Earlier this month, two Asian American communities in California were left devastated by a series of mass shootings during the Lunar New Year: One in Monterey Park, considered America’s first suburban “Chinatown”, and the other at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay. At least 18 people were killed and 10 injured in the attacks.
Gordon Chang (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)
Here, Stanford historian Gordon Chang, whose research examines Asian American history in the U.S. and California, talks about how these recent shootings reveal the anxiety, insecurity, and vulnerability Asian Americans experience – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when hate crimes targeting Asian Americans rose. Gordon fears that the recent acts of gun violence – in these cases perpetrated by Asian Americans – will only further fear and potentially lead to even more anti-Asian American hate and prejudice.
“Asian Americans in American history have often been seen as quiet and unassuming. Some believe this makes them easy targets for assault, insult, and robbery, and that they won’t respond,” Chang said. “But there is a contrary narrative, which is that Asians can be cruelly violent, irrational, and dangerous – for example, in films such as Apocalypse Now, Kill Bill, Chinatown, and Gran Torino. I fear that these recent incidents will stimulate further anti-Asian fears and cycles of further prejudice and violence.”
It’s now up to all of us to think about how to address gun violence and other injustices, he added.
Chang is the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities in the School of Humanities and Science. In addition to Asian American history, Chang’s research also looks at America-China relations, the Chinese diaspora, and global history. His most recent books examined the history of Chinese railroad workers in America in the 19th century.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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