Snohomish County Indivisible Statement on Hate Crimes

Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

 

We, the members of Snohomish County Indivisible, denounce the recent attacks on the Asian-American and Pacific Islander populations.  Violence against these communities is not new and there is a long history of Xenophobia in this country.  The more recent attacks are being perpetrated despite elected officials calling for an end to the blaming of this community for the current Covid-19 health crisis.  This racist rhetoric has greatly impacted the astounding increase in incidences of these often extremely violent attacks.

 

According to Asian-American Pacific Island Hate (AAPIH), a site dedicated to reporting incidents of hate crimes against this community, there has been a 150% increase in these acts of violence across the country in all major US cities.  It is important that we acknowledge and understand that women (the more vulnerable) make up a far higher share of the reports at 68% compared to men who made up 29% of reports.

 

According to a study conducted by Ohio State University, the stigmatization of this population is bred not only out of “racial prejudice, poor coping and partisan media viewing,” but also from envy about the perceived successes of some Asian American and Pacific Islanders and the stereotypical beliefs held against them because of this imagined inequity.

 

It is our duty to speak out against all acts, both verbal and physical, that we witness against our friends and neighbors in these communities.  In addition, we call on all our elected officials to immediately do everything possible to ensure the safety of all members of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community but especially the more vulnerable women in these populations.

 

Naomi A. Dietrich, Founder/Lead Organizer

On behalf of Snohomish County Indivisible