Livingston ‘Stands Behind Asian Community’ After GA Shootings

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston Town Council has issued a statement condemning the shootings that claimed at least eight lives in Georgia on Tuesday.

According to authorities, a gunman opened fire at three massage parlors across the metro Atlanta area. Although many of the victims are of Asian descent, officials have said it’s too early in the investigation to know if the shootings were “racially motivated.”

Cherokee County Sheriff's Capt. Jay Baker said the gunman admitted to the killings and blamed the massage parlors for fueling his sex addiction. Read More: Metro Atlanta Massage Parlor Shootings (5 Things To Know)

Many advocates have since expressed fear in the wake of the shootings, however, and have pointed to a reported rise in anti-Asian violence since the pandemic began.

• See related article: Outrage Erupts In Essex County About Anti-Asian Violence

On Wednesday, the Livingston Town Council and Mayor Shawn Klein added their voices to the growing chorus of people and groups condemning the violence. They wrote:

“We are horrified by yesterday’s murders in Georgia and recent anti-Asian violence in many parts of America. The town council and the entirety of Livingston stands behind our Asian community with support and love. Livingston is blessed to be diverse – it is our strength. If someone attacks part of us, they are attacking all of us. We stand together, and those who would attack Asian-Americans have no place here.”

Several Livingston community members quickly supported the council’s statement. Seen online:

• “This is from real human hearts. Thank you! You are the reason why we love Livingston and call it home.”
• “I’m glad our town leadership has spoken up. There’s still a lot of work to do on all fronts. The hate speech of the last few years has had repercussions across most demographics.”

The issue of racial bias isn’t unique to Georgia. Some people of Asian descent have also reported that they’ve recently experienced racial bias in Essex County, too.

In February 2020, a 33-year-old Jersey City resident said she was walking in Montclair when a male said, 'Go back to China,' made a slur regarding her heritage and spat in her direction. The suspect was described as an “older white male.”

• See related article: 2 Women Spat At, Endure Racial Slurs In Essex County, Police Say

For others, their experiences have been a wake-up call that racial bias exists even in “progressive” areas of the country.

“The last three years have been painful and frustrating for me,” a woman wrote on Patch Verona-Cedar Grove in February, alleging that she’s been harassed and bullied by people in Montclair, West Orange and Cedar Grove, among other New Jersey towns.

Read her full op-ed here.

“As an Asian American woman who was adopted by an Italian and German American family from Long Island, New York at 7-months-old, I felt white,” she wrote. “Most of my friends growing up were white. My husband is white, which means my teenage son is half-white. But four years of [former] President Trump's administration and this last year of the COVID-19 pandemic have compelled me to identify as ‘Other.’”

“I learned that certain people feel very comfortable harassing a small Asian American woman because I am an easy target,” she continued. “I also learned that racists exist in one of the most ‘progressive’ areas in New Jersey in one of the most ‘progressive’ states in the Union.”

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