump. In 2020 there was a 150 percent uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes. Trump made a contribution by using racist terms to describe the coronavirus like the "kung flu," "Wuhan virus" and "China virus." Many Asian leaders have begged him to stop, but he continues, calling it the "China Virus" Tuesday night in an interview with Fox News.