The GOP's xenophobia is fueling toxic culture of hate

[marmar]

(CNN) On Tuesday evening, when we started hearing the details of the murderous rampage that left eight people dead in the Atlanta area, a gnawing fear started taking shape. Gun violence has become eerily routine in the United States. But this time, there was nothing random about the shootings. The killer went to three separate establishments. The first one is called, "Young's Asian Massage." Of the eight people he killed, six were Asian women.

In addition to the sorrow for the lives lost, two troubling thoughts immediately came to mind. First, was this another instance of anti-Asian violence? And then, the elephant in the room, the question that almost didn't need to be asked: If it was a deliberate effort to kill Asians, does former President Donald Trump, who has spent more than a year referring to the coronavirus by using Asian slurs, bear any responsibility for helping set the stage for the rising tide of anti-Asian American violence?

The answer is obvious to many. California Rep. Judy Chu, who heads the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said the former president, "clearly stoked the flames of xenophobia" against Asians. After public health officials named the virus Covid-19, deliberately seeking to avoid potentially xenophobic overtones, Trump ostentatiously, mockingly called it the "China virus," the "Wuhan virus," and the "Kung Flu." According to Chu, that led to attacks on Asians increasing exponentially. And what happened in Atlanta, she argues, is the result of what Trump unleashed. Chu is hardly alone in reaching that conclusion.

The Atlanta area shooting suspect, according to Police Captain Jay Baker, claims he wasn't looking for Asian victims, but there's much we don't know about the case. The fact that Baker, who was the spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office's case, has himself allegedly posted racist anti-Asian material on social media is only one more reason to be skeptical of the claim that race and national origin were not a factor. .............(more)

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/19/opinions/xenophobia-republicans-anti-asian-american-crimes-ghitis/index.html

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Imagine a Party that votes against protecting women.

It's like voting to agree that the sun rises in the east.

I really don't know what they believe, but I do know they are diametrically opposed to any legislation that Democrats propose.

[JI7]

2. It's white supremacy. It's the same reason we have so many other problems

in this country .