A new study found that anti-Asian hate incidents (AAHIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic correlated to the degree of local economic and health disparities, and the FBI data on such incidents were different from that reported by the news media.
The study, called “Roots of Racism: Examining the Conditions for Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19”, was initiated by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). It analyzed AAHIs using data from January 2020 to December 2021 from media data compiled by TAAF and law enforcement data documented by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program.
The study examined the relationship between social factors and anti-Asian hate, and found that there is no correlation between AAHIs and political party affiliation. Such incidents happened in counties of both Republican and Democratic strongholds.
The data suggested that AAHIs were correlated to economic conditions. Counties with more income inequality, lower median household income and more free lunch recipients tended to have more AAHIs incidents. Conversely, counties with higher homeownership saw fewer AAHIs.
Poor health also was connected to AAHIs. Counties with more drug overdose deaths and less sleep time saw a higher number of AAHIs.
TAAF said that such results were consistent with previous research that has found that income inequality is a strong predictor of neighborhood turmoil and violent crime in general.
The study noticed a discrepancy between the two data sets: for the same period, the media reported 1,288 AAHIs while the FBI recorded 1,087.
At the local level, the discrepancy is large for some counties, the data showed. For example, For San Francisco, the media reported 113 AAHIs while the FBI…
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