BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

A study showed a nearly 150% surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across major cities in the United States in 2020.

One may note that this trend of discrimination against Asians in the U.S spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.

Noel Quintana, a 61 year old Filipino residing in New York, was headed to work when a man next to him in the subway station slashed him on the face.

Apart from Noel, a 65 year old woman was also attacked in New York by an unidentified male, while she was walking to church in broad daylight.

Due to the increasing number of hate crimes against Asian Americans, celebrities have condemned such violent acts and have decide to speak up.

Manny Pacquiao uploaded a photo of himself on instagram, which had the message, “Stop attacking Asians who can’t defend themselves. Fight me instead.” 

Manny’s caption wrote, “We have one color in our blood! Stop discriminating. Love and peace to everyone.”

Lea Salonga also tweeted about racism and said, “Anti-Asian racism isn’t anything new. I was in a musical not that long ago that told the story of one of the most Igrigious sins committed against the Japanese American community. Those who don’t learn history will be doomed to repeat it.”

Hollywood star Shay Mitchell spoke up and stated on her Instagram account, “How many times do we need to have this conversation before it changes? Black-hate. Jewish-hate. Gay-hate. Trans-hate. Poor-hate. Homeless-hate. Muslim-hate. Hispanic-hate. Asian-hate. The list goes on and on. Hate is hate. And it is wrong. Time to start calling this what it is – a hate crime. Time to start calling the people who commit these hate crimes what they are – and who the people are that do this – terrorists.”

Apl de Ap also condemned the attacks and posted on his social media account, “This was a beautifully done campaign from NYC last November to bring awareness to the hate Asians have been receiving in the wake of COVID. I don’t know what the shooter in Atlanta’s motives were today, but now seems as important a time as any, to remind ourselves that we’re all in this together. I’m truly sorry for the families of those involved. #StopAsianHate!”

Filipina-American celeb Vanessa Hudgens kept her message short and sweet by stating, “We Matter” on Instagram.

And finally, Hollywood actor Vincent Rodriguez the third also shared his thoughts regarding the issue and said, “Today, March 26, is the National Day of Action & Healing to #StopAsianHate.”

The star continued, “The recent tragic shooting in Atlanta should be a wake-up call for all of us. We can no longer stay silent. There have been more than 3,800 Anti-Asian hate crimes reported since the pandemic, 68% of which were against Asian women. This needs to STOP! We will not be silent any longer. We must speak up, share our stories, and take action. Join me to say #StopAsianHate!”