Often in today’s “colorblind” society, it is overlooked how racial prejudice plays a role in many acts of violence.  In the case of many violent crimes committed against Asian Americans, long-standing racial stereotypes serve as contributing factors.  Images of “perpetual foreigners,” or job-stealing Asian immigrants, for example, are commonly found to play a role in motivation for attacks against Asian American citizens.
        Common stereotypes, such as that of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners,” serve as justification in the minds of the perpetrators of these violent acts.  Violence seems permissible in the minds of the attackers through the conditioning to the subtle racism that exists in society towards Asians.  For example, in 1885, white miners went on a rampage in a bitter labor riot resulting in the murder of twenty-eight Chinese in the coal-mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming.  In this case, white miners viewed these foreigners as cheap-lived immigrants, stealing American jobs.  The widespread portrayal of the weak, effeminate Asian taking work from the white workers damaged the American ego and in the process angered white miners to take action.  After the violence was ended by federal troops, the murders were treated with leniency and only faced minor fines, enforcing the idea that “Asian” life is cheap.

An image depicting the racial violence of the Rock Springs Massacre, of 1885.
Click on the picture for further information regarding the Rock Springs Massacre.

        Although, the Rock Springs Massacre took place over a century ago, violent attacks like that still occur against Asian Americans today.  The story of Vincent Chin is perhaps one of the most infamous and gruesome examples.  Chin’s case seems somewhat analogous to that of the Rock Springs Massacre.  The image of the “hardworking Asian,” Chin, and the perception of cheap, job stealing Asians, were motivating factors behind this act of racial violence.  Although portrayed as the model minority for their work ethic, Asian Americans can also be targeted as scapegoats for lack of employment opportunities as a result of this stereotype.  In addition, even though Chin is one of those included in the “model minority” myth, this supposedly elevated status did nothing to earn justice after his death.
 

For Further Information Regarding the Murder of Vincent Chin Please Click on the Following Sites:
       The Death of Vincent Chin (http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~asam121/vincent.html)
       The Vincent Chin Case (http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/tanaka/vincent/vincent.html)

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