Last Thursday, Colorado House and State Democrats held a virtual press conference to address the increase in bigotry that has been incited since COVID-19 spread to the state. Lawmakers signed and released a public letter urging community members to take action and address the ongoing, hateful rhetoric and Nazi language that has been circulating. The letter is being addressed to all Coloradans and invites them to be signatories. The Black caucus, Latino caucus, LGBTQ caucus and Jewish caucus worked together to publish this letter and hope that it garners support from constituents.
In the wake of the current pandemic, the internet has become an ever-larger necessity for people across America. The influx of online users has given xenophobic individuals and organized groups a platform with even greater influence.
According to The World Population Review, their 2020 census estimate reported the racial composition of Colorado at 84.17 percent caucasian. That number puts Colorado at one of the least diverse states in the country compared to the overall population. The state’s lack of diversity paired with the threat of online propagandists presents prospective incidents of ignorance.
The letter stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has been used as a cover and excuse for “abhorrent behavior,” including hate crimes against Asian-Americans, “conspiracy theories denigrating immigrants” and asks Coloradans “to speak up in the face of racism, of antisemitism, report hate crimes and bigoted attacks, and embody positive values of understanding, compassion, empathy, patience, charity, and grace.”
Asian-Americans have been facing unwarranted hatred and discrimination across the United States simply because the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China. This gave white Americans baseless excuses to harass and ostracize an entire race, despite the fact that Asian-Americans are dealing with just as much devastation and helplessness as anyone else.
In fact, The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON) started a group called Stop AAPI Hate on March 19 of this year to track blatant incidences of discrimination. The group received 1,135 reports just in the first two weeks regarding verbal assaults and hateful actions towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The reports spanned from states all across the country.
As for Colorado, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are not the only minorities being targeted. There have been reports of Black men being followed around grocery stores simply for wearing bandannas and other make-shift face coverings. While there is no specific evidence as to why COVID-19 has sparked an increase in hate speech and anti-semitism, there are indications coming from our highest branches of government.
President Trump recently declared a hold on all immigration to the United States, providing reinforcement to those with supremacist ideals. Furthermore, he continuously embraces racist comment such as referring to African nations as “sh*thole countries,” calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” for weeks, electing officials regardless of prior racist accusations, launching a travel ban targeting Muslims, and enforcing the inhumane treatment of South American and Mexican immigrants by ICE.
One big reason Democratic legislators decided to hold last week’s conference, was to address an incident back in March of 2020. House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, a Castle Rock Republican, made a statement on the Peter Boyle’s Show comparing Governor Polis’ stay-at-home order to the Gestapo. Gov. Polis is the state’s first Jewish Governor, as well as the first gay Governor, which makes him the target of more than one hate group. Gov. Polis responded to the remark by saying how utterly offensive it had been and that his only motive is to save lives.
“What we’re seeing is an insidious level of hate,” said Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Commerce City Democrat, on Thursday. “This level of hate is not new. We’ve seen these types of levels of hate in our society and in our history, and if we don’t remember those levels of hate, we are doomed to repeat them.”
Colorado’s Democratic legislators hopes to use the letter to spur a state of action against this kind of behavior, especially from government leaders. COVID-19 has sparked a lot of fear and anxiety, but that can not be a reason to turn on one another. As many have said, including Gov. Polis, the only way to get through this crisis is to help and support one another, not the other way around.
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