Today the New York Times is reporting about how Asians and Asian-Americas in this country are subjected to increased hostility, incivility, and violence because of President Trump’s persistent use of the phrases “China Virus” and “Chinese Virus” for COVID-19.
I have been studying this phenomenon for a long time, and it follows a pattern. I write about the pattern and what engaged citizens can do about it in my forthcoming book, Words on Fire.
Provoking Hate Crimes
Trump announced his campaign by saying that Mexico intentionally sends dangerous people to the U.S.: criminals, drug smugglers, rapists. He pounded this theme persistently throughout the campaign. As president he called refugees seeking asylum an invasion and mobilized the military (even though under U.S. law the military is not allowed to engage in law enforcement or immigration enforcement. Also, he sent most of the military to Texas, even though the so-called caravan that required such mobilization was still a thousand miles from the border, and heading to San Diego).
One of the effects of Trump’s language was that people who otherwise would resist the temptation to insult, confront, or commit acts of violence became less inhibited. With this disinhibition the incidence of hate crimes against people perceived to be Mexican or Hispanic rose significantly, starting in 2015.
According to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, the targeting of Latino communities was on the rise:
“Hate incidents targeting Latinos and immigrants often go beyond name-calling and intimidation. Victims and advocates also say they are too often the targets of assault, robberies and even murder.…‘In immigrant communities, the fear is palpable,’ said Monica Bauer, director of Hispanic affairs at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). ‘It’s so much fear that I think the word doesn’t really convey. It’s almost terrified, like it’s beyond fear. It’s paralyzing fear.’”
One example. About six weeks after Trump began the campaign by saying Mexicans are rapists, two brothers in Boston, ages thirty and thirty-eight, came upon a homeless man sleeping in a subway station. They urinated on him. As he woke up, they kicked and punched him, and one of the brothers repeatedly hit him with a metal pole. They then walked away laughing.They were soon arrested and told the police that they had targeted the man because they thought he was an illegal immigrant. One of them told the police,
“Donald Trump was right. All of these illegals need to be deported.”
In fact, the victim was a legal permanent resident. The older brother was sentenced to three years in prison; the younger to a year and a half.
Total and Complete Ban
Trump also called for a total and complete ban on Muslims entering the United States. He also said,
“I’m putting people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, they’re going back! They could be ISIS.…This could be one of the great tactical ploys of all time. A 200,000-man army maybe, or if you said 50,000 or 80,000 or 100,000, we got problems and that could be possible. I don’t know that it is, but it could be possible so they’re going back—they’re going back.
This is a common pattern in Trump’s language: he identifies a genuinely dangerous group or individual, and then generalizes them to an entire population. Here, he invoked ISIS, a terrorist organization responsible for killing thousands and creating havoc that led to the Syrian refugee crisis. But he conflates those fleeing ISIS with ISIS itself, noting that perhaps upward of 200,000 ISIS soldiers may be infiltrating the country. He did the same with Mexicans.
In my book I call this a lone-wolf whistle. Like a dog whistle, it signals to some people a sinister meaning. Those who hear the signal generalize it to a wider universe of people. And some commit lone-wolf whistle violence.
Trump falsely told George Stephanopoulos that 25 percent of Muslims in America believe that violence against the United States is justified. He also said,
“We have to look at people, we have to use vigilance in our country, or we’re going to have many more World Trade Centers and our country will never be the same. We will have many, many more World Trade Centers as sure as you’re sitting there. Our country will never be the same.”
Indeed, the 9/11 terrorists were Muslim. However, they did not commit their acts of terror because of their religion but because they were terrorists. In fact, more Muslims than Christians have been killed by Al Qaeda and ISIS. Saying all Muslims are or could be terrorists because the 9/11 terrorists were Muslim is the equivalent of saying that all Christians are or could be terrorists because Timothy McVeigh was Christian. McVeigh blew up the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people in what was until 9/11 the worst terrorist attack in American history.
Trump and Disinhibition
According to the Washington Post, reported hate crimes with a racial or ethnic bias increased the day after the election to the highest level of the year. And for ten days the level of such crimes remained higher than on Election Day itself. It was as if the election liberated people who had been holding back, giving them implicit permission to target people Trump had identified as enemies, dangerous, or less than human.
The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations 2016 Hate Crimes Report noted not only that hate crimes rose to their highest levels in the days after the election but revealed a pattern of hate crimes in which Trump’s name was specifically invoked.
By the end of 2016, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the United States had tripled, from 34 at the end of 2015 to 101. The Center published its annual Intelligence Report in early spring 2017, with a picture of Donald Trump on the cover with the caption “The Year in Hatred and Extremism.”
“‘2016 was an unprecedented year for hate…The country saw a resurgence of white nationalism that imperils the racial progress we’ve made,along with the rise of a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists. In [Trump campaign chairman and White House senior strategist] Steve Bannon, these extremists think they finally have an ally who has the president’s ear.’”
The report directly links the increase in hate and hate crimes to Trump’s language:
“The increase in anti-Muslim hate was fueled by Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, including his campaign pledge to bar Muslims from entering the United States, as well as anger over terrorist attacks such as the June massacre of forty-nine people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.”
Just one example: Five days after Trump was inaugurated, a Muslim contract employee of Delta Air Lines, who wears a headscarf known as a hijab, was assaulted by a passenger while sitting in her office in the airline lounge at JFK Airport. The Queens County District Attorney announced that the passenger, Robin Rhodes, shouted at her through the office door:
“‘Are you [expletive deleted] sleeping? Are you praying? What are you doing?’ Rhodes then allegedly punched the door, which hit the back of the victim’s chair. [W]hen the victim asked Rhodes what she did to him, he stated, ‘You did nothing but I am going to kick your [expletive deleted] ass.’ Rhodes then allegedly kicked the victim in the right leg. In an effort to get away, the victim moved to a corner of the office. However, Rhodes allegedly kicked the door, stepped into the office and blocked her from leaving the office.…When an individual came over to the office and tried to calm Rhodes down, Rhodes moved away from the door and the victim ran out of the office to the lounge’s front desk.…Rhodes followed her and got down on his knees and began to bow down in imitation of a Muslim praying and shouted, “[Expletive deleted] Islam,[Expletive deleted] ISIS, Trump is here now. He will get rid of all of you.”
Asians and Asian-Americans At Risk
And now Trump is putting Asians and Asian-Americans at risk. He has been calling COVID-19 the China Virus or the Chinese Virus several times a day.
The World Health Organization advises against naming a virus after a geographic region because of the risk of backlash against people from that region.
Psychology Today has documented the risks to people in targeted groups.
CNN documented attacks on Asians and Asian Americans a month ago.
Trump refuses to change the name he uses.
Ten days ago two small children and two adults from Myanmar were stabbed in the face in Midland, Texas. The assailant confirmed he was trying to kill them.
Trump was called on the consequences of using this name for the virus many times, and insists that he will continue to do so.
The New York Times reports today:
“Mr. Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he was calling the virus ‘Chinese’ to combat a disinformation campaign by Beijing officials saying the American military was the source of the outbreak. He dismissed concerns that his language would lead to any harm.”
This also follows a pattern. He has been called on his language every time there has been an act of violence, and he dismisses the concern outright, comes up with a pretext for using that language, and persists.
But the human costs are real. Just as many Latinos and Muslims were terrified when Trump used dehumanizing and demonizing language about them, the New York Times reports that Asians and Asian-Americans are now concerned:
“As bigots blame them for the corona virus and President Trump labels it the ‘Chinese virus,’ many Chinese-Americans say they are terrified of what could come next.”
The Times also notes the significant rise in bias incidents:
“San Francisco State University found a 50 percent rise in the number of news articles related to the coronavirus and anti-Asian discrimination between Feb. 9 and March 7. The lead researcher, Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian-American studies, said the figures represented “just the tip of the iceberg,” because only the most egregious cases would be likely to be reported by the media.
Mr. Jeung has helped set up a website in six Asian languages, to gather firsthand accounts; some 150 cases have been reported on the site since it was started last Thursday.”
The Asia Pacific Policy Planning Council has set up a website in multiple languages for people to report incidents as well.
These patterns, how we got here, and how engaged citizens and civic leaders can hold leaders accountable for the consequences of their rhetoric are all in my book, Words on Fire: The Power of Incendiary Language and How to Confront It, available for pre-order now.