Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza

Fight hate beyond hate crimes.

Hate crime charges serve as a sentencing enhancement when someone acts with bias while committing a crime. This bias must be against members of a protected class – such as a specific race, religion, or sexual orientation – and it must be a motivating factor for the crime (Time). It seems reasonable that a crime is more odious if it occurs solely because the victim is a member of an oppressed community.

​Happy Thursday! And welcome back to the newsletter. Although it's important we name how racism and discrimination influence violence against marginalized groups, hate crime legislation can disproportionately harm these same communities. Today, Andrew looks at the recent crimes designated as hate crimes and the disparities in sentencing.

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Thank you to everyone that gives a little when they can to keep this newsletter going! If you can, consider giving $7/month on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community. This newsletter will continue to be a free resource because of this collective support.
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Nicole

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By Andrew Lee (he/him)

In March, a white man walked into three Asian massage businesses and murdered eight people, six of them Asian women. All were identifiable as Asian-owned establishments. He entered each intending to take lives and admitted as much to police (NBC News). Immediately after the shooting, a Sheriff’s Deputy gave a press conference about the attack. He denied it was racially motivated, saying “yesterday was a really bad day” for the killer (MSN). It is almost impossible to imagine a police officer offering the same kindness to an Asian woman who shoots down six white people in their workplaces.
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Understandably, many demanded that this vile act be labeled a hate crime, a common response after similar atrocities. Such killings were obviously motivated by hate, and we wish to see them acknowledged as such. But there are real reasons to be cautious of the rush to call things hate crimes, because when these practices become policy, they have an adverse impact on vulnerable communities of color.

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Hate crime charges serve as a sentencing enhancement when someone acts with bias while committing a crime. This bias must be against members of a protected class – such as a specific race, religion, or sexual orientation – and it must be a motivating factor for the crime (Time). It seems reasonable that a crime is more odious if it occurs solely because the victim is a member of an oppressed community.
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Except this isn’t how the law is applied. A woman could be prosecuted for hate crimes against men. Queer people could be charged with hate crimes against straight people. In a landmark case, three Black teenagers had years added to their sentence because the courts held that their attack of a white teenager was a hate crime (Vice). Hate crime laws were used to sentence a member of the Black Liberation Army, a successor organization to the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, to death for supposed bias against white people (New York Times). According to hate crime laws, an organization fighting for Black liberation and a white supremacist mass shooter are one and the same.

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In 2019, Black people accounted for 24% of hate crime convictions though they only make up 13% of the population. While white people make up 60% of the population, they only accounted for 53% of hate crime convictions (FBI). According to the criminal justice system, white people in fact commit disproportionately few hate crimes while Black people commit them at a disproportionately high rate. Since hate crimes are above all a legal category, it is not community members but a white supremacist system that decides when they exist.
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We also need to remember that as sentencing enhancements, hate crime provisions increase the time someone is incarcerated or cause them to be legally executed. When we expand the prison system and increase its ability to kill, those who suffer first are not white bigots but rather Black and Brown working-class people.
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In the Atlanta example, prosecutors finally decided to charge the shooter with a hate crime as well as domestic terrorism (Yahoo). Domestic terrorism laws are disproportionately used to over-police Black, Brown, and Muslim communities (Emgage Action). Supporting Muslim charities, loaning money to friends for airline tickets, and even going paintballing are all innocuous activities that have led to domestic terrorism charges (Jacobin). When we demand enhanced charges, we’re enabling an apparatus that overwhelmingly targets people of color. When we see racist murders go unpunished or armed white people storm the Capitol, it’s not absurd to think harsher penalties are what’s fair. But legitimizing the punitive system and enhancing its repressive abilities harms communities of color in the least equitable and most horrifying ways imaginable.
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When we depend on the state for justice, we strengthen all of its parts: legislators and prisons, courts and police. If the American state, the wealthiest and most powerful one in the world, worked for racial justice, this newsletter would not be necessary. The protests of last summer would not have been necessary. Those protests were against the police and courts and prisons and politicians who enable them. The message of the revolts is that we cannot depend on the American government for racial justice, because the American government itself created and has profited from racial oppression for centuries. If we demand a stronger carceral system for that same system to protect us from hate, we throw all of those lessons aside.
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We need to name racial violence without resorting to the language of a racist criminal justice system. We need to forcefully respond to it without depending on institutions that cause incredible harm to communities of color. We can confront racist bigotry without depending on racist institutions. If we support healthy, well-resourced communities that can defend themselves from racist attacks, we can build justice without promoting the forces that have denied it from so many for so long.

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We need to fight hate. We can do it beyond appealing to hate crimes.

Key Takeaways

  • Demanding hate crime charges isn’t the only way we can resist racist violence.

  • Hate crime charges don’t make us free. They have been leveled against Black activists “biased” against white people and strengthen courts and prisons.

  • Black people are disproportionately convicted of hate crimes. 

  • When we strengthen courts, police, and prisons, the people most directly affected are working class Black and Brown communities. 

  • We can’t build true community safety by relying on a racist system.

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Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

Address anti-Asian hate crimes.

Over the past week, a series of attacks against the Asian community, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area, have led calls for justice. In SF, an 84-year-old man from Thailand, Vicha Ratanapakdee, was tackled to the ground. He ultimately died from his injuries (Yahoo). In Oakland, a 91-year-old man was senselessly knocked over. According to the Chinatown Chamber president, there have been 20+ robbery/assault incidents reported in the neighborhood over the past week (ABC7). These acts of violence match others that have sparked in cities across the country, as reported by @nguyen_amanda on Twitter. Despite the severity of these attacks, many major news sources have not yet reported on them.

Happy Monday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! A rise in violence against the Asian community this past week prompted me to revisit this article from July, where I outlined the rising anti-Asian sentiment prompted by COVID-19 and the previous administration. I've included it below, with the addition of new sources to follow and the latest ways to take action.

Thank you all for your support. This newsletter is made possible by our subscribers. Consider subscribing for $7/month on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community.

Nicole

Ps – be sure to sign up for 28 Days of Black History.

TAKE ACTION

  • If you or someone you know experiences an anti-Asian attack, report it at stopaapihate.org.

  • Raise awareness and learn more by following the hashtag #StopAAPIHate on social media.

  • Ensure your company has implemented anti-discrimination policies that protect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders using this PDF.

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

Over the past week, a series of attacks against the Asian community, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area, have led calls for justice. In SF, an 84-year-old man from Thailand, Vicha Ratanapakdee, was tackled to the ground. He ultimately died from his injuries (Yahoo). In Oakland, a 91-year-old man was senselessly knocked over. According to the Chinatown Chamber president, there have been 20+ robbery/assault incidents reported in the neighborhood over the past week (ABC7). These acts of violence match others that have sparked in cities across the country, as reported by @nguyen_amanda on Twitter. Despite the severity of these attacks, many major news sources have not yet reported on them.


The onset of COVID-19 in early March set off a dramatic spike in anti-Asian racism. The Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center, organized by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, has tracked over 1,900 self-reported acts of anti-Asian incidents from March 13 – June, and hundreds more from California and Texas since (A3PCON). 58% of Asian Americans feel it’s more common to experience racism now than it was before COVID-19, and 31% have been subject to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity (Pew Research). A recent Pew Study reports that since COVID-19 about 40% of U.S. adults believe “it has become more common for people to express racist views toward Asians since the pandemic began”  (Pew Research).


Former President Trump played a role in this, applying his divisive approach to conversations around COVID-19. He chose to refer to it as “Chinese virus,” or “kung flu,” consistently. Press noted he used “Chinese virus” over 20 times between March 16 and March 30 (NBC News). And there’s a long history of North America and its leaders using false narratives to associate Asian Americans with diseases to "justify" racial discrimination and violence.


In the late 19th century, many Chinese and Japanese people immigrated to the U.S. and Canada for the gold rush, along with immigrants from the UK and Europe. Their labor was indispensable for the growth of infrastructure alongside the West Coast, but they were also paid terribly compared to their white American counterparts (The Conversation). 
 

As Chinese communities began to grow, white communities turned against them, fearing they would take their jobs and disrupt their quality of life. They ostracized them by blaming Chinese people for diseases – like syphilis, leprosy, and smallpox –  growing in the region. This was entirely untrue; poverty, not race, is more accurately correlated with the spread of diseases.

Despite that, Canada created a Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration and concluded that  "Chinese quarters are the filthiest and most disgusting places in Victoria, overcrowded hotbeds of disease and vice, disseminating fever and polluting the air all around,” even though they knew themselves it wasn’t accurate (The Conversation).  This spurred violence and hateful rhetoric, but political changes, too: the U.S. passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, and Canada followed with their own Chinese Immigration Act in 1885. These were the first law for both countries that excluded an entire ethnic group (AAPF).

To see the same type of discrimination and violence rise yet again is terrifying. For our original piece last summer, I interviewed my friend Katie Dean, an educator currently working in the tech space, to get her thoughts. Dean, who has been self-isolating since March, expressed her frustration for the violence her community is experiencing.

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Right now, who I actually am, doesn’t matter. When I walk out into the world, I am judged by my face. And currently the face of an Asian person, to some, is synonymous with COVID-19, the virus that has taken loved ones, the virus that’s brought the global economy to a crashing halt, the virus that has exacerbated every conceivable racial and socioeconomic disparity. And this hurts, on a profound level.

Katie Dean for the Anti-Racism Daily

Our country needs to take more direct action to protect the AAPI community. In just the past month, President Biden signed a memorandum to combat bias incidents toward Asian Americans, issuing guidance on how to better collect data and assist with the reporting of anti-Asian hate incidents (NBC News). But the work truly starts with each of us. We must continue to raise awareness and admonish this violence in our own communities.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A rise in anti-Asian sentiment only further stresses the need for accountability from individuals and the government alike

  • The onset of COVID-19 in early March set off a dramatic spike in anti-Asian racism.

  • The U.S. and Canada have a history of accusing Asian Americans of disease as one of many ways to discriminate and incite violence against them.

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Nandita Godbole Nicole Cardoza Nandita Godbole Nicole Cardoza

Stand against hate crimes.

We were victims of a home burglary in 2018. By the attending officers’ own admission, we were singled out, “…targeted since you are from India.” Burglars had watched our house, learned our routines, and identified when we wouldn't be home. Officers admitted that our region, metro Atlanta was plagued with ethnically profiled burglaries for more than a decade, as was America. Their apathy and lack of urgency horrified us.

Happy Sunday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Today, Nandita joins us to emphasize the importance of recognizing crimes as hate crimes when they happen, particularly against the South Asian community. The lack of correlation between crimes and their potential racial motivations contributes to the bias that allows this violence to persist.

We've recently launched a referral program where you can unlock some ARD products when you bring more of your community to the conversation. This work takes everyone, and we'd love your help in spreading the word. And thank you to everyone that has been doing this from day one! You can join here >
 

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Nicole

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By Nandita Godbole (she/her)

We were victims of a home burglary in 2018. By the attending officers’ own admission, we were singled out, “…targeted since you are from India.” Burglars had watched our house, learned our routines, and identified when we wouldn't be home. Officers admitted that our region, metro Atlanta was plagued with ethnically profiled burglaries for more than a decade, as was America. Their apathy and lack of urgency horrified us.


The Jury Expert explains a hate crime as one where a perpetrator may “choose” a victim based on recognizable characteristics (such as race or ethnicity) (The Jury Expert). Additionally, crimes, including burglaries, targeting ethnic minorities are considered hate crimes, a federal offense (Uniform Crime Reporting Program, FBI). Hate crimes carry a minimum sentence of ten years to life and a large fine. Instead, a burglary sentence is one to five years in a county jail or state prison, and a fine (criminaldefenselawyer.com.)
 

Local investigating authorities bear the sole onus of qualifying a hate crime, reporting to the FBI based on “criminal activity” and “indication of hatred” - eg. graffiti or destruction of religious spaces. Though the victims’ ethnicity likely motivated criminal intent, overlooking it reduces the burden of reporting. Incorrectly classified racially targeted burglaries mean burglars only face a short jail stint if convicted. This emboldens criminals, makes South Asian communities more vulnerable, discounts their trauma, and denies justice.
 

Home burglaries targeting people from South Asia are often meticulously planned, and not crimes of convenience. As one of two South Asians in our neighborhood, we were profiled and targeted. The other family was burgled some years prior in Florida. In addition to being burgled, our two prayer altars were rifled, prayer books thrown and trampled upon, religious artifacts stolen or destroyed. Yet, the burglary was never investigated as a hate crime.
 

In 2017, more cities saw more burglaries targeting Asians and South Asians. In 2018, Cobb County, Georgia, (Metro Atlanta) reported 47.6% of burglaries targeted Asians (Cobb County Courier) and are widespread across the U.S. (NBC News). Despite FBI laws, underreporting is often caused by cultural unfamiliarity, lack of sensitivity training, and unconscious bias (community event coverage). Victims are frequently shamed for their lifestyles, though local public records offer unhindered public access to information including homeowner identities  (Freedom of Information Act). At a South Asian community event in Metro Atlanta in 2018, a Fulton County District Attorney (Georgia) publicly dismissed community concerns (Khabar Magazine), calling victims needlessly hysterical (Video of ‘Just Chai & Chat’ Event). Although he amended his statement later, this characterizes racial gaslighting and rampant complacency towards South Asian victims.
 

Underreporting Perpetuates The Problem
 

Until April 2020, Georgia and four other states in the US had no laws to protect victims of ethnically targeted crimes (Anti-Defamation League). Furthermore, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) quoted ProPublica’s report, that in 2017, 120 federal agencies had not complied with FBI mandates to submit hate crime data. In 2017, crime data missed crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, nearly 10% of America’s population (Urban Institute). Elsewhere, UI noted a 34% increase in crimes targeting South Asians, informing that local laws offer disproportionate victim support, reluctance in reporting, and lack of community support (Urban Institute). Despite the surge in hate crimes, in 2019, federal agents processed fewer cases than before (Voice of America). 
 

In 2017, according to the FBI, burglary related losses exceeded 3.14 billion dollars, with 62% residential burglaries or 2 billion dollars of individual financial losses. That same year, London taxpayers lost upwards of 67 million dollars (BBC) in similar burglaries. Our own property damages exceeded $30,000, and property loss exceeded $25,000 in stolen family heirlooms and religious artifacts.
 

Victims experience financial losses, property damages, increased homeowners insurance, health insurance, and more security measures. But a South Asians’ trauma is compounded by the loss of irreplaceable family heirlooms, emotional trauma from victimization, gaslighting, and being denied justice. Since 2018, our family works every day to chip away at the racial trauma of a burglary motivated solely by our ethnicity. Victims like us carry long-lasting scars; ordinary events trigger ailments (SAALT) like anxiety, sleep or eating disorders, depression, PTSD, sometimes escalating into serious concerns. Psychological suffering significantly exacerbates mental health issues in teens and young adults. Their day-to-day struggles are a traumatizing reminder of being culturally different and excluded. More than 40% of crime victims experience depression, feel unsafe, lose confidence in community resources and law enforcement, and their family relationships suffer (Research Gate). One in eight victims never recovers from the trauma (CABA). Although resources may be available via the FBI and through the National Center for Victims of Crime – underreporting skews data and access to recovery.
 

The “whitewashing” of crimes targeting ethnic minorities and people of color perpetuate trauma. It also discounts racially targeted home burglaries as mere burglaries and not hate crimes. Communities must demand action. Hate crimes against people of color are more than the burden of the two words. Victims did not get to choose. Neither should authorities. And until we reckon with this harm, our work towards a more equitable future is not complete. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Hate crimes are calculated crimes, yet are frequently under-reported and inadequately investigated. 

  • Understand the nuances of a hate-crime: when an individual is profiled for their ethnicity, and their person or property is willfully harmed to victimize them, it is a hate crime. It must be investigated and prosecuted as such.

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Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

Read More