03/18/2021
Last night, on March 16th, 2021, a man committed a heinous act of pure unadulterated evil by opening fire into 3 Asian-owned massage parlors in the metro Atlanta area, resulting in the tragic death of 8 civilians – 6 of which were Asian women. Our hearts are mourning and grieving for the victims and their families. This tragedy hits home for all of us. We have people in our lives that work in massage parlors, nail salons, and Asian-owned businesses here in Georgia. Our mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, or friends could have easily been victims of such evil. Words cannot describe how devastating this pain weighs in our consciousness.
Ever since COVID-19 had reached the United States, we have been aware of physical assaults among innocent members in the AAPI community due to becoming a scapegoat of something we have no control over. Since then, we worry that our families, especially our parents and grandparents, would fall victim to such blatant displays of racism and hatred. None of us would imagine that members in our communities would have their lives cut short through violence or gunfire. However, last night, as well as the recent tragic events around the country, our worst fears became a reality.
We are genuinely disturbed by how certain law enforcement officers have publicly downplayed these shootings as a “really bad day for [the shooter].” This is an insult towards our community and further enables white supremacy and racism to prevail in our state. Nonetheless, we are putting our faith in the criminal justice system and courts and hope that the victims and their families will find justice and that the gunman will be rightfully punished for his crimes.
As a Greek organization that aims to promote and raise awareness of Asian cultures in the Atlanta community, we call on everyone to join us in standing in solidarity against racism towards the Asian American community, especially to Asian women. We stand firmly against the violence, discrimination, and fetishization of Asian women.