Man tears down racist sign with a sledgehammer

Trigger warning: This story contains themes of race-motivated violence that some readers may find distressing

Hate crimes against the Asian community have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. With the Coronavirus originating in China, many have used that as an excuse to target the Asian community. Many local communities have come together to fight the rhetoric against the community. A video that is going viral shows a man in Melbourne, Australia, destroying a racist sign blaming China for the pandemic, reported God.Dailydot. Many have applauded the man for literally destroying the sign and that's the kind of violence the online community condones. 

The video shows a metal sign attached to a post in a residential neighborhood. Someone has written "Made in China" on the metal plate with an arrow mark pointing downwards towards the word "CO-VID 19." The man can be seen speaking to the camera and then using a cordless saw to cut the metal piece in half. He then proceeds to take a sledgehammer and slam the metal plate off the post. He then switches to the cordless saw and starts shredding the fallen metal plate into pieces. 

The comments were all positive. One person wrote, "Cut the post too, so they can’t put it [up] again.” Another user commented, "No matter where it's from, it shouldn't lead to racism. Racism is never ever forgivable. Good job." Another user wrote, “Can’t believe this is happening in 2021,” another wrote. “Hope this goes viral and that the cowards responsible for this [are] held accountable.” 

Hate crimes spiked against Asians all over the world and particularly in the United States during the early days of the pandemic. According to an analysis by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, in March, anti-Asian hate crimes spiked by nearly 150 percent across major cities last year. The organization Stop AAPI Hate said there were 6,603 hate incidents between March 2020 to March 2021. One of the major incidents involved a series of shootings at spas in Atlanta in March saw eight people being killed, of whom six were of Asian descent. This was followed by a spate of hate crimes against the Asian American community.

The sharp rise in hate crimes spurred the Biden administration to sign an anti-Asian hate crimes bill into law. As we reported, the bill was passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and the Senate. There had been a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic and this new bill aims at cracking down on hate crimes and creating a safer environment for the community. "Hate has no place in America. My message to all of those who are hurting is we see you. The Congress said we see you. And we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias," said Biden, at the time of signing the bill. 

Kamala Harris, who's also the first Asian American Vice President, condemned acts of violence against the community. "This violence — it did not come from nowhere, and none of it is new. In my life, my lived experience, I have seen how hate can pervade our communities," said Kamala Harris, reported NPR. "I have seen how hate can impede our progress. And I have seen how people uniting against hate can strengthen our country." Harris added that there was no point denying the existence of racism and said it's important to address it. "Here's the truth: Racism exists in America. Xenophobia exists in America, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia — it all exists. And so the work to address injustice wherever it exists remains the work ahead," she said.