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A young man wreaks havoc in several Atlanta massage parlors, and most of the victims are Asian women. A few days after the crime, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris travel to the city. While there, the U.S. president also denounces his predecessor’s anti-Chinese sentiment campaign.
After the deadly attacks on three massage studios in the state of Georgia, U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned the increasing violence against Asian-American citizens during a visit to Atlanta and called for more commitment against racism. Hate and violence have “often been met with silence” in the United States, he said after meeting with representatives of the Asian-American community. “But that has to change, because our silence means complicity.”
Racism, he said, is a “poison” that has dogged the United States for too long.” We must speak out, we must act,” he declared. The people of the United States must “fight the resurgence of xenophobia,” he said. Biden also indirectly criticized his predecessor Donald Trump for his controversial comments on the coronavirus. The Republican had repeatedly referred to the virus as the “China virus.” “Words have consequences,” Biden said. “It’s the coronavirus, period.”
Biden had traveled to Atlanta with his deputy, Kamala Harris, to meet with representatives of the Asian American community. It was “heartbreaking” to hear the accounts of the grieving people, the president said afterward.
Georgia attackers charged with murder
Eight people were killed in Tuesday’s attacks, including six women of Asian descent. The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, denied a racial motive. He told police he had wanted to “eliminate” a temptation that had put him at odds with his strict religious beliefs as he battled a sex addiction. Authorities have not yet confirmed Long’s motive. In general, however, the crime is seen as a symbol of the intertwining of sexism and racism in the United States.
Biden, during his visit to Atlanta, criticized the number of attacks on people of Asian descent in the U.S. as having “skyrocketed.” A report by the organization Stop AAPI Hate confirms this. According to the report, released on the day of the attack, hate crimes against people of Asian descent have increased in the United States. Last year, nearly 3800 assaults were recorded, according to the data, and women were disproportionately affected.
On Biden’s orders, flags at the White House and other public buildings are to remain at half-mast until Monday. The House of Representatives observed a moment of silence Thursday. Vigils were held in several major cities, while police in New York, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere stepped up patrols in neighborhoods with large populations of Asian-Americans.
- source: ntv.de/picture: unsplash.com
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