Anti-Asian hate crime in the 16 largest U.S. cities increased 149% in 2020, coinciding with negative stereotyping that linked Asian people to the coronavirus pandemic, a new report finds.
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FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Haijun Si stands in front of his home as neighbors form a nightly security detail to deter teens who have harassed his family by throwing rocks and yelling racial slurs. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
An Asian American family was being harassed. Now their neighbors stand guard
LOS ANGELES Every night, the neighbors converge on the Si family’s two-story home, which has large windows and an expansive porch adorned with columns.
Some sit in camping chairs in front of the driveway. Others keep watch from their cars or patrol the nearby parks.
The Sis moved to this upscale Ladera Ranch neighborhood a few months ago, with the country deep in the Covid-19 pandemic and hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise.
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To the editor: It is truly disturbing how so many Americans have emerged as outright racists. It is even more alarming that the racist terrorization of Haijun Si’s family in Ladera Ranch has been carried out largely by children and teenagers in the neighborhood.
Even if the pandemic is the fault of the Chinese government, why should the entire population of Asian Americans be taking the blame? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 8.5% of all essential healthcare workers and 16.2% of workers in the pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing sectors are Asian and Pacific Islanders, so will these haters reject a ventilator manufactured in Asia or administered by an Asian healthcare provider should the need arise?