Asian Americans Grapple With Tide of Attacks: 'We Need Our Safety Back'

Source: New York Times

Asian Americans Grapple With Tide of Attacks: ‘We Need Our Safety Back’

Younger Asian American leaders want to rely less on traditional policing solutions, while more traditional cultural and business groups favor them.

By Jeffery C. Mays, Dana Rubinstein and Grace Ashford
March 6, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

She was attacked as she swept up in front of her Queens home in November, beaten in the head with a rock so viciously that she was in a coma for weeks.

As GuiYing Ma battled for her life, other attacks on Asian women followed. A mentally ill man pushed Michelle Alyssa Go to her death at Times Square subway station in January. The next month, Christina Yuna Lee was followed to her apartment in Chinatown and fatally stabbed more than 40 times.

After each instance, Asian American groups and elected officials from across the political spectrum came out in force, demanding that more be done to address violence against members of their community.

But when it comes to strategies for fighting crime against Asians, unity has been much harder to find.

Many traditional organizations, including the merchant associations that once dominated community politics, have demanded more police officers on the streets, tougher prosecution and more restrictive bail laws. But liberals, including many of the city’s younger Asian American elected officials, have taken the opposite tack, arguing against tougher policing and endorsing more progressive measures to address mental illness and homelessness.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/nyregion/asian-woman-attacks.html

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