COURIER LIFE, MAR. 26-APR. 1, 2021 31
EDITORIAL
Put an end to ignorance in NYC
Arguably, the worst aspect
of our modern
era is the politicization
of both a global pandemic
and of hate.
The issues of our health
and respect of one another
in society should be a universally
shared belief, regardless
of race, creed,
color or party affi liation.
We should want to protect
each other from a plague;
we should want to stop
spreading hate and instead
promote kindness and justice
for all.
But that’s not where we
are in America in 2021. We
are a society split in two
factions: those who respect
each other, and those who
only respect themselves.
One side cares to solve two
of the biggest issues of our
time; the other side couldn’t
care less about them.
Look at the rash of hate
crimes targeting Asian
Americans both in New
York and throughout the
country. Slurs that the former
president trumpeted
throughout the COVID-19
pandemic last year fueled
an ugly backlash that continues
to this day.
Over the weekend, as
hundreds protested the
most recent rash of hate
crimes, an elderly man was
beaten up by a bigot on the
Lower East Side; and a protester
was attacked by a
hate-fi lled brute in NoHo
who stomped on the sign
she carried, then punched
her repeatedly in the face.
On Tuesday night, Councilmember
Mark Treyger
tweeted that a constituent
of his was verbally and
physically assaulted in
Bensonhurst.
According to Treyger,
an Asian-American man
was punched in the face
while being called racist
and xenophobic names —
all because he came to the
defense of tw0 women who
the suspect was heckling
for money. The women were
also of Asian-American descent,
the pol said.
These kind of hateful
acts are refl ective of the
kind of ignorance that has
permeated the country during
the pandemic. The simple
act of wearing a mask
to protect other people was
wrongly confl ated into a
debate over personal freedom.
Business closures,
painful as they were, were
also roped into the false debate.
And there fi gures to be
more ignorance to come
now with media outlets reporting
on what they’ve
dubbed as “the crisis on the
border.” It is indeed a humanitarian
crisis, but the
response to this is not one
of concern over the welfare
of migrants coming into
America.
The same people on the
right who condoned the
former administration’s
jailing of immigrant children
are again smearing
migrants on our border as
some sort of foreign invasion
to be stopped. That
will only kindle more acts
of hatred in this country
— and they don’t seem to
care.
Enough is enough!
We cannot allow this ignorance
to continue. We must
rise up and drown it out.
Speak up, New York!
Say no to hate, ignorance
and bloodshed. Say yes to
unity, justice, tolerance
and equality.
LESSONS LEARNED WHILE ON THE BEAT
WITH BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT ERIC ADAMS
The importance of standing tall against hate
Last week we once saw hate
turn deadly, when a gunman
went to three separate
massage parlors in the
Atlanta area and killed eight
people, six of them women of
Asian descent.
Some were quick to point
out that the perpetrator of
these sickening murders was
mentally disturbed. A law enforcement
offi cial even had
the audacity to claim that the
shooter “had a bad day.” But
those who have been paying
attention know that these attacks,
while horrifying, were
not surprising. They were part
of a clear and ongoing pattern
of anti-Asian hate that has
been on the rise throughout
the country over the past year.
The numbers tell the story:
a recent analysis of hate
crimes in 16 of America’s largest
cities by researchers at
California State University,
San Bernardino, found that
hate crimes targeting Asian
people increased by nearly 150
percent in 2020. The largest increase
occurred right here in
New York, where there were
28 reported incidents, up from
three the year before.
That disturbing trend has
continued into this year right
here in our city. It seems every
day we wake up to news
of a physical or verbal assault
against an innocent person.
Over the past weekend alone,
fi ve attacks against Asians
were reported. One of the victims
was a mother heading
with her young daughter to a
rally against anti-Asian violence.
One of the most under-discussed
stories of the pandemic
has been the way Asian-Americans
rallied to this city’s support
during the dark early days
of the pandemic, helping to deliver
hundreds of thousands of
pieces of personal protective
equipment. Our offi ce leveraged
sister-city agreements
forged with cities in China,
and strong relationships with
members of those communities
locally, to get life-saving
supplies to those that needed
them most. It is not an exaggeration
to say that without
their heroic and often thankless
efforts, the pandemic’s toll
here might have been much
greater. They did this all while
being publicly vilifi ed.
From the moment COVID-19
arrived here, the former occupant
of the Oval Offi ce and
members of his party used it
as a pretext to stoke bigotry
and paranoia against Asian-
Americans, calling it the
“China virus” and referring
to the disease as “kung fl u.”
These disgusting comments,
coming from the top levels
of government, undoubtedly
fanned the fl ames of hate until
it grew into a wildfi re.
Extinguishing this surge
in hate, and ensuring all our
Asian neighbors feel safe
again while walking on the
streets, requires all of us to
do our part. We were proud to
stand alongside New Yorkers
of all different races, ethnicities,
gender identities, sexual
orientations, religions, and
ages last weekend to collectively
condemn hate, and we
will do so again. We will double
down on the grassroots work
of cross-cultural community
building, like our Breaking
Bread, Building Bonds conversations
that have brought
hundreds of New Yorkers together
from all walks of life.
But we also need to put real resources
into combating these
crimes.
That starts with ensuring
the NYPD’s recently-formed
Asian Hate Crimes Task Force
gets the resources it needs.
We know that many victims
of these crimes are reluctant
to come forward in the fi rst
place due to language barriers
or concerns about their
immigration status, which is
why the NYPD must prioritize
language justice for victims
to make it easier to safely report.
We need to protect “soft
targets” in our small business
community that are potential
targets for copycat attacks,
which is what my offi ce is doing
through an expansion of
our Operation Safe Shopper
initiative that brings security
cameras to these at-risk commercial
corridors. Finally, we
should ensure every district
attorney’s offi ce across the
city has a robust Hate Crimes
Unit to properly investigate
these crimes.
In our city, we rightly pride
ourselves on our diversity and
the sense of solidarity it fosters.
Regardless of race, color,
or creed, we are all New Yorkers.
As someone who has faced
race-based bigotry in the past
, I feel this solidarity personally.
To our Asian brothers
and sisters: Know that this
hate you are experiencing
does not represent our city.
Know that you belong here.
Know that we will stand with
you, today and always.
Eric Adams is borough
president of Brooklyn and a
candidate for New York City
Mayor. He served 22 years in the
New York City Police Department
(NYPD), retiring at the
rank of captain, as well as represented
District 20 in the New
York State Senate.
Borough President Eric Adams.