That's odd. I'm pretty sure I can spell "statistics", and that also goes for my friends and family. As far as math, well... you know what they say about Asian kids and math
. It's funny that you demand statistics to back this issue up, yet you're willing to make ridiculous generalizations about an entire population.
Statistics are fine for looking at historical trends and saying "Hmm, these numbers have risen steadily over the past decade", but when you start seeing friends and family sharing attacks that occurred within several degrees of separation from you, you take notice. When you see that others across the country are experiencing the same, you really take notice. Now. Not next year when the numbers have been consolidated into a database and made into an infographic by data scientists. I don't need statistics to see that. The sudden copycat attacks on elderly Asians aren't something the MSM just made up, as much as I also dislike how they thrive on turmoil. You think that no one was bringing this up 6 months ago? There was a noticeable spike in anti-Asian racism starting at the beginning of COVID. It made some headlines, but was overshadowed by the rest of the shit-show that was 2020. My neighborhood gun shop had a significant increase in Asian customers, and there were some restaurants that were vandalized. Sorry, I don't have the statistics to back that up.
As far as the shooting itself, I don't agree with the hate crime label just yet. Does sexual addiction or INCEL ideology nullify race as a factor? I don't think they're mutually exclusive. This is just conjecture, but I'll ASSume that he had an Asian fetish, was severely repressed, and took his self-loathing out on the objects of his lust. He skipped all the strip clubs Atlanta is known for and targeted several Asian owned businesses where the majority of employees are Asian. It's not the typical "Kill all [insert racial slur]" racism, but that leads me to believe race played at least some part. Is fetishizing Asian women a problem? I think so. Is it a hate crime? In and of itself, I don't think so. We do need to wait for more evidence to see how much of a factor race played. I don't see it as binary, but where do we draw the line?
I agree that the words "racist" and "hate crime" are thrown around far too casually, and not everything involving a minority is a race issue. Sometimes I feel a witch hunt vibe. I think there is definitely more racism going on now than ever, and not just against Blacks and Asians. My nephew is half Filipino, half (mostly) Irish, but looks plain white. I don't want him to have to be ashamed of his skin color any more than I have to be of mine.
If any good were to realistically come out of the past 365 days, including the more intense focus on racism in the context of this attack, I'd think it would be more of the general public understanding our perspective on gun rights, making a ban very unpopular. Hell, I'd also like to wish for striking down the laws regarding other self defense options like fixed blade knives and saps.