WITHIN the past few years, hate crimes against Asians in America have seemingly skyrocketed, especially after the pandemic began.
From March 19, 2020, through the end of last year, nearly 11,000 hate crimes targeting those of Asian and Pacific Island descent across America were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy organisation.
The latest victim of an alleged hate crime is actress Karen Fukuhara, who starred in 2016’s Suicide Squad and the successful superhero television series, The Boys.
Taking to her personal Instagram account on March 17, Fukuhara explained that the incident occurred while she was on a coffee run.
She posted: “A man struck me in the back of my head. It came out of nowhere. We made no eye contact before [and] I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary.”
Fukuhara said that the man must have kept on walking after hitting her, as when she turned, he was standing several feet away.
“I thought about confronting him, but he started coming towards me and I didn’t think it was worth the risk,” she wrote, also claiming that after staring and yelling at her, the man walked away.
“What satisfaction are these perpetrators getting from hitting women, Asians, the elderly?” Fukuhara questioned.
Her The Boys co-stars rallied around her in the comments section of her post. Chace Crawford wrote: “F this person!! Hope you’re ok this is awful (sic).”
Jack Quaid added: “Karen thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry that happened to you. Love you. Here if you need anything.”
Laz Alonso shared: “This pisses me off. Wish I was there….”
The attack on Fukuhara came after a more serious one that occurred on March 11 in Yonkers, New York, where a 67-year-old Asian woman was assaulted by a man as she returned to her apartment.
In the CCTV video, the man can be seen punching her a total of 125 times, and then stomping and spitting on her.
Activists believe the anti-Asian hate crimes, mostly targeting elderly men and women, and some young women – like Fukuhara – are seeing a worrying increase.
