The Rise in Asian Hate Has More Than Physical Health Effects

One year ago, hundreds of people rallied at the Flushing Town Hall in Queens, New York, where an Asian woman was violently shoved to the ground, to stand against the alarming spike in anti-Asian hate crimes. Anti-Asian sentiments are far from new, but a handful of widely-covered incidents targeting the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community put a spotlight on what has often been an overlooked issue throughout the nation. Among these are the killings of Michelle Go, Christina Yuna Lee, and Vicha Ratanapakdee, and the mass shooting in Atlanta last year that took the lives of six Asian women.

The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reported last year that anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339 percent between 2020 and 2021. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which originated from Wuhan, China, and discriminatory remarks from several politicians including former-President Trump, who commonly referred to the virus as “Kung-Flu,” helped fuel that surge in racism, according to Human Rights Watch.

Increased media coverage of anti-Asian hate crimes raises a broader sense of awareness about racism for the general public, but for several Asian residents in the New Jersey and New York City area, it can also increase mental health issues for people in the Asian community.

Several Asian elders said that exposure to Asian hate in the media has made it harder for them to carry on with their daily tasks, especially if it involves unfamiliar or crowded places. They said that even in their own neighborhoods, they worry about getting attacked or harassed.

For Mary Manalo, a 59-year-old Filipino immigrant of Chinese descent, these mental health impacts have manifested in the form of anxiety about going to public places. Manalo said she has actively avoided going into the city, especially where there may be train tracks — a fear that stems from Michelle Go’s untimely death on January 15 after she was pushed into an oncoming subway. “Before, they were targeting elderly people, but now it could be anyone,” Manalo said. “That’s why I don’t want [my daughter] to go into the city much, even for Broadway shows or dinner with friends.”

More than one third of subway crimes reported by the New York City Police Department last year — 30 out of 84 reports — had Asian victims, displaying a 233% increase from 2020.

This fear of being physically attacked in public places is added stress for Manalo. Before the surge in hate crimes, during the height of the pandemic, Manalo was already worried about how others might treat her in public upon seeing that she’s Asian. Her husband Norman Cabrera, also a Filipino immigrant, developed these same fears and worries but felt more safe in public than Manalo, thanks to his name and appearance.

“I thought, ‘It’s a good thing people think I’m Latino,’” Cabrera said. “Maybe that way, I won’t get attacked.”

While he occasionally experiences microaggressions that would typically make others upset, Cabrera finds relief in it right now, saying it’s a lot safer than being hit, pushed, or robbed. It’s an unfortunate mindset for anyone to possess, especially people of color, but it’s one that seems to be helpful in certain cases, perhaps as a way to cope with any stress, anxiety, or depression that might develop.

Norman’s nephew, Vinnie Cabrera, is an Asian-American expat living in Hamburg, Germany and is a member of the organization Democrats Abroad. His experiences abroad over the past two years reflect the fact that the rise in anti-Asian sentiments, although perhaps not as common as in the U.S., is also an international problem.

“A week after we went into lockdown [in Hamburg], I was at the grocery store near my house, just minding my own business, but in the aisle next to me, there were these two really loud guys — I think they were drunk,” he said. “And they were basically saying, ‘Schieß China,’ which means, ‘Shit China,’ ‘Shit Chinese people,’ et cetera, and I was like, ‘I hope they don’t see me.’”

No matter where people are experiencing these kinds of discriminatory acts, it’s important for them to take care of their mental health. Pauline Montemayor, a licensed clinical social worker based in Montclair, advises anyone affected by these situations to reach out to someone they trust.

“Something is better than nothing,” Montemayor said. “If they don’t have access to [in-person mental healthcare], they can go the telehealth route, so they can have someone to talk to and connect with.”

When Montemayor completed her Master’s degree in social work ten years ago, she hadn’t seen or gone through any training specifically catered towards dealing with racism and other identity-centric issues. In light of an increase in racially motivated hate crimes and heightened publicity around the issue, she feels that it’s now crucial for social workers and other mental health professionals to receive training on how to help clients deal with racism.

“I do think that, given the increase in crimes and the heightened awareness of the racial tensions going around the country, there absolutely should be more training around that,” she said. “I feel that, as a therapist, it’s really important to be aware of what your client may be experiencing and how that affects them and how to help them cope with that because it is happening.”

For people who don’t want to pursue therapy, Montemayor recommended getting involved with activist groups or other community outreach programs.

Joining such a group was an effective coping mechanism for Vinnie Cabrera, who uses his position in Democrats Abroad of Hamburg to raise awareness and support on the issue.

“Find an organization to hook up and volunteer with them,” Cabrera said. “For me, channeling my sadness and anger and other negative emotions into something tangible was really helpful.”

Lawmakers have also sought to channel the negative impact of the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes into action. Last year, the House of Representatives passed an anti-Asian hate crime bill with a 364–62 approval vote, making it “the first legislative action that Congress has taken to bolster law enforcement’s response” to attacks targeting Asian-Americans. The Senate later passed the bill with an overwhelming 94–1 vote.

Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, who sponsored the bill with New York Democratic Representative Grace Meng, saw the bill’s passage as a sign of hope, saying that it “sends a clear and unmistakable message of solidarity” to the AAPI community.

Another message of solidarity comes in the form of rallies attended by people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, much like the one at the Flushing Town Hall. Stop Asian Hate rallies and protests have been organized in nearly all fifty states and even internationally.

While these actions show progress and the importance of community, the violence still persists, and along with that, so does the trauma faced by the Asian-American community. If you’ve experienced a racially-motivated hate incident, report it to StopAAPIHate.org, www.StandAgainstHatred.org, or your local District Attorney. If you or a loved one are in need of mental health counseling, please refer to resources such as www.asianmhc.org or www.asianmentalhealthproject.com to find a professional who can help.