Bitter Lesson From Stockton Schoolyard : Racially Motivated Violence Must Be Confronted

Stunned and saddened by the tragedy in Stockton, where five Indochinese children were killed on their school playground, many people are looking for answers. Reports of the type of weapon used have prompted calls for the elimination of or restriction in the accessibility of certain types of semi-automatic assault rifles.

Some reports have revealed the killer as a man consumed by a hatred of Indochinese refugees and others, and who may have had links to white-supremacist groups. With the killer dead, his actual motivation may never be known. Yet there is a suspicion, especially among Asian Americans, that there was a connection between that hatred and the violent tragedy.

Initiatives to prevent future occurrences have been dominated by gun-control proposals. While these may be useful, our state would be negligent or worse if we do notat least have parallel initiatives to reduce hate crimes and group hatred.

The focus of attention is properly placed on assisting the children and the families of the victims in Stockton. But, again, it would be a mistake to ignore or downplay the growing dangers of group hatred that can lead to explosive violence.

In fact, the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission has recently recorded the most such hate incidents since 1980, when it began monitoring crimes motivated by bigotry. Over the past two years about 20% of the racially motivated incidents have been directed against Asian Pacific Americans, with many more incidents going unreported because of fear, language barriers or lack of knowledge. This has been symptomatic of a larger national problem as complaints of racially motivated violence and harassment of Asians have escalated in the past five years.

Why then has there been so little response to the hate-fueled aspect of the Stockton tragedy? One explanation is that the killer was reported to have hated everyone. But the facts call for further scrutiny: A man with anti-Asian sentiments chose a school with a student composition of more than 70% Asians for his carnage, and he subsequently killed five Indochinese children and wounded 29 others, the majority of them Indochinese refugee children.

Another possible explanation is far more disturbing. That is that we have become immune to charges of prejudice and too paralyzed to change the climate of tolerance for hatred. So it’s easy to label a hate crime as the aberrant behavior of a single individual. We do not have to be introspective or feel in any way accountable for the atmosphere where anti-Asian or anti-group hatred has dramatically grown.

If true, neither explanation is satisfactory. But they may explain why our society has focused on gun control. That solution allows us to avoid the painful process of self-examination.

The current uneasiness and even frustration among many Asian Pacific Americans would certainly be less if other programs were targeting hate violence. Official action and community initiatives have moved too slowly. Too many assault rifles are in the streets, but Asian Americans cannot forget that Vincent Chin, whose racially motivated killing seven years ago sparked national outrage, was beaten to death with a baseball bat.

There is some hope in recent recommendations. Ironically, just before the Stockton incident in the first week of January, the Asian and Pacific Islander Advisory Committee of the California attorney general’s office completed a report calling for active outreach, communication and education by law enforcement, prosecutors and schools to respond to increased bigotry against Asians and Pacific islanders.

Recognizing that the Los Angeles Police Department’s monitoring plan to respond to crimes motivated by the victim’s race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation isnot operating effectively, the city Human Relations Commission is about to presenta set of recommendations to Mayor Tom Bradley. Most cities in California do not even have requirements for local law-enforcement agencies to collect information on violent acts of bigotry. State Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) has reintroduced a bill that would mandate such monitoring. Such recommendations are only the first step, and must be followedup with prompt and effective actions by officials and community leaders to implement these changes.

We can begin with a thorough investigation of the motivation behind the killingsin Stockton. Knowing the motivation will help in finding specific solutions.

Legislative and administrative actions need to be promptly implemented to ensure that community members understand their options when they are victims of racial violence or harassment. For many, that means bilingual materials and personnel must accompany active outreach. Educational programs in the communities and schools must be funded and activated to begin a vital but often neglected education and hate-prevention process.

Initiatives like the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference campaign to reduce prejudice against racial and religious groups should be expanded to other cities and other victims of bigotry.

We must create an atmosphere in which it is unacceptable to hate. That goal will take many public and private initiatives and partnerships to improve intergroup education, communication and interaction. Through the tragedy in Stockton we may have the necessary impetus to recognize our societal responsibilities and to target specific methods of reducing hatred and hate violence.