Marginalization Of Minorities in the U.S. System

Marginalization Of Minorities in the U.S. System

Khanh Pham

Hate and race violence against Asian American community have skyrocketed amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 22 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in the U.S., which is about 7 percent of the U.S. population. They are the fastest-growing part of the country’s electorate, yet history and myths marginalize Asian Americans. 

Asian laborers started migrating to the U.S. in the late 19th century, seeking fortune, jobs, and fresh opportunities. With growing numbers of Asians, white Americans of European heritage grew fearful of their rise and will steal their jobs. Asians were perpetual foreigners that needed to be controlled and tamed. Due to public concerns over the growing number of Asian immigrants, the U.S. Government passed the measures to restrict immigration. There are many notable examples of racism and discrimination the Asian American community has experienced in the past. Asians already living in the U.S. were not allowed to become naturalized citizens and receive legal protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, own land, marry non-Asians, testify in legal proceedings. 

Asian Americans were targeted after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. In 2003, Anti-Asian attitudes also rose during the SARS breakout. They were viewed as foreigners responsible for bringing disease and destruction to America. Despite experiencing challenges and obstacles over the years, we have achieved success in the U.S., but not without controversy. 

The spread of the coronavirus epidemic has fueled anti-Asian attitudes across the country, with more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian bias, xenophobia, discrimination, and hatred from March to May alone. Incidents of hatred and prejudice and hatred are worsened as the world witnessed what Black Americans experience almost daily.

After the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, and others, Asian American people raised their voices and started supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Their leaders recognize that there will be no justice in America without addressing the negative impact of systemic racism and social inequities.

The Covid-19 pandemic and hate crimes like the Atlanta shootings have left Asian Americans questioning the country. Although perceived as a land of opportunity, many Americans of Asian ancestry experienced discrimination in the U.S., and some of their offspring feel safer in Asia. Attacks on the Asian American community are linked to a history of racism and prejudice.

Since the COVID-19 pandemics broke out, the Asian American community has been flooded by a wave of racially motivated attacks, vandalism, beatings, verbal abuse, and the shootings that claimed the lives of 6 Asian American women in Atlanta in March.

The hate crimes and attacks disrupt the daily lives of Asian-Americans in the U.S. for ‘causing’ the Covid-19 pandemic and are worrying the community there. According to recent research, hate crimes against people of Asian descent have spiked 150 percent since the pandemic began. Children of Asian descent are bullied at school for being Chinese and carrying the virus. Former President Trump often used the term “China virus,” “kung flu,” or “Chinese flu” when referring to the coronavirus, which stokes anti-Asian sentiment during the pandemic. The Asian-American community is traumatized. Many of us do not dare go out without someone accompanying us because we are afraid to be knocked to the ground or stabbed to death just because we are Asian. 

Whatever the U.S. can do, we should be able to do as an individual. To defend ourselves, our family, and our interests, we need to develop our version of the military strike, political, media power. 

There is an uptick in Asian-Americans buying firearms though admittedly, interest has been skyrocketing among “basically everybody.” In a National Shooting Sports Foundation survey last year, gun retailers estimated there was a nearly 43 percent increase in sales to Asian customers in the first half of 2020. Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department senior officials claimed that the recent flood in violence and hate incidents against Asian-Americans is unacceptable and assured to investigate these crimes. From verbal harassment to incidents of physical assault, there have been thousands at an alarming level of reported cases against those of Asian descent in recent months. They are often linked to the blame of Asian people for the spread of Covid-19.

We witness that racism is becoming more and more dominant in the U.S. even after decades of intensive anti-bias activism. Many sociological, psychological, and neurological researches claim that once hateful ideologies and racial biases embed themselves in a person’s brain, they become almost impossible to control.

These researches show an uncomfortable reality: millions of dollars have been spent on high-profile anti-bias initiatives and police departments across the country, but there is no evidence that these efforts work. Victims of racism also need someone to hate.

The irony is that decades of anti-bias education have given rise to another racism type: hatred of Whites due to their privilege. philosopher B. Russell said, “Few people can be happy unless they hate some other creed, nation, or person.” The root of all race-related violence in the U.S. is white supremacy, which has roots in the old doctrine of scientific racism and was a fundamental explanation for colonialism.

No one likes when other people tell us how to feel and think, so humans tend to respond to pressure with counter-pressure. This is why there is a constant counter-attack by white supremacists.  All organized pro-diversity and anti-racism activism is a top-down situation. The racists, usually White, are at the top of the power hierarchy and the cause of the problem. Therefore, they are required to make the changes. They don’t ask those at the bottom, the targets of racism, but they report their complaints to the authorities.

Is it possible to get rid of racism only by pressuring racists to change?

Not really, since very few people don’t think they are biased. Humans have a fantastic ability to justify our beliefs, no matter how irrational they are.

Still, society and national policy need to expose and denounce racism and to punish those who commit crimes against members of other races.

Philosophers and scientific researchers are aware that the virus of racism doesn’t discriminate between people at the top and bottom of the power hierarchy. It’s infectious for us all. 

There is the need for broader inclusion, diversity, and equity since AAPIs do not always feel to be a part of these discussions. Panel discussions about diversity often focus on the racism, socio-economic inequalities, and social injustice regarding Black communities throughout the U.S., but not AAPIs.

Asian-American leaders should be an integral part of the movement to find intentional solutions that will end systematic racism in the following ways:

• Engage Asian Americans in diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions since the community is diverse and the fastest-growing of the U.S. population. 
• Recognize that being viewed and labeled as “model minorities” hides that many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live below the poverty line. 
• Acknowledge that AAPIs are also impacted by systematic racism, discrimination, racial profiling, and social injustice.
• Stop history from repeating itself by learning more about the root causes of racism, social injustice, and the historical inequities that have kept AAPIs from advancing.

Including Racial Justice into U.S. Foreign Policy Goals, addressing systemic racism, and strengthening democracy in the U.S. must be a critical part of its foreign policy vision.

No matter our political, racial or ethnic origin background, we should not stand alone but create alliances with other minorities. We should go beyond the nationality and ethnic local boundaries and come together as a community, becoming louder and more visible. We need to unite as one people, as one nation.