THE MODEL MINORITY VICTIM
- Elaine M. Chiu
- Nov 3
- 2 min read
Abstract:
The rise in xenophobia, hate and violence against AAPI Americans inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the criminal legal system as a tool of anti-racism. This Article traces the legal aftermath when Asian New Yorkers reported 276 possible hate crimes to the police in 2021. The analysis takes an empirical approach and a narrative approach. It relies on a unique database that followed what happened to civilian complaints of anti- Asian crimes from beginning to end. Using metrics such as arrest rates and conviction rates, the Article draws initial conclusions about the systemic legal response. The Article also features the experiences of survivors and prosecutors. Their narratives add important dimensions.
The Article is an important contribution to anti-racism scholarship. It departs from the usual black-white binary and studies how victims, communities, police officers, prosecutors and politicians contended with racist violence directed at America’s model minority. More than forty years after the 1983 killing of Vincent Chin in a Detroit suburb, the construction of AAPI Americans as the model minority persists. Numerous legal actors continue to insist that AAPI victims are seen, understood and behave as model minorities. To their detriment, this entrenched construct ended up defining the experience of some Asian New Yorkers as crime victims.
The Article is also an effort to re-examine hate crime laws. The country is deeply mired in an age of divisiveness, hate and rampant violence. Despite the loud voices of abolitionists, criminal law remains an important resource and perhaps is even more so in hate crimes.
Repeatedly, the complaints of Asian New Yorkers ran into the outdated conservatism of New York’s statutes and the related practices of police and prosecutors. Now is a critical time to consider possible reforms. Examining that question through the recent experiences of AAPI Americans is necessary and valuable.
Alongside the deep suffering caused by COVID and the racist violence it inspired, Asian New Yorkers had to take to the streets, to social media and to other means to advocate for attention and resources and to receive what is due to all Americans—a fair, just and meaningful criminal legal system. This Article hopes that by documenting their suffering and their experiences as crime victims through empirical and anecdotal evidence, we will ultimately improve the response to hate and violence for all Americans.