• Latest
  • Trending
Robert Aaron Long is seen in a mugshot. Long is accused in the Atlanta spa shootings

Asian Americans React to Atlanta Spa Shootings; Alleged Gunman Robert Aaron Long Arrested

March 17, 2021
Christian rapper Dee-1

Rapper Dee-1 Starts Artist/Scholar Residency at Tufts University After Nabbing Nasir Jones Fellowship at Harvard

September 26, 2023
abortion protest

Midwives Will Be Able to Perform Early Abortions If NJ Plan Moves Forward

September 26, 2023
Turbotax Intuit

TurboTax Parent Company Now Claims Free Filing Will Harm Black Taxpayers

September 26, 2023
new and upcoming Christian books

New and Upcoming Books: ‘Sacred Self-Care,’ ‘Unwind,’ ‘Damaged But Not Destroyed,’ and More

September 25, 2023
Jemar Tisby Color of Compromise

‘Color of Compromise’ Author Jemar Tisby Comments on Quitting Kendi’s Antiracism Center Amid Probe

September 23, 2023
Oklahoma pastor Sherman Jaquess of Matoaka Baptist Church in Ochelata defended wearing blackface to mimic singer and musician Ray Charles

‘I’m Not Racist,’ Says SBC Pastor Who Donned Blackface to ‘Honor’ Ray Charles

September 23, 2023
jesus statue Christ the Redeemer

Why Is There Christianity If Jesus Was Jewish?

September 21, 2023
JoAnne Epps

Temple University Acting President JoAnne Epps Dies Suddenly on Campus

September 20, 2023
UMC Bishop Minerva Carcano in a 2008 file photo

UMC Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño Suspended, Faces Church Trial

September 20, 2023
doctors

Just 2 Percent of US Doctors Are Latina. These Women Want That to Change.

September 20, 2023
COGIC Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard

Head of Major Black Christian Group Backtracks on Mormon Partnership, Apologizes for Causing ‘Discontent’

September 18, 2023
Slavery memorial at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Christian Seminary Founded by Enslavers Thankful for Forced, Unpaid Labor

September 18, 2023
Faithfully Magazine
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • About
    • Advertise
    • Submit Content
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Q&As
  • Specials
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Community Events
    • FM Live Q&As
  • Black Christian Content
  • Log In
Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Submit Content
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Q&As
  • Specials
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Community Events
    • FM Live Q&As
  • Black Christian Content
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Faithfully Magazine
Home Spotlight

Asian Americans React to Atlanta Spa Shootings; Alleged Gunman Robert Aaron Long Arrested

FM Editors by FM Editors
March 17, 2021
in Spotlight
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Robert Aaron Long is seen in a mugshot. Long is accused in the Atlanta spa shootings

Robert Aaron Long is seen in a mugshot.

46
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It

Robert Aaron Long, a self-identified Christian, has been arrested for allegedly killing eight people at two spas in Georgia.

Six of the victims were Asian women. Their deaths were being tied to an explosion of racist violence against Asian Americans. So far, four of the women have been identified as being of Korean descent.

CNN has identified some of the victims as:

Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Yan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, of Acworth, was listed as an “injured survivor” of the shooting.

RelatedArticles

Christian rapper Dee-1

Rapper Dee-1 Starts Artist/Scholar Residency at Tufts University After Nabbing Nasir Jones Fellowship at Harvard

September 26, 2023
Jemar Tisby Color of Compromise

‘Color of Compromise’ Author Jemar Tisby Comments on Quitting Kendi’s Antiracism Center Amid Probe

September 23, 2023

Long took responsibility for the Atlanta spa shootings but denied his motives were racist, according to Cherokee County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office.

“During his interview, he gave no indicators that this was racially motivated,” Sheriff Frank Reynolds said. “We asked him that specifically and the answer was no.”

Instead, Long pointed to an alleged sex addiction, which he reportedly blamed on the businesses. As law enforcement put it, Long was “at the end of his rope” and allegedly decided to “eliminate” the “temptation.”

“Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” the sheriff’s community relations lead Capt. Jay Baker told reporters. Baker, who raised brows with his characterization of the gunman’s killing rampage, also came under fire for reportedly promoting racist anti-Chinese shirts on his Facebook page.

Witness testimony contradicts Long’s denial of race being a factor in his alleged crimes. A witness to one of the shootings reportedly told a local Korean publication that he heard the gunman say “I’m going to kill all Asians.”

The spike in anti-Asian violence emerged under former President Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Despite outcry, Trump was adamant about using disparaging terms like “China virus” and “kung flu” when referencing the coronavirus (COVID-19).

In the past year, nearly 3,800 discriminatory incidents against Asians have been reported, according to Stop AAPI Hate. The rise in such crimes prompted one group of Christians to form the Asian American Christian Collaborative. The Asian American Christian Collaborative put out a statement last year condemning anti-Asian racism.

Asian Americans were reeling with shock, anger, and grief as details of the Atlanta spa shootings continued to unfold Wednesday, March 17. Many used the tags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate as they spoke out on social platforms like Twitter.

Below, we highlight some of their responses.

One of the unsettling realities about the fact that the shooter was an active member of a White Evangelical church is that it makes people of Asian descent wonder if another Robert Aaron Long is sitting with them in the pews every Lord's Day.

— Timothy Isaiah Cho | 조일섭 (@tisaiahcho) March 17, 2021

It is hard to express how dehumanizing it is to refer to these women – women who had hopes and dreams and struggles and frustrations and jokes and loves and rich inner lives that we will never know – as a "temptation".

— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) March 17, 2021

If your sympathy for the six Asian women and their families shrank as soon as you learned that the murderer's alleged sex addiction might have had something to do with the killings, please do some soul-searching. I don't care what they did. They were beloved children of God.

— Jeff Chu 朱天慧 (@jeffchu) March 17, 2021

As a Black and Japanese woman who works on intersectional equity, you can imagine how often I am asked to speak on the “tension” between the Black and Asian community. My answer is and remains the same: This is a false narrative. The “tension” is white supremacy.

— Aerica Shimizu Banks (she/her) (@erikashimizu) March 17, 2021

To my fellow Asian community: I am so sorry. It hurts so much. Take time to mourn. We weep together. It's overwhelming. Not just today but this entire past year. Words can't articulate the deep pain so many of us have experienced. You're not alone. We see you, love you, need you.

— Eugene Cho (@EugeneCho) March 17, 2021

This is sooo heartbreaking…praying for our world. To my Asian American family, please take time to grieve but know youre loved, seen and IMPORTANT. We have to keep standing up, speaking out, rallying together and fighting for change. We cannot lose hope!! ❤️#StopAsianHate #NOW https://t.co/Xm4ojbJALw

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) March 17, 2021

I hope every white adoptive parent of an Asian kid is paying attention and deciding how to talk to their kids about racism. My white family long believed that my adoption = assimilation = protection. I've known this to be false since I heard my first slur at the age of 7.

— Nicole Chung (@nicolesjchung) March 17, 2021

Anti-Asian racism is so entangled with how the US has shaped itself that we forget whole communities many of us grew up in aren’t phantoms of history but in-the-flesh offspring of the trauma of war, displacement, and empire. Making us forget is white supremacy’s MO. #StopAAPIHate

— Mihee Kim-Kort 김미희 (@miheekimkort) March 17, 2021

Once again, let’s be absolutely clear: The use of deliberately blame-assigning phrases like “China virus” and “Kung Flu” incites violence against Asian Americans. Period. The recent surge in anti-Asian attacks was preventable before it was inevitable.

— Duke Kwon (@dukekwondc) March 17, 2021


Share This Post

Share via

Share This Post

  • Digg
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
More
  • Report
Advertisement
Ancestry US
46
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It
FM Editors

FM Editors

Faithfully Magazine is a fresh, bold and exciting news and culture publication that covers issues, conversations and events impacting Christian communities of color.

More Features

Christian rapper Dee-1
Unwind

Rapper Dee-1 Starts Artist/Scholar Residency at Tufts University After Nabbing Nasir Jones Fellowship at Harvard

September 26, 2023
Jemar Tisby Color of Compromise
News

‘Color of Compromise’ Author Jemar Tisby Comments on Quitting Kendi’s Antiracism Center Amid Probe

September 23, 2023
Christian Group Denounces Apocalyptic Cult Leader After Hundreds Reportedly Starve to Death to Meet Jesus
Web Exclusives

Christian Group Denounces Apocalyptic Cult Leader After Hundreds Reportedly Starve to Death to Meet Jesus

September 12, 2023

Discussion about this post

Most Shared Articles

  • Can Money-Making Microgrids Empower Black Churches to Close the Clean Energy Gap?...
  • Kirk Franklin Finally Finds His Birth Father After 53 Years...
  • Dr. Tony Evans Engaged to Former Pastor’s Wife and Widow Four Years After Lois Evans’ Death...
  • Coco Gauff Talks Faith After US Open Win: I Don’t Pray for Results; I Pray for Strength....
  • Newark Pastor Timothy Huff Left in Critical Condition After Being Shot in Home...
  • Churches Asked to Ring Bells in Remembrance of Little Girls Killed in Birmingham Church Bombing...

From The Archive

Walter Strickland II
From The Magazine

VP Nominee’s Youth and Race Significant for Mostly-White Southern Baptist Convention

by Nicola A. Menzie
June 12, 2017
Fisk Jubilee Singers
History

The Power of a Song in a Strange Land – on African-American Spirituals

by FM Editors
February 15, 2020
adoption foster family
Uncategorized

Texas AG Sues Over Indian Child Welfare Act to Help Family Adopt Native Boy

by FM Editors
October 26, 2017
woman praying for healing
Bible

Bible Verses About Healing

by Tabitha Oyewole
January 11, 2022
Trump Biden Presidential Election in the newspaper
Spotlight

Christians of Color React to Trump’s Loss, Biden’s Win of the Presidential Election

by Nicola A. Menzie
November 7, 2020
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Faithfully Magazine

Faithfully Magazine is a news and culture publication centered on Christian communities of color.

Recent News

  • Rapper Dee-1 Starts Artist/Scholar Residency at Tufts University After Nabbing Nasir Jones Fellowship at Harvard

Category

© 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC (Owner and Operator)

  • News
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Inspiration
  • Web Exclusives
  • Specials
  • Shop
  • Events
    • FM Live Events
    • Community Events
  • Black Christian Content
  • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Submit Content
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Log In to Your Faithfully Magazine Partner Account
No Result
View All Result

© 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC (Owner and Operator)

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering on our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Share via

Share This Post

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Copy Link
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Flipboard
  • SMS

Add New Playlist

Log In

Sign In

Login with Facebook
Login with Twitter
Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Back to Login

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Accept

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
Send this to a friend