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‘Appalled’: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, US lawmakers condemn hate against Asian Americans
This comes after the incidents of abuse against the Asian American community in the US that have been on a rise.
Microsoft Corporation on Friday condemned the acts of hate against Asian Americans and Asian communities taking place all over the world. The technology giant released a statement from its official Twitter handle, saying it supports the Asian community globally and is committed to taking action against racial injustices. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella quote tweeted the statement, adding that he was appalled by the “ongoing acts of hate against the community” and stands with them against the injustice.
“I am appalled by the ongoing acts of hate against Asian Americans and the Asian community globally. Racism, hate and violence have no place in our society. I am united with the Asian and Asian American community in standing against this injustice,” Nadella tweeted.
This comes after the incidents of abuse against the Asian American community in the US that have been on a rise. In one of the studies on the rise of hate crimes the researchers argued that Donald Trump’s campaign rallies for the 2016 presidential elections not only served to heighten white identity but also increased the perceived threat facing White Americans. The study showed that Trump’s events were correlated with rise in domestic hate. The counties hosting Trump’s rallies saw a 226 per cent increase in hate-motivated crimes, according to the researchers.
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More than 3,000 incidents of abuse were reported between March and December 2020, as per Asian American advocacy groups, quite high when compared to 216 reported incidents in 2019, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics.
In one of the recent incidents of abuse against the Asian American community, three women passengers berated an Uber driver. A woman coughed on the driver as he asked her to wear a mask. The driver, who was identified as Subhakar Khadka in the video that went viral, was subjected to slurs, taunting and grabbing of his phone, after he picked up three women from the Bayview area in San Francisco and asked one of them to wear a mask as a Covid-19 precaution.
According to a PTI report, several US lawmakers have come forward in support of the community and to fight the racial injustices meted out to them. Citing the significance of addressing the issue, senator Dianne Feinstein said that over the past few weeks, nominees for top three leadership positions at the Justice Department, as well as the director of the FBI, have appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“At each hearing, the topic of hate crimes came up, in large part due to steep increases in attacks against Asian Americans,” she said.
Earlier this month, the department of justice (DoJ) held a listening session with several Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community groups as part of the measures against hate crimes.
“No one in America should fear violence because of who they are, what they look like or what part of the world they or their families came from,” acting deputy attorney general John Carlin said. “The Department of Justice and our component agencies are committed to bringing all of our tools to bear in supporting AAPI communities as we address the horrific rise in hate and bias incidents occurring across the country,” he added.
