How to talk about the anti-Asian hate and violence in our country

How to talk about the anti-Asian hate and violence in our country from a partner national AAPI organization-messaging guidance.

We can’t ignore the fact that anti-Asian hate and violence disproportionately impacts women because of the combined forces of racism and misogyny.

• White supremacy, anti-Asian racism, and sexism are at the root of these killings as well as the spike in harassment and violence against Asian Americans.
• New polling from the National  Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) done in February and March this year has revealed that nearly half of the Asian American and Pacific Islander women respondents had been affected by anti-Asian racism in the past two years.
• We can’t ignore that the rise in anti-Asian harassment and violence has disproportionately impacted women, who know firsthand that sexual violence, sexism, and racism are intertwined.

We need a response that centers Asian American women and elders, who have been disproportionately impacted, and results in true aid, community support, and government support that flows to those who need it most.

• We do not need more law enforcement — time and time again, more law enforcement has not led to protection and safety. The current criminal justice system, with its racial profiling, police brutality, and killings, however, leaves Black lives especially at risk.
• We should all be able to feel safe while going about our daily lives, going to work, shopping for groceries, taking a walk in the neighborhood, and more.

We are asking elected officials for a response that:

• centers the needs of the communities on the ground starting with the people experiencing the most harm: women and elders
• tackles the systemic racism and white supremacy that continues to plague our nation
• and addresses the needs of the survivors with services such as increased culturally informed victim support, community support, meaningful physical and mental health care access, including for all immigrants, and economic assistance that focuses on those who need it most.

We should all be able to feel safe while going about our daily lives, going to work, shopping for groceries, taking a walk in the neighborhood, and more.

Don’ts

• Talk about law enforcement being the answer. It is a bandaid for the much deeper problems of racism and misogyny. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker’s racist history and recent comments demonstrate that the police are unfit to deliver true aid.
• Compare anti-Asian racism to racism against other communities of color. Do point out that white supremacy is at the root of both.
• Make statements about unproven assertions about the job functions of the people who died. We are in solidarity with sex workers but just because these women worked at spas does not mean that they were engaging in sex work and if some did, it does not mean that all did. At the end of the day, they are people who were killed, and while we condemn invisiblizing sex workers, we should not assume one way or another.

Guidance from Pulse:

• Use the word “taken” or “killed,” not “lost” when referencing the victims.
• Do not name the shooter as suggested by No Notoriety. Focus on the victims, their friends, families, and community members.
• Avoid reenactments of the violence. These are unnecessary and can re-traumatize those impacted.
• Avoid erasing the sexual orientation and/or gender identities of the taken, the survivors, and the friends and families.
• Avoid erasing the nationalities, immigrant histories, and the specificity of the communities impacted.
• Avoid speculating about the shooter’s motive, background, religion, or sexual orientation.

*We acknowledge that these messages aren’t comprehensive and do not address many factors that led to the killings: dangerous stereotypes and sexual fetishization of Asian women, vulnerability of low-wage workers, especially those in the service industry, where AAPI women are disproportionately represented, to name just a couple. For the sake of brevity, we will leave it at this for now and add more later.