As a result of the recent surge in violence against Asian Americans, including a brutal attack on a Filipino woman in New York City and shootings of six Asian women at spas in Atlanta, President Biden has detailed plans to stifle the rise of racism. His plans include increased accessibility of hate crime data by publishing a page focused on attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He also plans to provide police with more training, and will have the FBI hold civil rights training for the public to encourage people to report hate crimes, as language barriers have historically made victims reluctant to report. To address the past crimes that have been overlooked, he also plans to support survivors of violence and assault that also face language barriers with $50 million in grants.
The Justice Department will review how it can more effectively prosecute those who commit hate crimes against Asian Americans. Unfortunately, hate crime charges are difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt in court because establishing that the reason that victims were targeted was their race, specifically, is extremely difficult, especially since there is no common or unified anti-Asian symbol. Prosecutors are forced to rely on the use of racist slurs or remarks, or on the aggressor’s admission that their crime was a result of race based motives.
Additionally, since the First Amendment protects free speech rights, a person can not be punished for merely name-calling, verbally abusing, or using hateful speech; they can only be punished under hate crime laws if there are threats of violence or violent actions. Because of this, Biden’s efforts will likely not be enough to prevent anti-Asian sentiments from spreading and wreaking havoc on the Asian American community, but it is definitely a step in the right direction since it will decrease the amount of outright violence.
Questions:
- Do you think Biden is doing enough? What else could he do to prevent hate crimes?
- How do we combat or punish anti-Asian speech without undermining First Amendment rights?
That is a great question because the constitutionality of the First Amendment has been examined before and tweaked over America's history but still it doesn't ban hate speech like other countries. I learned that from the Schenck v. US case, free speech will only be restricted when it presents a clear and present danger, so overall as long as your words don't explicitly say something which can inflict danger, then it's protected as what is called pure speech. Therefore it is frustrating when people say hateful or anti-Asian speech because the reality is there isn't much ground to condemn this behavior unless there is action or danger attached to it. But a everyday solution to this problem is to still condemn hateful and hurtful speech while fostering inclusive environments for all people and supporting the Asian American community right now. Another ideal idea is that people shouldn't have to rely on the First Amendment to justify themselves because it is probably very hurtful speech they said and they just don't want to own up to it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that encouraging communities to be inclusive and accepting is the way to prevent hurtful speech and support the Asian American community. I really like your idea that people shouldn't have to rely on law or the First Amendment, and that people should strive to be kind and inclusive whether there are legal repercussions or not. Despite how difficult it is to reinforce, I think that educating people to be accepting of diverse groups of people is one way to help prevent hateful speech.
DeleteBiden is definitely moving in the right direction but unfortunately there is not much more that he or his administration can do in terms of preventing hate speech from happening. Like Caitlin said, unless people are making violent threats they can't be punished, so the only thing that can be done about hate speech is to increase public awareness about it and try to increase the amount of people who will speak out and try to help discourage it. I don't think it's reasonable or to expect a complete halt of hate speech so I feel like there should be more focus on creating safe spaces for potential victims and making sure that those who use violent hate speech get punished.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with that! There isn't really any way to legally prevent hate speech without infringing on peoples' personal freedoms/ ability to speak freely, so I agree that creating safe spaces is the way to support people who are victims of hateful speech or actions. I agree that those who use hateful speech should be punished, and since that kind of punishment can't occur legally, I think communities and individuals play a huge role in creating safe environments-- it's really important that all people make an effort to discourage exclusive or hurtful speech in their environments.
DeleteI think that Biden is doing a lot to try and prevent the spread of Anti-asian hate crimes but I don't think it will really be enough to stop the violence and racism. I think a big problem on top of the crimes themselves is the people who stay complacent or who are bystanders who don't try and help a victim who is often timed be very violently abused. I think there needs to be more done to either enact change in those who witness it or influence other to take a stand. There may also need to be an increase in litigation and investigation to punish for these crimes and bring justice. I think it's hard to combat anti-asian speech just because people are going to say what they want and there can't be restrictions on that. I think it's just important to raise awareness of various types of hate speech and how it affects people, but also just trying to teach it from early ages in schools to stop generational trends of racism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauryn that Biden is trying to do a lot to stop the Asian hate but at the same time, this racism is institutional and systemic. There will always be families who raise their kids to believe in certain "white supremacist' ideals and believed ridiculous rumors. The way to fix this issue at hand is to implement an education system in this specific areas, educating children on proper history. I think Biden should do more than condemn these hate crimes--he should take some type of action. It is unfair that the Chief of Police makes excuses for a mean, claiming "he had a bad day." It is unacceptable to kill one person, let alone eight, because your life is not perfect at the moment. People who witness these crimes need to take a stand as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that President Biden's steps to combat hate crimes definitely sound promising. I would agree with Edan, though, that there is no real way to stop hate speech from happening, as that would (debatedly) restrict people's freedom of speech by forcing self-censorship. The question of how to solve hate crimes is really a larger question of how to solve racism, and that is something that I don't think anyone knows the answer to. In the interim, I do think that people need to develop a tougher skin surrounding these kinds of hurtful messages, etc, solely as a self-protection measure. Even while advocating for measures to prevent hate speech and hate crimes, people need to simultaneously stop being affected by, say, discriminatory remarks. Such hate speech is only as damaging (to our morale, our happiness, etc) as we let it be. Some people are just bad people; ignore them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that while Biden’s plans do sound promising they cannot prevent all hate speech, due to freedom of speech being a constitutional right. His steps in trying to prevent hate crimes are in the right direction as he is taking the initiative to increase public awareness of this issue and provide training for officials to create more inclusive and accepting communities. In terms of combating anti-Asian speech, I believe more steps should be taken to educate younger generations and discourage them from using such hateful speech by emphasizing the consequences. In addition, victims of hate crimes should be encouraged to speak about their encounters, and others should call out those who use such speech.
ReplyDeleteI think Biden is establishing strong first steps to combat Asian hate, however there is still a lot more that can be done. I think the general public needs to be educated on subtle signs of racism and discrimination and how our society work to eliminate these. Solving the root of racism is a complex and difficult issue that our nation has struggled with for many years. With that being said, there's no excuse for the rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community it's truly atrocious to see some of the acts that taken place.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I agree that Biden is doing a good job of providing a basis for change in the way racism and hate crimes are being handled. However, I am not sure how helpful the extra data will be, as with new public attention, asian hate crimes are already being widely publicized. As for hate speech, you can't tell people what they can or cannot say, but you can use your own right to speak out against it. There are obviously resources to help the anti-asian hate crime movement, and you can do other things like signing petitions and joining protests to voice your own opinions.
ReplyDeleteIt is obviously clear that hate crimes should be punished to the greatest extent possible, and such a change by Biden is promising, though the effects remain to be seen. Legally, under the first amendment, people cannot be punished for hate speech, but they can and should still be condemned. Because someone has a right to say something doesn't mean people need to listen to them or give them any attention. Outright hateful speech can and should be punished by private organizations (ex. school or work policies). It's important such policies are enforced strongly and not overlooked. Furthermore, this needs to be a part of a greater movement to self reflect on racial biases and stereotypes. Anti-asian beliefs can take subtler forms than outright white supremacy and manifest themselves in culture and policies. It is then imperative to continue to be aware and in the continual process of learning more.
ReplyDeleteI think Biden is giving the proper response given the situation. On matters of hate crimes, I think its best that the President and Federal government point the states and local governance in the right direction, and leave the specifics to each local community. The first amendment protects freedom of speech whether we like what the speech is or not. However I think in this instance its best to fight free speech with free speech, as it's our first amendment right to criticize the hateful rhetoric of others.
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