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 last week when a gunman went on a rampage at three Atlanta-area spas. The suspect, a 21-year-old white man, was arrested and is facing multiple murder and firearms charges. Right now, police say his crimes do not appear to have been motivated by race.

But researchers see it differently. Crimes targeting Asian Americans have 

 dramatically since the start of the pandemic.

, a coalition that’s tracking incidents of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, said there were

 close to 3,800 racist incidents this past year

, mostly against women. Scholars say Asian women face threats because American culture fetishizes them.

MPR News host Kerri Miller discussed the problem of anti-Asian violence with two experts who know the history and the tropes that shape the Asian experience in America.  

Editor’s note (March 24, 2021): During the live show, a caller used an incorrect number to describe racial demographics of Duluth, Minn. Duluth is 89.7 percent white. The incorrect figure was removed from the audio attached to this page.

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Attacks on Asian Americans are on the rise. Women are twice as likely as men to be targeted. Why?

Why anti-Asian violence is on the rise — again

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