Protesters rally against anti-Asian racism in US post-Atlanta shooting

Thousands of Americans took to the streets on Sunday in the United States as they protested against the anti-Asian mass shooting at Asian owned spas in Atlanta, Georgia. 

People were seen rallying in many major cities including Washington, New York, Atlanta and also in Montreal, Canada. 

While talking to AFP, 37-year-old Asian American, Xin Hua in Washington said, “The fact is that six Asian women were killed,” and that she was very angry that Atlanta police has still not said the shooting was racially motivated.  

Also Read: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris condemn violence against Asian-Americans

Arrested on Tuesday, Robert Aaron Long, the shooter, admitted opening fire in three Asian massage parlours in Atlanta and the city suburbs.  Long has been charged with murder but has denied being motivated by racial hatred. 

He claims he had a sexual addiction and wanted to “eliminate” a temptation.

Another Asian American protestor Kat at the Washington protest said, “I’ve been approached on dating apps by men saying, ‘I need to cure my yellow fever.'” Her sign read “I am not your temptation,” pushing back against the sexual fetishization of Asian women, reported AFP. 

Also Read: Atlanta Shooting: Know the eight people killed at Georgia spas

In New York, mayoral candidate and former Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang invited demonstrators to raise their hand if they had seen a spike in anti-Asian racism since the start of the pandemic — which activists say was fueled by former president Donald Trump repeatedly calling Covid-19 the “China virus.”

Many also marched in Montreal on Sunday. 

An organizer of the march, May Chiu of the group Progressive Chinese of Quebec said, “We are protesting against years of anti-Asian racism, fomented by a white supremacist president in the US who insisted on referring to the virus as the ‘china virus,’ which has encouraged hatred and attacks on all kinds of oppressed minorities.”