Were The Atlanta Shootings A Hate Crime? Now It’s Become Political

Like so many other things in our society today, the killings of eight people at three Atlanta area massage parlors has become politicized.

There was initial speculation that they were race-related. After all, six of the eight who died were Asian women. But one was a white woman. And one was a white man.

The police now say they don’t believe it was an anti-Asian attack. They say the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, is a sex addict. And would satisfy his cravings at massage parlors.

They say he told them he was striking back at what he thought was feeding his addiction.

There are those who doubt that claim. They are certain Long, who police say has confessed, was motivated by hatred for Asian people. Or at least influenced by anti-Asian rhetoric.

Then there are those who are critical of people who believe the shootings were racially motivated.

But let’s take a look at why some folks without direct knowledge of the facts speculate that it was.

There has been an upsurge in the number of attacks on Asian Americans since the beginning of the pandemic.

Just recently, a 75-year-old Oakland California Asian man was attacked and later died. Just yesterday…