INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY-SOC 101

A Sociological Perspective–Analyzing the Rise of Hate Crimes against Asian Americans in the Wake of COVID-19

The rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic represents a deeply troubling social phenomenon. Some of these acts, as simple as verbal criticism to complex acts such as aggression towards the Mexican community, have helped to remind America that racism and xenophobia are very much alive in recent years. The following paper aims at a sociological examination of this phenomenon, looking into its historical background, modern manifestations, and prospects. This analysis employs conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and intersectionality to unravel the multiple interacting social forces that have caused this problem.

Context and Background

The surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic represents a troubling continuation of historical patterns of racial scapegoating in the United States. Organizations like Stop AAPI Hate have reported more than 11,000 hater incidents against Asian Pacific Islanders in the period between March 2020 and March 2022; of which, 67% of the victims were verbally threatened, 17% were physically attacked, and the remaining 8% discriminated at the workplace (Amit-Talai 42). These numbers show a qualitative increase in hate towards Asians and Asian Americans due to COVID-19 concerns changes, oversights, or prejudices. This is not a new incident but rather a continuation of the racism treasured towards Asians for many years. One would be the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was the first to make ethnic groups prohibited from immigration to the United States. Some three decades later, Asian scapegoating was again, as evidenced by the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. These incidents show that Asian Americans are always linked with threats and numerous issues concerning the country.

These prejudices were reignited by the COVID-19 pandemic compounded by lousy political leadership and the categorization of the virus as ‘the China Virus’ or ‘the Kung Flu.’ That resonated racist ideas, intertwined with overtones that associated Asian phenotype with a virus, which incited prejudice and hostility. This language sustained discriminating tropes where Asian Americans were depicted and viewed as the ill and disease-bearing other (Lantz et al. 1089). These narrative reflected in media and political contexts normalized prejudice standards that generated a sharp increase in hate crimes. It is, therefore, important to unravel this context as a way of eradicating anti-Asian racism in its base. It shows how prejudices of the past and present events interact, making sure that hate crimes can exist. Such insights show the need to promote the debunking of stereotype assumptions and develop increased cultural rapport to tackle racial mobilization more effectively.

Sociological Analysis

Why Did This Happen?

The surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic can be explained sociologically as the intersection of macro-level social forces and cultural narratives. This phenomenon can be understood under conflict theory, which holds that people are in conflict in a society due to the struggles for resources. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an economic crisis, layoffs, an increase in inequalities, and overburdened hospitals, causing social worries to worsen (Kim et al., 11). While the state cannot cope with a lack of public health care or an increasing rate of observed inequality, some people turned to raise their anger at Asian people. In this context, this scapegoating relieved frustration with the other problems of society as causes of instability in the given period.

Symbolic interactionism supports this in the sense that language, together with other cultural symbols, is a cause of prejudice. Such phrases as “China Virus” and “Kung Flu” were used by leaders and echoed in mainstream media construction associated Asian people with COVID-19 (Lantz et al. 1091). These terms paved for self-organization of how the public perceived Asian individuals not only as “others” but as threatening vectors of disease. This narrative merely shifted Asian identity as the new cultural bogeyman and thus fostered prejudice in people.

Affected Population and Statistics

Data reveals that hate crimes against Asian Americans disproportionately targeted women, who reported harassment at nearly twice the rate of men. This discrepancy itself also indicates the need to employ intersectionality, the concept of how two or more systems of oppression, like race, gender, or class, multiply oppression. Asian American women faced severe harassment because, in addition to being female and therefore vulnerable, they were deemed subservient or provocatively sexual depending on the cultural stereotype (Kim et al., 9). These crimes had grim economic repercussions. Some Asian-owned enterprises experienced not only typical cyclical fluctuations that can be observed during the pandemic but also deliberate consumer rejection or physical destruction of property based on prejudice. For instance, Chinese businesses in areas in the United States that are popularly known as Chinatowns complained that their revenues had reduced by about 50% because people were staying away from them out of fear and based on the resultant stigma.

Theoretical Application

Conflict Theory

According to conflict theory, structural factors bring about social conflict, making this theory appropriate in explaining conflicts. The situation in the world throughout the COVID-19 outbreak has led to widespread causes; economic insecurity, loss of employment, financial insecurity, and overstretched healthcare services paved the way for scapegoating (Han et al., 3513). In the past, racialized groups have always been made scapegoats whenever crises occur to divert attention from systemic failures. This is similar to the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War, arguing itself on a security basis but with clear economic and racial undertones. Similarly, the COVID-19 relativization of Asian Americans, including those of Chinese descent, although highlighting xenophobia or racism as the problem in front of healthcare disorganization and institutional failures (Powers et al., 33). It continued to place blame on minorities- here saw that dominant groups were able to maintain social order and perpetuate institutional prejudices by directing society’s anger toward vulnerable members of the society. The false narratives painted Asians as the ‘culprits’ of the pandemic, thus embracing racial prejudice while avoiding the deeper causes of the calamity, adding to societal hierarchies.

Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism highlights how shared meanings and symbols influence social behavior. As COVID-19 unfolded, Asian Americans were stereotyped, targeted, and met with sweeping generalizations from political orators using terms such as ‘China Virus’ and movies as ‘contaminated Asians’ (Powers et al. 35). These narratives transformed cultural practices like mask-wearing into signs of ‘otherness,’ which entrench degrading stereotype about the Asian’s as being the viral foreigner. Such stereotype headers were created by repeating these headlines and incorporating them into everyday experience, often through media reinforcement. Boys separate themselves and put themselves as superior beings to girls, thus creating an environment where prejudice is acceptable and discrimination is part of societal interactions. As such, symbolic interactionism uncovers how language, media, and interaction in society build enmity and discrimination against Asian Americans.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a theoretical perspective that helps determine how people experience systemic oppression based on compound social characteristics, including race, sex, and immigration status. Unfortunately, Asian American women were the most affected during the pandemic due to combined racism and sexism (Han et al. 3515). Combined with these prejudices, the media depicted them either as obedient or promiscuous and, in either case, prejudiced other people based on their race as well. This “double bind” increased their vulnerability to hate crimes and harassment, many of which were marked by racial epithets intermingled with sexual harassment. Immigrant status became another-layered marginalization with increasing perception of non-citizenship deepening hostility. Intersectionality can, therefore, account for why certain specific groups in the Asian American community felt more exposed and at risk, pointing towards the liberatory benefit of challenging many layers of domination.

Limitations of Common Explanations

Mainstream media often framed these hate crimes as isolated incidents perpetrated by individuals with personal biases. Although the cause is there in each man’s selfish mind, this does not speak volumes of the real source of the problem. A sociological perception indicates the fact that all these calamities were not a result of mere human-motivated actions but rather a result of a social history of racism, a state of inequity, and a culture that stigmatizes others (Kim et al. 12). Even psychological accounts that seek to blame hate crimes for instance on mental illness do not satisfy the requirement of an adequate explanation. It does not capture how people are socialized into the practices that reproduce racism or the organizational practices that enable racism as a form of work. Therefore, by concentrating on the person alone, such explanations are inclined to hide the general social interactions.

Discussion and Implications

The surge in anti-Asian hate criminality poses profound implications for the analysis and approach of systematic racism in America. These are examples of how racism continues to exist and how, in the moment of crisis, people of color or minorities are blamed. Implementing solutions to this problem necessitates a short-phase and long-phase solution. In the short term, the legal legislation against hate crime requires bolstering in order to afford further protections for susceptible groups. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, signed into law in 2021, can be lauded as a first step; however, it should be followed by meaningful enforcement and advocacy campaigns targeting hate crime prevention (Powers et al., 37). Long-term solutions mean looking at the source of conflict by identifying structural racism that feeds into racial scapegoating. Anti-prejudice education, in terms of censorship of stereotype-promoting educational programs, holds the key to the elimination of prejudice. Moreover, the media has to be answerable to suppress the migration of such untoward elements of communal discrimination.

Conclusion

The sharp increase in hate crimes against Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that only a sociological approach to social issues makes sense. Analyzing this phenomenon using conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and intersectionality, we can identify how racism and xenophobia are sustained on a macro level. In addition to enhancing the problem comprehension, this evaluation helps identify fundamental and practical solutions to discrimination. Sociology explains how one’s decisions and steps are linked to the social context, therefore requiring group efforts to change society.

Works Cited

Amit-Talai, Vered. “Risky hiatuses and the limits of social imagination: expatriacy in the Cayman Islands.” Migrants of Identity. Routledge, 2021. 41-59.

Han, Sungil, Jordan R. Riddell, and Alex R. Piquero. “Anti-Asian American hate crimes spike during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Journal of interpersonal violence 38.3-4 2023: 3513–3533.

Kim, Chunrye, Claire Seungeun Lee, and Hyeyoung Lim. “Hate-motivated crime/incidents against Asians in the United States of America: a systematic review.” Race and Justice 13.1 (2023): 9-31.

Lantz, Brendan, and Marin R. Wenger. “Anti-Asian xenophobia, hate crime victimization, and fear of victimization during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Journal of interpersonal violence 38.1-2 (2023): 1088-1116.

Powers, Ráchael A., Kacy Bleeker, and Crystal Alcalde. “Anti-Asian hate crime in US national news: A content analysis of coverage and narratives from 2010–2021.” Race and Justice 13.1 (2023): 32-54.