BRATTLEBORO — I awoke. Ten minutes of devotional podcast and 10 minutes of National Public Radio podcast in bed.
My heart sank. Eight dead, reportedly mostly Asian-American women in the Atlanta area.
Oh, no.
These are our sisters.
News reports are still informing us of the details in Atlanta. It is true, the attacks seem not to be purely racially motivated. As with most incidents of violence, motivations are complicated, not simple.
In Atlanta, preliminary reports indicate that the term “intersectionality” can be helpfully applied to this case. The shooting appears to be “at the intersection of gender based-violence, misogyny, and xenophobia,” says Rep. Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives.
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I ache for my Asian brothers and sisters (some of whom worship at Centre Congregational Church, UCC), for although racism and prejudice against Asian Americans has a long history (as they are both built into the very fabric and culture of this nation), hate crimes against Asian-Americans are on the increase.
NBC News, Time, and Voice of America all report that hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans spiked by 150 percent in major United States cities since the advent of COVID-19 pandemic.
Why the increase?
No doubt, the rise in hate crimes against Asian-Americans is due to the increased racist language, perspectives, and behavior of some of our leaders elected to the highest offices.
Xenophobic language fuels hate crimes. When leaders refer to the COVID-19 virus as the “Chinese Virus” and “Kung Flu,” they are not just being puerile. Worse, incendiary language like that authorizes radical and violent supremacists, who are usually white male ... Christians.
Ah! Christians! Another section of “intersectionality” in our country.
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White male Christians are, I believe, the most violent group in our nation, causing more hate crimes and mass murder than any other demographic.
One media report on an Instagram account belonging to the shooter read, “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life.”
Guns and God.
Sadly, white, male Christians have long held a love affair in the United States with guns and God, and it has long been at the expense of people of color, including those who are indigenous, African Americans, Chinese, Japanese Americans, and Vietnamese.
This Lent, may I as a white, male Christian, repent for my privilege that has in part been acquired through historic violence, bullying tactics, and silent, hidden, and subtle cultural and economic domination.