Vigil For Georgia Shooting Victims Scheduled In Mahwah

MAHWAH, NJ — Mahwah community members have scheduled a candlelight vigil for the eight victims of the massage parlor shootings in the metro Atlanta area. They say it's also a show of support for Asian Americans.

This follows multiple reports of a rise in anti-Asian violence since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and the shootings last week.

"As the residential population of Mahwah becomes more diverse, this vigil is a bonding opportunity for our town members to raise awareness, show their support for their Asian and Asian American residents, and speak out against the hatred and violence against all minority groups," said Mahwah resident and University of Albany professor Angie Chung.

"My hope is that we can come together in dialogue but also make diversity and inclusion front and center in the town’s future plans."

Cherokee County Sheriff's Capt. Jay Baker said Wednesday that the gunman, identified as Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, admitted to killings and blamed the massage parlors for fueling his sex addiction, according to a Patch report.

Many of the victims are of Asian descent, but Georgia authorities have yet to fully address whether they consider the shootings racially motivated. Long has denied any racial motivation. Read more: Metro Atlanta Massage Parlor Shootings (5 Things To Know)

"Mahwah Alliance for Change wants to stand in solidarity with our Asian American neighbors and show that bigotry, hatred and violence towards any person or people has no place in Mahwah," said Mahwah behavior analyst and mother, Megan Cassella.

A group of Mahwah high school students — Ana Armendariz, Surya Maddali, Olivia Sciaino and Darian Pope — also issued a joint statement:

"The hate of our Asian/American brothers and sisters is only getting worse. We understand your pain for we have been through it as well. We will all stand together to use our voices and end the virus of hatred and racism. We need to stop hate against Asian/Americans and address the true problems that we face as a society."

Mahwah groups aren't the only ones speaking out about the trend, as officials in Hoboken and Montclair have added their voices, as have other local activist groups in Wayne and Teaneck. Read more: Teaneck Committee Hosts 'Rally For Asian Lives'

The vigil is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m., and will take place at Commodore Perry Field, 70 E. Ramapo Ave.

A Rise In Violence Since The Pandemic

At least two reports tracked anti-Asian violence since the onset of the coronavirus in March 2020 through the first two months of 2021.

The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center received 3,795 reports of anti-Asian violence since March 19, 2020, a recent report states.

Verbal harassment and shunning make up the majority of those reports, with acts of assault accounting for over 11 percent of the total incidents reported to the group.

These numbers are consistent with a recent survey published by the Pew Research Center, which found that 3 in 10 Asian adults have faced slurs and jokes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey also found that people are more likely to share racist views about people of Asian descent since the onset of the pandemic.

From Pew:

"A majority of Asian adults (58%) say it is more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views about people who are Asian than it was before the coronavirus outbreak; roughly four-in-ten white, Black and Hispanic adults say this is more common now. A sizable share of Black adults (45%) also say it is more common for people to express racist views about Black people than before the outbreak, more than the shares of white, Hispanic and Asian adults who say the same."

Stop AAPI Hate said it's important to contextualize that these numbers are just what are being reported, and it's likely the case that more incidents are happening than the nearly 3,800 included in their report.

"The number of hate incidents reported to our center represent only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur, but it does show how vulnerable Asian Americans are to discrimination, and the types of discrimination they face," the report read.

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