New Delhi: After Tuesday’s murder of eight people, including six Asian-American women, the United States President Joe Biden on Saturday (March 20, 2021) said ‘hate can have no safe harbor’ in the United States of America.
Biden after meeting the Asian-American leaders in Atlanta took to his official Twitter account and said, “For all the good that laws can do, we have to change our hearts. Hate can have no safe harbor in America.”
He added, “It must stop — and it’s on all of us together to make it stop.”
For all the good that laws can do, we have to change our hearts.
Hate can have no safe harbor in America.
It must stop — and it’s on all of us together to make it stop.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 19, 2021
The newly-elected US President also said, “Too many Asian Americans have been waking up each morning this past year fearing for their safety and the safety of their loved ones.”
Too many Asian Americans have been waking up each morning this past year fearing for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/LI3iLREoMr
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 19, 2021
Silence is complicity — and we cannot be complicit.
We have to speak out. We have to act. pic.twitter.com/zJXEoKXOMm
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2021
Biden said that silence is complicity and stated, “We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act.”
Post the meeting, he tweeted, “This afternoon, Vice President Harris and I sat down with Asian American leaders in Atlanta. It was a heart-wrenching meeting that made clear the urgent work that lies ahead. We must come together as one America, stand against hate, and root out racism wherever we find it.”
This afternoon, Vice President Harris and I sat down with Asian American leaders in Atlanta. It was a heart-wrenching meeting that made clear the urgent work that lies ahead. We must come together as one America, stand against hate, and root out racism wherever we find it. pic.twitter.com/Z2DOKdxklZ
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2021
Kamala Harris, the US Vice President, said, “We want Asian Americans in Georgia and across our nation to know: We won’t be silent. We won’t standby. We will always speak out against violence.”
Today @POTUS and I met with Asian American leaders in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss the rise in attacks against the community. We want Asian Americans in Georgia and across our nation to know: We won’t be silent. We won’t standby. We will always speak out against violence.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 19, 2021
This is to be noted that a 21-year-old man has been charged with Tuesday’s murders at three spas in and around Atlanta.
The investigators, reportedly, said the suspect, who is white, suggested that sexual frustration led him to commit violence. However, the political leaders and civil rights advocates have speculated the killings were motivated at least in part by anti-Asian sentiment.
Advocates say the surge of attacks on Asian Americans is largely the result of the community being targeted over the COVID-19 pandemic, which was reportedly first identified in China’s Wuhan.
On this, the US President said, “Words have consequences. It’s called the coronavirus. Full stop.”
He also urged Congress to swiftly pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which, according to Biden, would expedite the federal government’s response to the rise of hate crimes exacerbated during the pandemic, support state and local governments to improve hate crimes reporting, and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to Asian American communities.
“During my first week in office, I signed a Presidential Memorandum to condemn and combat racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. I directed the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to help lead our nation’s efforts to stop anti-Asian bias, xenophobia, and harassment. Now, it’s time for Congress to codify and expand upon these actions — because every person in our nation deserves to live their lives with safety, dignity, and respect,” read an official statement by the US President Biden on the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
