Fighting hate while facing hate

1 big thing

Axios

News

4.0 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2021

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, harassment and attacks against Asian Americans has grown. According to Stop AAPI Hate, more than 2,800 incidents of racism against Asian Americans were reported between March and December of 2020. While the recent attacks have put a spotlight on the issue, hate crimes have actually been rising long before the pandemic. And now, attorneys general across the country are trying to draw attention to this even as some find themselves also targeted. Plus, Merrick Garland’s confirmation. And, the United States is leading the world in vaccinations. Guests: Axios' Russell Contreras, Mike Allen and Dave Lawler. Credits: "Axios Today" is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Dan Bobkoff, Carol Wu, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Naomi Shavin and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. Go deeper: Attorneys general fight hate crimes while facing hate America's vaccine rollout has been among the best in the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Good morning. Welcome to Axios today. It's Monday, February 22. I'm Nyla Boone. Here's what
0:10.5	you need to know today. Merrick Garland's confirmation. Plus, the United States is leading
0:15.8	the world in vaccinations. But first, today's one big thing. Some state attorneys general
0:21.9	are fighting hate while facing hate.
0:30.0	Here's the big picture. Hate crimes were on the rise before the pandemic. But since then,
0:35.2	it seems like it's getting worse. So much so that the people who are trying to fight
0:39.4	hate crimes are finding themselves the target. Like Connecticut Attorney General William
0:44.1	Tongue.
0:45.1	The target's been on my back for a long time, but particularly after the pandemic started
0:52.8	with the president's comments about calling it the China virus and that comes flu and
1:00.7	blaming us overtly for the pandemic has resulted in a great deal of hate being directed
1:08.1	at Asian Americans and me in particular.
1:11.4	It's not just anecdotal. According to stop AAPI hate, one group that's tracking these
1:17.6	crimes, more than 2,800 incidents of racism against Asian Americans were reported between
1:23.4	March and December of 2020. Axios' Race and Justice Reporter Russell Contreras says part
1:29.0	of the problem is that these attacks are hard to track.
1:32.1	2019, we had a record number of bias incidents and hate crimes reported in the nation's history.
1:39.1	But close to 90% of law enforcement agencies reported either no hate crimes or didn't
1:45.0	bother reporting any at all. And this discrepancy is really telling.
1:50.6	So what are these attorneys general like AG Tongue saying about how we can fix it? Some
1:56.1	told Russell the solution to fixing this is getting all law enforcement agencies on the
2:00.8	same page and using a uniform system to report hate crimes.
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