Experts argue that a number of variables, including decreased opportunities for COVID-related scapegoating, less inflammatory statements from leaders, and reporting weariness, are to blame for the drop in hate incidents from 746 to 499. But not all groups had the same decrease.
According to FBI statistics published last week, there was a 33% decline in anti-Asian hate crimes from 2021 to 2022. This is the first time the number of such crimes has been documented since the epidemic began.
source : NBC NEWS
Experts argue that a number of variables, including decreased opportunities for COVID-related scapegoating, less inflammatory statements from leaders, and reporting weariness, are to blame for the drop in hate incidents from 746 to 499. But not all groups had the same decrease.
However, analysts think the decline is probably a short-term occurrence and is probably part of a “cyclical” trend.
According to Janelle Wong, a senior researcher at the nonprofit organization AAPI Data, “anti-Asian hate crimes… are often tied to national security or other kinds of U.S. foreign policy that heightened attention to Asian Americans in the U.S.” “Depending on the national and international context and the extent to which places in Asia are portrayed as a threat to the U.S., we will expect them to go up again at some point.”
According to Wong, the first surge in hate crimes was probably caused by a combination of economic downturns and the belief that Asians are the cause of COVID. According to 2021 research, for instance, anti-Asian hate crimes significantly increased in Italy’s high unemployment regions relative to high illness and death rates.

According to a 2020 research, prejudice toward Asians had been steadily declining for ten years, but the trend abruptly changed when political figures started holding Asians responsible for the Covid pandemic.
“Studies indicate that individuals who perceive Asian Americans as more ‘foreign,’ are more inclined to show animosity toward them and participate in violent and discriminatory acts against them,” Co-author of the research Rucker Johnson previously told NBC News.
According to Stephanie Chan, research manager at the group Stop AAPI hatred, the regularity with which Asian Americans have had to deal with hatred and racism may have had a psychological toll, leaving many feeling burnt out and less likely than in the past to resort to law enforcement or other reporting channels.
People often have the attitude that they are sick of hearing bad news and just want the issue to be resolved. And I believe it influences people’s decision to report or not, Chan said. “Our communities can sometimes become numb from experiencing it so frequently that it almost becomes normalized.”
He said, “We’ve seen rhetoric from political campaigns trying to dehumanize Muslims, Arabs, and Mexicans.” “That has knock-on effects for communities that are perceived as foreigners or as belonging to those identities.”
He described the disturbing accounts he’s heard, which range from vicious attacks to humiliation and derogatory remarks. Based on his involvement with victims of hate crimes, he said that the information provided by the statistics is incomplete. He claims that since so many law enforcement organizations choose not to notify the FBI of hate crimes, the public is not given a clear picture.
“What we currently have is merely the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “In order for us to effectively address the issue at hand, law enforcement agencies nationwide must be required to report hate crimes.”
Leaders of the Muslim community describe a sharp rise in incident reports in their daily work since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. Experts worry that the FBI’s 2023 statistics will show a sharp rise in Islamophobic hate crimes, even if the figures for 2022 only indicate a little increase (from 153 to 158).
According to Corey Saylor, research director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “we’re working seven days a week, around the clock, fielding incoming complaints.”
Since October 7, CAIR said that it has received hundreds of complaints about anything from physical abuse to harassment.
“There have been numerous incidents of vehicles being used as weapons against protestors, a 6-year-old child being murdered in Illinois, and threats made by people brandishing guns,” Saylor said, alluding to the death of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a young Palestinian American who was stabbed 26 times in what authorities described as an Islamophobic attack last week.