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After the fatal attacks on several massage parlors in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has strongly condemned hatred and racism. “We have to change our hearts. Hate cannot have a safe haven in America. It has to stop, ”Biden said Friday during a visit to Atlanta, Georgia.
The Democrat also called for discrimination and racism not to be left unchallenged and therefore not tolerated. “Silence makes us accomplices,” Biden said. “We must not be complicit.” Racism is an “ugly poison” that has haunted the United States for far too long.
The deadly series of attacks in Georgia had reignited the debate in the United States about growing discrimination against Asian Americans. In his speech, Biden also indirectly criticized his predecessor Donald Trump for his controversial statements about the corona virus. The Republican had repeatedly referred to the virus as the “China virus.” “Words have consequences,” Biden said. “It’s the coronavirus, period.”
“We have to raise our voices”
Many American citizens of Asian descent reported after Trump’s remarks that they were exposed to increased hostility and violence. According to a report released on the day of the attack by the Stop AAPI Hate initiative, which investigates discrimination against Americans and Pacific Islanders, hate crimes against people of Asian descent have increased in the United States. In the last year, according to the information, almost 3800 attacks were registered, women were affected more often than average.
“We have to raise our voices, we have to act,” Biden said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother once immigrated to the United States from India, met with representatives of the Asian community in Atlanta. “Racism is and always has been a fact in America, as is sexism,” Harris said. All people should be perceived as Americans and not as members of a particular group, he said. “To hurt someone means to hurt us all,” Harris said.
A 21-year-old white man confessed the facts. According to the police, he said he did not act on racist grounds. As an impetus for the brutal attacks, he named sex addiction and the goal of wanting to eradicate “temptation” through massage parlors.
Police said Wednesday it was too early to make clear statements about the motive for the crime and whether it was a hate crime. The prosecution accuses the detainee of homicide and serious bodily injury.
