Thursday, May 13. I’m Kimi Yoshino, and I’m writing from Los Angeles.
We’ve seen video after video of unprovoked attacks on Asian Americans and reports that show an alarming uptick in anti-Asian violence. One set of data, from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, found a 164% increase in Asian-related hate crimes in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period last year.
As Times reporter Anh Do wrote:
The attacks took place in schools, restaurants, stores, subways, sidewalks, fitness classes and Zoom meetings. Some involved allegations about the coronavirus, while other perpetrators used age-old racial slurs like “ching chong.”