Demonstrations began outside the Georgia state capitol building in
order to demand justice for the victims of fatal shootings occurred at three
massage parlors in the Atlanta area on March 16,2021.
The incident witnessed eight deaths, including six women of Asian
descent, when a gunman opened fire at three spas or massage parlors in the
metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
A 21-year-old man named Robert Aron Long; a white man of Woodstock was
identified as a suspect later the day this incident happened. On 17 March 2021,
Long was charged with eight counts of murder.
According to police, Long said his actions were not racially motivated
instead he was motivated by a sexual addiction that was against his religious
beliefs. After the mass shootings, Long has been charged with the murders but
he has not been charged with hate crime.
Earlier, Long has spent time in Hope Quest, an evangelical treatment
clinic for sex addiction. He has been a financier of two of the massage parlors
and identified them as sources of sexual temptation.
According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, Long initially
thought of killing himself but later he decided to target the massage parlors.
According to him, spa or massage parlors are the temptation for sex addict
people like him and he wanted to “help" others dealing with sex addiction.
As six of the victims were of Asian descent, some analysts have
characterized the murders as a hate crime, staging the rising discrimination
and misogyny against the Asian-Americans in the United States during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the accused has claimed that his actions were not racially
motivated but some experts have said that race cannot be ignored as a reason
for this incident which have sent shockwaves across the United States.
During the pandemic, the country has witnessed a significant rise in
the Anti-Asian hate crimes born out of stigmas about race, gender and sex work.
According to a report published last week by Stop AAPI Hate Reporting
Centre, 3795 hate incidents targeting the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders) were recorded between 19 March 2020 and 28 February 2021.
Some people believe that the rise in hate crimes against the Asian-American
community during the pandemic is due to the racist language used by the former
President Donald Trump as he called the corona virus the “China virus" and
“Kung flu".
Reactions
In order to respect the victims of the shootings, President Joe Biden
ordered all U.S. flags at the White House, on naval vessels, at military
installations, on other federal grounds and at U.S. diplomatic missions to be
flown at the lowered positions between 18 march 2021 and 22 march 2021.
On 19 March 2021, President Joe Biden and the Vice-president Kamala
Harris met with the leaders of the Asian-American community to discuss the mass
shootings.
In his speech, the President condemned the incident as well as
anti-Asian racism. “Too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the
streets and worry, waking up each morning this past year fearing for their
safety, the safety of their loved ones,” Biden said. “They have been attacked,
blamed, scapegoated, harassed. They have been verbally assaulted, physically
assaulted, killed.”
The President also supported the proposed COVID-19 Hates Crime Act,
which he believed would help in tackling anti-Asian hate crimes.
Protests
Thousands of people participated in demonstrations across the United
States on account of a surge in violence against Asian Americans and to raise
awareness about racial discrimination.
Rallies and widespread demonstrations were held in at least twelve
cities of America in the wake of the deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area
massage parlours.
A coalition named ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
organized sixty rallies across the U.S. against the Asian Hate Crimes.
“We are out here to say that we are not going to tolerate racism
towards Asian American communities,” Satya Vatti, an organizer with the ANSWER
said.
Beyond Atlanta, social activists gathered in rallies protesting and
denouncing Asian hate, in cities including New York, Washington D.C., Seattle,
Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
“Hate is a virus", “Stop Asian hate", “I am not a virus” and
“I am not your model minority” are some of the statements written on the
holdings.
People also expressed their grief as well as anger via social media
using hashtags such as “stopasianhate".
Videos and photos of protests and rallies also flooded the social media
handles as thousands of people from Washington D.C to Los Angeles came out of
their houses and offices to show their resistance to the cause.
Written By – Sanjana Yadav
Edited by – Adrija Saha
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