The Chinese American Association of Newton and the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association, have organized a vigil for the victims of the horrific racially motivated killings in Atlanta, GA. Here is the announcement:
Rally and Assembly Against Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Racism
STOP ASIAN HATE
IN FRONT OF NEWTON CITY HALL
1000 COMMONWEALTH AVENUE
NEWTON, MA 02459
SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Today, we are here to hold the vigil for the victims of the horrific, racially-motivated killings that occurred this past Tuesday, in Atlanta GA. 6 out of 8 victims were innocent Asian women and the places targeted were Asian-run businesses. In 2020 alone, hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent rose by nearly 150 percent according to a study conducted by California State University.
Our Asian communities are devastated, heartbroken, angry, and feel helpless at this very difficult moment. It should not be forgotten that though the pandemic has exacerbated anti-Asian racism, hate and violence towards the Asian community has existed and been deeply entrenched in our society since the inception of the United States. The Atlanta killings only serve to highlight the fact that the recent attacks target those most marginalized: women, immigrants, the impoverished, and the elderly.
Please join us to pray for our victims, their family and loved ones. Let’s hope in each other’s company and support, we can be united, and together we will stand up and fight the hatred, senseless killing, and racism for ALL people.
We want to thank our neighbors, friends, the Mayor and Mayor’s office, and the city of Newton for their heartfelt support!
Chinese American Association of Newton and the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association.
“racially motivated.” The assailant was white. Most of the victims were Asian females. I have seen press reports that conjecture, based on these facts, that it may have been racially motivated, but I have not seen evidence. I don’t want to shout “racism” until I see evidence. Is there evidence?
These comments here are gross. Shame on both of you.
MMQC. These killings were horrific. The Asian community has 100% of my support and sympathy. All that I am saying is that I have not read (yet) that they were racially motivated. I am not discounting that they may have been. This does not discount the horrible loss of life.
I agree. While I vehemently condemn the killing of these poor women, the facts are pointing in a direction that says this was not racially motivated, yet someone evil who for whatever reason targets specific massage parlors that he supposedly received massages from.
I will not say that the Asian community is not suffering from racial hate, because they certainly are, and I too absolutely support them and anyone suffering from evil 100%….However let’s not use this specific incident as a catalyst. My honest feelings are we label everything horiffying that occurs between two different races as racist now, and it cheapens the true meaning of a racist incident.
This thread is gross. Hate crimes against the Asian community are up. Racism directed towards Asian Americans is up. We have elected officials across the country calling COVID-19 “Kung Flu”, the “Chy-Na Flu” and much worse. And most importantly we have our friends and neighbors scared. They are scared because they see their mothers and grandmothers in the victims. They are scared because they are subject to name-calling and verbal harassment.
And as a Jew, as the descendant of the few in my family to escape the Holocaust, and as someone who watched fellow Jews gunned down in Pittsburgh, I don’t need to be told to wait for a catalyst. The right catalyst was last week, last month, last year. And if you didn’t stand up for your neighbors then you have a chance to stand with them today.
We don’t need a psychiatrist to peer into the murderer’s head to understand if they *truly* had intent to commit a hate crime or only *incidentally* targeted people because of the color of their skin. The phrase you’re looking for is “stochastic terrorism” and this murderous violence is the predictable, probable result of this racism.
Amy Sangiolo – I cannot imagine how you must feel reading these comments but my kids and I will be there on Sunday.
Whether or not one white man decides that another white man murdering multiple Asian American women technically qualifies as a hate crime is not the point. What matters is that Asian American women were murdered, attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise in this country, and every single one of us has a responsibility to step up, speak up, and stand with our Asian American friends and neighbors. Amy, we’ll be at the vigil.
My original post was quickly written before I took a run. I thought about things more during my run. Upon reflection, I should have solely expressed my support for the Asian community. Please accept my apologies.
I will be at the Vigil.
Violence, robbery, assault targeting Asian has been ongoing for many years… its only now getting media attention
Covid has not helped, but don’t kid yourself… this has been “a thing” for many many years. The rise in crime in cities has increased the number of incidents where its finally getting media attention
Thank you to all those joining us at the vigil.
With regards to Jeffrey’s apology, it is appreciated and accepted by at least me. I can not speak on behalf of all Asian-Americans. There are many different kinds of us! Even many different subgroups amongst us Chinese-Americans. This latest epidemic of violence does, however, unite us.
I am appreciative of Tarik Lucas’s presence and speech at the Boston anti-bigotry/violence against Asian-Americans rally. I hope he will join us tonight.
Amy. Thanks for organizing this event. Joanne and will both be there.
Hey Pretentious, I will take your bait. Let’s talk about this. You know who I blame? The previous occupant of the Oval Office and his “Kung Flu” and “Jina Virus” vitriol. He’s popular with the readers of this NY Post rag that you cite. Coincidence? I think not.
I am sick and tired of getting used as a wedge against other persons of color. Yes we are seeing a disproportionate amount of this violence committed against Asian-Americans by the black community. Why is this? I will tell you why. The black community has been disproportionately impacted by covid. And the root cause of this and most of our shortcomings is the systemic and institutional racism embedded in our society. This is all a legacy of our original sin and we are still grappling with it 400 years later. Us Asian-Americans are not descended or the direct beneficiaries of the people responsible for this crime. But we are here now and that means we need to be part of the solution, not making it worse.
I will note the guy the Chinese grandma put on a stretcher was white. Why did he get to relax in a stretcher while Chinese grandma had to stand their bleeding from the head?
Hi everyone! Just to be clear – I didn’t organize this event. I am just passing this along and will definitely be there and hope you will be too.
I apologize as well for my comment, as I think it was poorly worded and certainly misconstrued. I stand by the fact that I don’t think the heinous murders of 8 people (6 of which were asian) was a racial incident, at least not that we know of. I just hate slapping that label on everything that is terrible in the world because it cheapens truly racist incidents.
Now, with that being said, I absolutely recognize that Asians in our country have been unfairly targeted. I stand with them and certainly denounce Asian hate. And Bugek, thanks for recognizing the fact this has been going on for quite some time, it’s certainly not new, however sadly gets more coverage now than before.
Amy, I’ll try to make the event. Thank you for posting.
Pretentious Newton, bless your heart, looks like you are using a November 25, 2019 opinion from the NY Post as the basis of your post. However, you need to work on your reading comprehension. You claim that the main perpetrators of racial violence against Asian Americans is the black community. That’s hogwash. Let’s break this down, so everyone can judge for themselves:
1) Your post (and the only statistic you reference that supports your argument) only references NYC. And yet your post is about overall violence against Asian Americans.
2) You state “71% of hate crimes against Asians, Gays, and Jews in NYC were committed by Blacks according to the NY Post” WRONG. The opinion piece states that for ONE QUARTER in 2019, blacks comprised 24 of 34 (71 percent) of perpetrators arrested for all hate crimes. One quarter only. There is no historical data. No trend. Just one moment of time. From 2 years ago.
3) You ignore the fact that the opinion piece states that during the previous quarter of 2019, black share of arrests was only 14%. Wow. Funny how you ignored that piece of data.
4) Plus, most importantly, this is just based on ARRESTS. Far more hate crimes in NYC are never prosecuted because the assailant is not found. Perhaps the NYC police are just very good at arresting certain minorities. Or perhaps the arrests being shown are statistically significant because hundreds of events are not being captured…
5) There have been consistent flash points between some of the orthodox communities in NYC and some of the minority black/brown communities. Trying to universalize those disputes to a US wide increase increase of Asian focused hate crimes makes no sense. Learn a bit more about NYC and its friction points before trying to claim any sort of factual universality for NYC statistical data.
So, your post wasn’t factual, it blamed a minority group for the main perpetrators of hate crimes based on a cherry picked statistic that was contradicted in the very article you used, and worst of all, you tried to compare crime statistics in NYC to make a point in a Boston area based online forum.
There can certainly be an online discussion regarding this issue, but your post isn’t it, and this thread isn’t where it should occur.
Have a pleasant weekend everyone.
This comment thread is EXACTLY reflective of why Asian American racism is not seen as valid in the eyes of white people.
Absolutely disgusting behavior after a mass shooting.
You don’t know what it’s like to be Asian American in this country. YOU don’t get to say what I have experienced and what I haven’t.
So why aren’t we talking about the main perpetrators of racial violence against Asian-Americans? It’s the black community. Happy to have the conversation, but let’s root it in evidence rather than emotional rhetoric designed to push a political agenda instead of making life better for all Americans.
Why not acknowledge the real issue, rather than virtue signal and race bait ? Honesty matters.
https://nypost.com/2019/11/25/what-the-left-doesnt-want-to-mention-about-new-york-city-hate-crimes/
Those of us of a certain age are old enough to remember after 9/11 when anyone with brown skin, not just Muslims but Latinos, Hindus, Sikhs, Pacific Islanders, etc., were all the target of bigotry. And it was exacerbated by the drumbeat for war coming from Washington. Bigots and white supremacists are not that discerning. It’s all one struggle. It’s always a good day to stand against war and racism.
Thank you for remembering the victims. This senseless violence must end. I can’t make it due to a newborn, but want my child in a community which honors the most vulnerable among us.
To the people bringing up that most anti-Asian hate crimes are committed by black people: please do not weaponize the Asian-American community’s issues to push anti-black agendas! You can support one movement without bringing another into it. Also, police are known for fabricating statistics to be anti-black.
EG
both sides have started to politize this.
Left – only started by trump. When infact, its been happening for many years but not reported by media
Right – pitting one race against another
Wish we could all come together to get a handle on rapid rise in crime in general in our major cities.
There have been so many issues risen because of China’s rise to power
– ethnic cleansing of muslims
– spying
– trade wars
– covid
And then we have local news about school admissions and Asians taking away slots from others… its all a perfect storm of constant negative news
The media need to take responsibility in reporting these negative news and be sensitive to the Chinese living in usa. Its the Chinese government and not its ppl
Why ignore the truth ?
Why sensationalize only some incidents ?
Why de-fund the police while attacks are on the rise ?
Why support District Attorneys who refuse to prosecute ?
Why the pandering, double standards, race baiting, and hypocrisy ? …
Until you acknowledge the facts and start holding every offender accountable, nothing will change.
https://nypost.com/2019/11/25/what-the-left-doesnt-want-to-mention-about-new-york-city-hate-crimes/
It was an excellent vigil and rally. Really good turnout and speeches.
EG: “…You can support one movement without bringing another into it”
EG immediately following it: “police are known for fabricating statistics to be anti-black”
lol hypocrisy at its finest.
I was at the vigil. It was a wonderful memorial to something that we need to recognize.
The vigil tonight was wonderfully organized and well attended. There were many passionate speeches from Asian community leaders about the pain caused by the Atlanta massacre, the history of discrimination against Asian Americans and the ongoing incidents of hate against the Asian community.
The fact that some are refusing to admit that this was a racially motivated killing is one of the reasons I have tried to stay away from Village 14. The murderer sought out 3 different massage businesses, all Asian owned. Also having this argument about whether it is racially motivated or not, keeps people from talking about the elephant in the room “gun control”.
I brought my camera, but I don’t own a wide enough angle lens to capture the crowd that was there. It was a deep and moving program.
This vigil is helpful information to have shared on V14. Thank you.
It looked like over 1000 were in attendance. A key message was multiracial unity, with heartfelt statements of support from the Newton Coalition of Black Residents, Families Organizing for Racial Justice, and a faith leader from the Jewish community. Likewise, Asian community leaders acknowledged their common cause with other communities of color who have endured race-based hate crimes and discrimination for centuries. There were many white speakers and allies in the crowd. This vigil represented the best of Newton.
Sounds – and looks- like it was a great event with a great message. Sorry to have missed it. My thanks to all who did go, and who organized it.
Alicia, blaming Village14 is certainly your choice, but I’ll note that the forum was a place to publicize the vigil, discuss the tragedy and highlight the participants and message of the vigil. And if you read the full discussion, you’ll see that several posters here apologized for their posts, and I believe my post addressed Pretentious Newton’s attempts to troll.
I was honored and touched that so many members of the entire Newton community joined us.
I am so glad to hear that it was a good event.
I wish I could have been there. My thoughts and prayers were, though.
I want to express my appreciation to the Chinese American Association of Newton and the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association for organizing last night’s community vigil. The community gathered outside City Hall to mourn, express sympathy and outrage, condemn acts of hate against all races and violence against women, show support for the AAPI community, and support for each other.