Phoenix is a national embarrassment in the anti-Asian hate movement. We must do better

While the nation was decrying anti-Asian hate, Phoenix was becoming a national embarrassment: A Filipino immigrant died here after being attacked without provocation in a parking lot, and a downtown restaurant decided to advertise sushi with a sexist stereotype of a submissive Asian prostitute. 

We’ve got to be better than this or else it’s going to cost us.

Metro Phoenix has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas for years, creating a boom in real estate prices and business opportunities in countless sectors.

How could that continue if we’re known as a place where racism thrives?

Arizona has made mistakes before

Already, Arizona has to reconcile its reputation as the last state to approve Martin Luther King Day as a federal holiday.

Already, Arizona has to reconcile its reputation as the state that tried to make it illegal to drive while Latino.

And already, Arizona has to reconcile its reputation as the home base of the “QAnon Shaman” from the Trump Capitol riots.  

These sorts of stories have a way of creeping into the national consciousness and taking on an identity of their own. Good people risk being stereotyped as cowards afraid to confront bigotry where they see it.

We know that this type of reputation has a cost.

We’ve seen North Carolina become the avatar for the economic impact of bigotry, with reports estimating the state lost about $4 billion in revenue over its 2017 anti-LGBTQ “bathroom bill.”

SB 1070, rallies have inspired activism

But risk comes with opportunity.

Arizona’s “show me your papers” law galvanized opponents and changed the face of state politics. In the decade since Senate Bill 1070 was proposed, enacted and defeated, Arizona voters have elected a Democratic presidential candidate, two Democratic U.S. senators and four Democratic U.S. representatives, flipping a congressional delegation that had been considered deeply conservative.

The most vocal supporters of SB 1070, Gov. Jan Brewer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and state Sen. Russell Pearce, all have lost influence.

The pushback started with Latino leaders fighting a blatant encroachment on civil liberties and extended to the state’s business and tourism leaders.

Civil rights activists who have helped lead rallies against anti-Asian racism in Phoenix and Chandler (and potentially another this weekend at Mesa’s Mekong Market) can use that opposition as a model for how to extend their influence.

They also can use this as an opportunity to strengthen connections with others doing anti-racist work.

Black and Latino leaders could be valuable allies in the weeks and months ahead.

Recent actions cast a pall over Phoenix

Especially in a metro area where a Scottsdale city councilman, Guy Phillips, mocked the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 victims while spreading a false claim connecting people of Asian descent to the spread of coronavirus. (He was defeated by voters in November.)

Especially in a metro area where a Phoenix city councilman, Sal DiCiccio, mocked civil rights advocates on Twitter, equating the fight for justice with the dismissive rally cry of “All Lives Matter.” (In order for that statement to be true, Black, Latino and Asian lives need to be treated with the same value as others. Clearly, that’s not the case.)

Especially in a metro area where a plan to create a Phoenix civilian review board with independent powers to investigate claims of police brutality was rejected. (It was a disappointing and high-profile failure for BLM advocates.)

Especially in a metro area where a 74-year-old Asian man was attacked by a stranger and skeptics respond by debating whether it was a hate crime. (Right now, it’s more important to listen and understand as Asian Americans are sharing their experiences of racism. There’s no reason to doubt the corrosive nature of those traumas.)

Especially in a metro area where Moto Sushi put up a banner that read, “We (heart) you long time,” a reference to Vietnamese sex workers hitting on American G.I.s in the movie “Full Metal Jacket.” (The banner is down, but who ever thought it was a good idea for it to go up in the first place?)

We can't grow if racism thrives

We can’t continue down this embarrassing and exclusionary path.

We’ve got to be better than this or else it’s going to cost us.

Metro Phoenix has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas for years.

How could that continue if we’re known as a place where racism thrives?

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

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