They said it was a mental breakdown, a deranged homeless man, and not a racially motived hate crime. In this week's episode, I am reflecting on muliple anti-Asian attacks over the past year that have been overshadowed by investigations of the attacker's mental illness history.

While no one will ever really know what happened, the immediate response to it illustrates a larger reality: when the offender is mentally ill, we as a society have an exceedingly difficult time ascribing political or racial motivations to their actions. I share how this furthers mental health stigma and doesn’t acknoledge the very real reality of racism against Asians which has risen/been accepted over the past 2 years.

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