Donald Trump really exposed the asinine stupidity of racism. Trump never met a racist stereotype that he didn’t gleefully embrace, and he was always happy to go down every racist path he could find. When the pandemic hit, Trump made it clear that Covid-19 was “China’s fault,” and throughout 2020, his anti-Asian racism was omnipresent in speeches and tweets. This hate speech was mirrored in society, as hate crimes against the Asian-American community spiked. While Trump wasn’t the start of racism against Asian-American people, he took it to bold new social acceptance.
Obviously, we’ve been thinking about all of that and even more in the wake of the terrorist hate crime in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday. Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old mass shooter, murdered eight people (and wounded others) in three massage parlors in Atlanta. Four of eight murder victims are Asian women. Long has been arrested and he apparently admitted to the murders as soon as he was detained. He also claimed to have some kind of sexual addiction. There are those who seem to think that if this was about misogyny and sexual dysfunction, it can’t also be about racism against Asian women. It can be about both. Pathology can be intersectional too.
After the Atlanta police arrested Long, a Georgia sheriff’s official did part of the big press conference on Wednesday to talk about the mass shooting and the arrest. The guy is Cherokee County Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker (seen in the photos in this post) and during the press conference, he said: “He was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.” It was a bad day… for the mass shooter. The mass shooter who targeted Asian women in a psychosexual racist hate crime. That guy had a “bad day.” As you can imagine, everyone was absolutely disgusted. Internet sleuths did some digging on Baker’s social media and would you know, Baker had proudly shown off his racist t-shirts which (as you can see below) read “Covid 19 IMPORTED VIRUS FROM CHY-NA.” Baker wrote on the Facebook post: “Love my shirt. Get yours while they last.” That’s the guy leading the investigation into one of the worst hate crimes targeting the Asian-American community in the history of this country.
Hey Captain Jay Baker with Cherokee Country Sheriff's Office… this you? pic.twitter.com/1pTlwSlYZQ
— Rich Phelps (@RichPhelps) March 17, 2021
The delicate way white cishet male murderers are handled, as though they are precious children who simply made an oopsie, is among the most egregious acts of white supremacy at work.
— Courtney Enlow (@courtenlow) March 17, 2021
My wish is for everyone to see and humanize these women. They were working so hard to survive and provide for their families and loved ones. They were someone’s mother or aunt or daughter or niece….and loved.
It breaks me that we have to ask for others to see us as human.
— Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline) March 17, 2021
Sympathetic Police Know What It’s Like To Have A Bad Day And Kill 8 People https://t.co/O6MCzgA4Ii pic.twitter.com/agbbcv3S1h
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 17, 2021
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Thinking of the families who have lost their loved ones and Asian communities who are not being protected and feel unsafe in their homes. Loung Ung’s reflections on Twitter yesterday were so moving and I’m sorry to anyone who is feeling out of place and violated from this.
I’ve had a 102 degree fever and have been throwing up for 2 days now, and have somehow managed not to go on a misogynistic hate crime rampage. Or any other sort of rampage, for that matter. Even though my family has been realllly annoying. Where’s my f–king medal?
yeah I about died in childbirth and had massive grievances against hospital staff. Where’s my medal for not buying a tank and obliterating that place?
It’s amazing how the rest of us can have bad days and still somehow not feel we have the right to violently deprive 8 women of their lives, cause unspeakable pain to their families and friends, and further traumatize communities of colour. AS a white woman, I am so infuriated and frustrated that this entitled myopic, racist, sexist pasty POS feels he has a right to open his mouth to defend an assassin.
I’ve had many “bad” days and I’m black and gay. Can you imagine?
Dammit, now they’re going to give my medal to you instead!
We will share it and wear it together.
I hope you feel better soon Miranda!!
Yes! And when we get up onstage to accept it, we’ll have to get the orchestra to play “Ebony and Ivory”.
When white people have “bad days” people of color feel the brunt of it.
This is so wrong, it’s horrific, I don’t have words.
This man should not have a badge and a gun.
I know. I think my mouth is still stuck on my jaw. These people are part of the problem and that captain must be fired!! I can’t believe that they printed these disgusting shirts. And the investigation must to turned over to the GBI immediately!!
I want to say I am shocked at his comments but I’m not – white men continue to show us that they will always protect each other at the expense of others.
Sending love to the victims’ families…
Certain white men think that Asian women are some good, ‘meek’ alternative to ” bitchy” white women.
If Asian women don’t care about them either, they get annoyed.
And when you say you find an Asian guy attractive, many white men get at the very least annoyed, but might get even rude or throw a temper tantrum.
In their mind, all women should be for them only. And there are more of those than you might think.
Yes, the excuses are horrifying but sadly, not unexpected. The police captain needs to be fired.
My heart aches for the many people that don’t feel safe in their communities because of the rampant racism, sexism and violence that exists in our country and our world. I wish my rage and sadness could make things change.
I am feeling despondent over what has been happening to all of the families that are experiencing these racists hate crimes. The racism in this country has been driven back by about 50 years after the five years of damage done by Agent Orange. Add to the fact that we have active racists in positions of power will further normalize the actions like we saw in Georgia. And we shouldn’t accept it anymore. There needs to be tougher hate crime laws and they must be adopted in every state, including DC. We have seen for too many decades how harmful racism is, with regards to the socioeconomic perspective and the lack of enforcing discrimination to those who perpetuate the problems. We need to deprive racists the ability to hold any position of power of ALL sectors, especially those with power no matter the function.
I completely agree with your comments, Uptown Girl.
I’m feeling despondent too. The police officers here reminded me of the officers that handled Ahmaud Aubrey’s killers, and it crushes my soul that these little men have so much power when it comes to how these crimes are treated and punished. And as you pointed out, it’s been happening for DECADES! SO MANY people deserve so much better! Better protection before crimes occur, better justice when they are victimized. It’s overwhelming how big the problem is.
I go through waves of sadness, then rage, then sadness. I need to funnel it into something productive.
It’s utterly heartbreaking that these women, that are possibly mothers and are someone’s daughter, wife and partner will not be going home because some f#cking white racist was fed up with the Asian community that was fed the lies from Agent Orange that they were the cause of the COVID 19. The deaths and attacks that I have seen play out in the last 9 months have been horrifying, yet we have a captain making excuses for this POS coward to execute innocent women. The attacks are becoming more aggressive and more dangerous. They are all cowards that believe that they have a right to inflict harm or death due to their own racist beliefs.
I am ashamed that this is what our country has become and that there are those who turn a blind eye for the injustices that keep happening day after day. Excuses for the actions of the cowards, manipulating the system to keep these executioners free from being held accountable. It was one year ago this past weekend that Breonna Taylor was executed in her own home but we still don’t have justice and I don’t think we will.
I am truly sorry for the loved ones of these innocent women who were executed yesterday due to the actions of a racist POS coward. May he rot in jail for the rest of his life and may their loved ones gain justice and one day, peace in their lives.
Gross, so gross – and so flipping depressing.
I shouldn’t be shocked or surprised. I should have seen this coming. And yet, here we are. Again.
That white men still seem to feel justified in screaming about how they are the most persecuted beings on the planet after yet another example of how people will do anything to excuse the most vile behavior is utterly beyond me. Like, a police officer literally thought it was a good idea to have a press conference to tell people that the scumbag who gunned down 8 innocent people was some poor guy having a “really bad day” because he was fed up with his own sex addiction and he needed to make sure those nasty Asian whores paid for existing and therefore, constantly throwing temptation in his way, and people AGREED with him.
Last year, the police kneeled on the neck of a black man until he died just because they thought he MIGHT have used a counterfeit bill and white people couldn’t understand the resulting anger but yesterday a white man murdered eight people and not only was he taken in alive, the cops are actually apologetic for arresting him at all and are behaving as if being a misogynist incel is a good defense.
He is a soulless, racist murderer. AND an incel. And that means he should never taste freedom again.
Not only was he sympathetic toward the killer but the killer’s family is being painted as some type of heroes for turning him in. This family raised this piece of shit so they deserve no trophies. If a person of color commits a crime he or she is demonized by the police along with their families. I am glad people are calling this guy out. Hopefully, we won’t see him on our TV screens any time soon.
Unfortunately most parents don’t have ways to prevent sex addiction these days. I wish it was a problem parents were equipped to prevent but it seems you would need to speak to your child frankly and if they are Christians I don’t see that happening. Porn addiction is a devastating issue these days I recently watched a few ted talks on it and learned a lot
BS with the sex addiction. You fell right for that cover story huh?
He’s trying to avoid being charged under the hate crime statue.
MY GOD wake up people. He’s a racist incel. He hates Asians and women. Period. Sex addiction. You know, I am really shocked I don’t stroke out sometimes reading this isht.
This has nothing to do with sex addiction resulting in a fragile dudebro’s very bad day. This is a violent, racist pos who murdered 8 people.
Sex addiction is not real,. It’s not an “illness”, it’s not recognized by the DSM.
I’m sick of seeing it in media as if its is a disease. It’s compulsive behaviour, throw in some narcissism and sociopathy.
Sex addiction is not a diagnosis. It is not a disease. It is not recognized by the DSM. It is not real. It’s fixation, compulsive behaviour, narcissism and sociopathy.
We need to create excuses for the behaviour of these vile men? We needed to create a disease and name it as their affliction?
Sex addiction = men who feel the right to have sex & dominant women whenever they want & being told no.
I remember the first time I heard that term: “Frasier” when his old “Cheers” buddy Sam got cold feet about getting married to a woman character, played by Teá Leone, who then went on to divorce David Duchovy, who surprise! used this excuse for his behavior, leading to his marriage breaking up.
It’s just crap. It’s just another way for men to justify their violence against women and/or whipping it out with everyone they want to, anytime they want to, w/out taking the responsibility/consequences.
This turd did it because of hate and racism. AND the ability to buy a gun/ammo and use it the same day. Period.
My deepest sympathies for the families and friends of these women, and all of the community who are living in fear because of these POS.
It disgusts me seeing the difference in treatment depending on race! Awful
Yup. This is day to day life for us poc. Always being treated differently. Is anyone shocked a white man has sympathy for another white man? They think they’re the victims !
The most disgusting part of the sheriff’s sympathetic murder-mansplaining was when he said that the killer was “removing a temptation”. As in the sheriff empathized with the murderer in that sex workers are the temptation, are evil, are subhuman, and can rightfully be eliminated. Fucking sick.
The women he killed weren’t sex workers.
Just a little fact that gets in the way of the INCEL’s “sex addiction” defense Mac. Please don’t bring it up again.
@Darla
We do not know yet but do not tell me to not “bring it up again”. A more nuanced, important discussion is in order.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/18/atlanta-spa-shootings-anti-sex-worker-racism-sexism
I was talking to Mac and being facetious.
I wouldn’t click the link. I’m so not interested in the sex worker discussion. I find it an offensive assumption.
@Darla
“Even if they were providing non-sexual massages, this ends up being a sex work issue,” said Esther K, a co-director of Red Canary Song, a grassroots Chinese massage parlor worker coalition. “The women are de facto being seen as sex workers and being scapegoated as such.
“Removing the anti-sex-work component really removes the crux of what this specific kind of racism is about: the fetishization of Asian women’s bodies, the objectification of their bodies, and the assumption that Asian women are obviously going to be providing sexual services at massage parlors,” she continued. “The conflation of massage parlors and sex workers without any nuance is very specific to anti-Asian racism against Asian women.”
So offensive.
Removing temptation is a phrase that treats women as a commodity to consume , not people
Agreed. “Subhuman”
My heart goes out to the victims and their families. This is horrific.
I’m just shocked at this. When I have a bad day I don’t go on a shooting spree because I’m not mental nor a terrorist.
The shooter is a TERRORIST. And it is pathetic that law enforcement can not recognise this.
“When I have a bad day I don’t go on a shooting spree because I’m not mental nor a terrorist.”
Nor are you a persecuted white man with the supremacist authority to kill people you don’t care for.
Let’s stop giving media coverage to the murderer and the racist cop and instead focus on the victims. Let’s post photos, memorials, and biographies of them. Instead of long winded documentaries and books about why the persecuted white man kills, lets study how Asian women survive and succeed in our society despite all the obstacles put in their way.
One of the reasons white men kill this way is they want to be famous. It feeds their ego. We need to follow New Zealand’s example and speak about these people as what they are, anonymous criminals who deserve nothing.
+1
I’m Korean-Spanish living in Spain. I see anti-Asian attacks rising all over Europe but nowhere near what’s going on in the US. It’s sickening. I worry about my elderly parents who are also here in Spain. So far, we’ve not had any bad experience but then again, we hardly ever go out. The only incident was when my 18 year old daughter was visiting Granada university last year on its Open day, someone told her to go back to China.
My Trump supporting brother says this is all China’s fault. Nothing to do with Trump and his racist cult whatsoever. I just can’t.
I am just sickened that they keep saying he was removing temptation to his sex addiction. To start is is massive victim blaming. Second, no one bats an eye that this pervert is addicited to porn and it’s not his fault – no it is the temptation of women.
It all goes back to the old “Eve tempted Adam” bullish!t. Men skirted responsibility even then (ok..yes…being snarky, and I know it’s not *all* men).
That’s exactly what it all comes down too. I mean the year is 2021 and there are still “Christian preachers” preaching about how women need to always look their best because if you don’t your husband is going to cheat on you and that’s not his fault, god made him have urges he can’t and won’t control and he needs to always be attracted to you and he will always be looking at woman, so you better never let him stray and if you stray well….we burn you at the stake, it says so in the Bible.
My ex-husband was diagnosed as a “sex addict” and continued to find ways to blame me for his behavior even after his diagnosis and him seeking help. He went so far as to go in to a folder on my computer labeled “[sister’s] photos” where I had saved photos off her phone as I was helping her with a tech issue, looked through them and found some semi-nudes and then told ME it was MY FAULT he did that. Sex addiction is just a cover for misogynist men to treat women however they feel like.
If this was a Muslim, there’d be talk of terrorism and bad religion.
If this was a black man, there’d be talk of thuggish behavior and playing the race card.
If this was an immigrant, there’d be talk of rapist and murderers.
If this was a woman, there’d be talk of her being crazy, manipulative, and “out to get him.”
BUT THIS was a young white Christian male. He had a bad day, he has a history of mental illness, we need to be empathetic to his situation, he needs to be coddled and his hand held, and told that everything will be OK. After all, he only murdered 8 people…
If you get a chance, LISTEN to the 911 calls made by some of the women involved in the attack, their soft pleading for help will break your heart.
I read the other day that the Nashville bomber has not been deemed a terrorist because his reasoning was based on “conspiracy theories” and not “political”. Conspiracy theories are often political! I feel like they bend over backwards to not give white terrorists the label of “terrorist”. It is absurd, unacceptable, and it needs to stop!
Brava Mireille!! You are exactly right!!
I am embarrassed to be an American as I have been for the past 5 years.
So far the identities of the four victims killed, including 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 49-year-old Xiaojie Yan, and 44-year-old Daoyou Feng. May they Rest In Peace and may justice be served quickly and to the fullest extent of the law.
May this POS coward be brutally attacked in jail for the rest of his life.
I don’t know why i thought about Polanski and they also give him excuses for his rape(s) “but his wife was shot carrying their child” “but he survived Nazi camps” like, ok? I’ve survived rapes and domestic violence, can I rob a bank?
What’s next, white man lost his wallet so he was allowed to beat a child? damn
This is sickening in every way. Damn.
I firmly believe someone in law enforcement told the POS to claim sex addiction as a defense to avoid being charged with a hate crime. Probably told him prosecution have him but if he wants to avoid a harsher sentence then to come up with a different motive. What 21 yr old male don’t look at porn? Oh wait you do too as a good Christian? Then that’s your defense son b/c it’s better that the world see you as the victim of a disease
^^^ YES
And it also renders the women as sex workers even if they weren’t, and assigns them all of the misogynistic baggage that comes along with that. I mean, it’s an outrage. I don’t even want to hear about it. They sure set the narrative fast, didn’t they?
I agree, Connie. The excuse perpetuated by the police captain was strategic and intentional.
My “sex addict” ex had a trove of downloaded porn I found one day. So much of it was of Asian women (we’re both white) so it seems very obvious to me it doesn’t matter if the women actually were sex workers, he clearly viewed them as sexual objects. I find it very hard to separate the racism from the sexism as they seem so clearly tied in this man’s mind.
The intersection between sexism, racism and entitlement is deep and wide. And systems like the political parties, police officers & the evangelical church that the killer was highly invested in (huh, funny how the church has hidden their social media suddenly) fed, formed and then armed that entitlement. I feel sick to my stomach at the terror those poor victims must have felt. And Of Course it’s frickin’ domestic terrorism because every Asian person in the States now feels that burden of extra fear every day.
I loathe men. That is all.
Come sit next to me, Ann. Unfortunately I love sex with men so my whole life has been almost a split-personality level dichotomy. My exes have stories to tell and I can’t deny that.
@Ann, I’m with you!
The largest threat to a women’s life is a man. Men…they are extremely adept at killing us.
It’s been so emotionally draining. I am an Asian American woman living in fear for my family; if there will be random harassment. I speak fluent English and wear very professional business clothes for my job and I will still get harassed by men to carry out their ‘fetish’ (one has asked me point how much for an hour; others made sexual comments or if I was looking for a husband – the oh an Asian woman must be looking for a foreign husband -; a few followed me for blocks; and one tried to grab me) and sometimes the comments or dirty looks would come from women with assumptions that I’m the imported gf or wife. It’s non-stop draining and hard to be ‘seen not as a human’ but sexual objects or lesser human because of some assumptions due to how they view stereotypes of Asian women that is rooted in US imperialism. There is a very clear connection between hyper-sexualization of Asian women and the racism, discrimination, and violence; it is all invisible because people don’t listen to us but to the guy that just killed innocents for having a bad day. Also not all Asian spas are bad business involved in the sex trade or human trafficking and even if some are involved; some are just literally massage places. But even if some of the locations were fronts – are the women that work their not humans with love ones? Why should this not be a hate crime just because the guy said so? Online in another forum – a white woman tried to explain how this case isn’t about racism because she believes it was link to the the guy’s issue with the sex trade. To her it was about proving that she was right instead of listening to many Asian women telling her about how we are often treated as sexual objects and that this case was def. a hate crime. To my fellow AAs, keep safe.
AI I’m with you and support you. *hugs*
I’m with you. So emotionally drained right now. Tired of being told what is and isn’t racism by white people, that I must have misunderstood, how is this racist, I am too sensitive, I don’t understand their culture (despite having lived here 40 years), I have no sense of humour (racist jokes), racism does not exist cos they have never experienced it themselves and there’s an Asian kid in their kid’s class therefore no racism, and them not realising that what we are seeing on the news is just the tip of the iceberg. Conversation about race has not even started in Spain….
Oh Ai, thank you for sharing your experience. Atlanta mayor says she would support charging him with hate crimes. I really don’t see how they can not.
My heart goes out to you, Ai. Sending you love.
Thanks, Kaiser, for talking about racism against Asian people. I don’t live in the US, but it means a lot.
Don’t they say this about all the mass shooters who happen to be white men? why isn’t anyone racially profiling them?
The biggest danger in America if a white man who feels his power threatened. Full stop.
“ The biggest danger in America if a white man who feels his power threatened. Full stop.”
^ Yep.
THIS is exactly what we’re seeing. Look at every mass shooting we’ve had in the last 20-30 yrs. What is the *one* thing they all have in common. Hmmm… what could it be….?????
100% agree !
Dear shitty Georgia police chief,
Fuck you very much.
This is why I will NEVER live in the south as a woman of color.
Again, fuck you very much.
You don’t give a damn about any of these Asian women.
Fuck off.
The defense of “white innocence” is so strong in this country. As an Asian American woman, I am sick and sad today. The Atlanta murders were horrific. And there are hate crimes taking place every day against AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) people in many cities in the U.S. My husband said yesterday the Atlanta murders were a mass shooting, the first in a while b/c Americans have been in lockdown for so long (b/c when U.S. society is open, we typically have mass shooting after mass shooting — itself just a sick and sad fact). All mass shootings are beyond horrible, but this one — the murder of innocent Asian women and their clients in their place of business — combines so many of the worst traits of the U.S.: the racism, the sexism, the absence of rational gun laws, the rise of violent white supremacy, the entitlement of deranged white men. Truly, truly terrible.
My husband is Hmong and I am white. My father texted me this morning to ask if my husband has ever encountered racism and was surprised when I said yes. Any time my husband tried to explain his experiences, my father would try to compare it to something he experienced, but there are subtle differences that he refuses to see because it doesn’t fit the world view he’s trying to maintain.
Asian American here. I am so angry right now. These idiots defending him and the racist terrorist who killed all these women deserve to experience the terror that these women felt before they died. My heart goes out to the victims and their families.
I am super worried for my parents right now in FL knowing the orange cheeto is in the area and is responsible for much of the hate mongering. To the very few CB posters who tried to dismiss the violence against Asian Americans not too long ago (not all, most CBers are wonderful) and the ones who attacked Amybee for saying that Asians experience racism too (you know who you are), I want you to take a good hard look at yourselves. Sorry, too angry to give AF how this comes out.
I loved your comment. Keep using your voice !
Keri: your comments are accurate. There are definitely some CBers who need to take a good hard look at themselves. I’ve seen their comments about Asians as well.
I feel you Keri. I’m Asian American and have had discussions online in politically “progressive” forums where when I mentioned racism against Asians I’d get called out by holier than tho woke white women telling me I was still privileged or didn’t have it as bad as….
And it was always a white woman. Black women have never dismissed my experience.
@Normades, I actually wasn’t involved in the original discussion that turned nasty. As a long time reader and lurker, I was appalled when I read what was being said. I tried to reply in the original thread, but either my response was eaten up by the spam blocker or was moderated.
To be fair, the nastiness was not coming from a white person. Unfortunately, it was coming from other POC. That’s why I felt I had to say something now. Instead of banding together and sharing experiences with racism, they were tearing down and dismissing Asian experiences and likening anyone who disagreed to Trumpers. And now this horrible thing happened and if those people are human and have any sort of conscience, I hope they are ashamed of themselves.
Yup. Can confirm that the comments most of the time came from people who identified as people of colour. The more offensive ones were deleted (and yes they definitely needed to be removed).
Can anyone imagine having a loved one, a friend, a member of our family, murdered, and then someone in a position of power comes out and says the killer had a bad day? Can we imagine the absolute rage, sadness, powerlessness of having to hear this? I don’t even know what to say. But I know what I feel.
When a girl in my fifth grade class was raped and murdered by a family friend, our small town police did not say this. I don’t think in any universe that most police would think this sort of comment could be acceptable. Human beings who care about other human beings do not say this. Yes, there is systemic racism. No doubt. But this goes beyond that. This is beyond what anyone who has any sense of humanity could say. There is something incredibly wrong with him.
I can think of eight people who had a worse day.
He didn’t call them people, no he called them ‘temptation’.
I live in his county. I’d like someone to show him a bad day.
UNfknBELIEVABLE
Just…. sigh.
The article is great but the comments are precious!
Thank you CB for this forum. It brings me hope and fills my heart with love.