ger5@freedyn.de   
   [continued from previous message]   
      
   victims and the types of hate incidents they have confronted. She   
   said there's a widely held belief that such incidents are generally   
   violent, when studies show that most of the racism Asian Americans   
   have faced because of the pandemic is verbal harassment or shunning.   
   Wong said that although older Asian women are typically thought of   
   as the victims of such crimes, research shows that about 7 percent   
   of reported incidents have involved anyone over 60.   
      
   Wong said that while any hate crime or incident is unacceptable, the   
   astronomical increases often reported in headlines don't capture the   
   full picture of anti-Asian hate. The baseline for anti-Asian hate   
   crimes and incidents has been relatively low, meaning a small growth   
   in the total number of hate incidents can lead to large percentage   
   increases. For example, data indicate that the largest increase   
   occurred in New York City, which jumped from three to 28 anti-Asian   
   hate crimes from 2019 to 2020, about an 833 percent surge.   
   Meanwhile, Sacramento, California, increased from one to eight   
   anti-Asian crimes from 2019 to 2020 — a small jump in raw numbers   
   that equates to an increase of 700 percent.   
      
   "Even in jurisdictions reporting the most dramatic year-over-year   
   increases in hate crimes, like New York City, the rate was lower   
   than the proportion of Asian Americans in the population," Wong   
   said.   
      
   Asian Americans aren't the only racial group that has met challenges   
   during the pandemic. Wong said official law enforcement statistics   
   show that in the 26 largest jurisdictions, which include areas like   
   New York City, anti-Asian hate crimes accounted for 6.3 percent of   
   all reported hate crimes.   
      
   Black Americans have long faced higher rates of hate crimes. Even   
   though official 2019 law enforcement data show a drop in anti-Black   
   hate crime reports, Black people were still, by far, the most   
   targeted racial group, Wong said. That year, 58 percent of reported   
   hate crimes were motivated by anti-Black bias, while a far smaller   
   proportion, 4 percent, were motivated by anti-Asian bias. About 14   
   percent were motivated by anti-Latino bias.   
      
   Last year, when Asian Americans dealt with coronavirus-specific   
   stereotypes, 27 percent of Asian Americans reported having ever   
   experienced hate crimes or incidents, while 34 percent of Black   
   Americans did, according to an AAPI Data survey.   
      
   "People overestimate the degree to which they, individually, are   
   likely to be the victim of the crime. And so what we're seeing right   
   now, because there's so much media coverage — even though we see   
   that Asian Americans account for, no matter how you cut it, a   
   minority of the hate crimes in any place — they feel like they're   
   the most likely to be attacked," she said.   
      
   That isn't to say that increases haven't occurred or that verbal   
   harassment and such incidents aren't of concern, Wong said. There   
   has been a marked increase in discrimination toward Asian Americans   
   that deserves attention. But selectively amplifying aspects of the   
   issue or omitting context can further perpetuate dangerous   
   stereotypes and break opportunities for solidarity among   
   marginalized groups, she said. Ramakrishnan said that when people   
   reach for policy solutions based on insufficient information, they   
   may not solve the issue.   
      
   Ramakrishnan called on the media and other institutions not only to   
   add more context to information, but also to draw responsible   
   conclusions from the data. He also emphasized that while the media   
   are hyperfocused on anti-Asian crimes, Asian American and Pacific   
   Islanders deal with a vast range of issues, including language   
   barriers and immigration struggles, which aren't captured in   
   coverage of pandemic racism.   
      
   "Nuance is difficult to get people to rally around and pay attention   
   to. Sensationalism is what gets attention. But hopefully, it's the   
   nuance that keeps them there so they want to go deeper in their   
   understanding," Ramakrishnan said. "I'm hopeful that what got a lot   
   of people to care and pay attention were these hate incidents and   
   horrific crimes but hoping that what keeps people interested is   
   understanding the larger set of issues that affect these American   
   Pacific Islanders."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)