Atlanta killings: US tackles anti-Asian racism

The United States is determined to tackle anti-Asian racism after the bloodshed in Georgia massage parlors, the motives of which remain unclear. “Congress sees you, stands in solidarity and will do everything in its power to protect you,” the elected Democrat Steve Cohen told them during a hearing in the House of Representatives.

Joe Biden, who is due to travel to Atlanta on Friday March 19, 2021, has announced a change of schedule for this long-standing scheduled visit: rather than present his plan to revive the economy, he “will discuss with officials from the Asian community »Threats against its members. Denouncing “senseless violence”, the Democratic president ordered the flags to be lowered until Monday in honor of the eight people, including six women of Asian origin, shot dead on Tuesday evening by a 21-year-old white man.

Arrested after opening fire in three Asian massage parlors in Atlanta and its suburbs, Robert Aaron Long admitted the facts and was charged with murder. During his interrogation, he denied any racist motive, presenting himself as a “sex addict” eager to suppress “a temptation”. “His motives are still under investigation, but he does not appear to have been motivated by racism,” FBI Director Chris Wray said in an interview with NPR Radio.

“White supremacism”

The deeply shaken Asian Americans have no doubts: the shootings are part of a surge in hostility against them since the start of the pandemic. “White supremacism is really killing us,” said Stephanie Cho, of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice organization in Atlanta. The Stop AAPI Hate association has been informed of more than 3,800 threats and assaults against Asian Americans in the past year.

“We should consider that these are racist crimes because we know that it is the case”, estimated, during a meeting, the candidate for mayor of New York and former contender for the primary Democrat Andrew Yang. The entrepreneur said he grew up “with a constant feeling of invisibility, mockery, contempt”, but, he added the trembling voice, this hostility has “transformed in a deadly, virulent, hateful way. ”

Anti-racist activists and Democrats accuse former President Donald Trump of encouraging amalgamations by repeatedly calling the new coronavirus a “Chinese virus” or by speaking of the “Chinese plague”. While denouncing a “tragedy” in Atlanta, the elected Republican Chip Roy insisted, during the hearing in the House, on the right to freedom of expression and repeated his grievances against the Chinese Communist Party, “of bad guys ”. “You can talk about the problems you have with other countries, but you do not need to put a target behind Asian Americans,” replied, very moved, the elected Democrat Grace Meng, herself a member of this community.

” Torn up “

Late Tuesday afternoon, Robert Aaron Long attacked a massage parlor in Acworth, about 50 kilometers from Atlanta, killing four and injuring two. A waitress from a local fast-food restaurant who came for a massage with her husband is one of the victims. He later opened fire in two more salons, located in the large southern city, killing four more lives. “He had frequented both sites,” Charles Hampton, an Atlanta police official, said at a press briefing Thursday.

Investigators said he wanted to go to Florida to attack an establishment “linked to the porn industry”, but police put an end to his murderous spree with surveillance cameras and the help of his family. In custody, the young man assured to have a problem of “sexual addiction”. He had attended drug rehab establishments, according to the American press. One of his former roommates described in the New York Times a man “torn” between his faith and his sexual appetite. He regularly attended massage parlors for adults, but feared “losing the grace of God”, assured Tyler Bayless daily.

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