# data[].attributes.body
O.J. Simpson was an American football player and an actor. In September 1994, there was a murder scene, and the trial was publicized in 1995, a murder trial for killing his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman. After the verdict and everything, he was found not guilty. The glove and the low-speed chase on the highway in Los Angeles were a shocking thing that was televised in the 90s.

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On this day, four planes were hijacked, and a suicide attack was committed in 2001. There were 14 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda, who were against and planned to target famous cities in American soil in US history. The attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., caused extensive death and combat terrorism. A total of deaths were 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania, where passengers were attacking the hijackers so as not to hit another building.

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Hurricane Katrina was, catastrophic tropical cyclone that struck the southeastern United States in late August 2005. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed nearly 1,400 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Some two decades after the hurricane, the lingering effects of Katrina continue to influence the economy and culture of the Gulf Coast.

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Barack Obama was a presidential candidate in the 2008 elections. When he was elected president, he became the first African American to hold office for two challenging terms he faced through, but he was a great leader for being the first African American. He faced many challenges during his first term, such as the financial crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also passed a bill for the Affordable Care Act.

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Although this moment was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke, she wanted to raise awareness and to support survivors of sexual assault for women. In October of 2017, the moment went viral on social platforms and around the globe. The hashtag #MeToo was used and popular so survivors can speak and share their stories, so that women aren't alone being victims of sexual assault. It was a demonstration of the widespread prevalence of sexual harassment and assault.

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While Biden was inaugurated for president on January 20, 2021, Kamla Harris was the nation's first female with a black and southern asian background. She was a senator in California and the Attorney General. It was a historical moment for women, especially being the first female vice president.

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Module 2 Immigration: My Mexican Parents

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Module 2 Immigration: My Mexican Parents

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In the photo, that's my father and mother; it's my sister's graduation, so I had to cover her face for privacy. But my parents came from Mexico to the USA. They arrived around 2005; it took them years to get Visas to go to the United States. They're from Michoacán, Mexico. That makes me a first-generation Mexican American/Latina. I'm going to say this, but I'm never ashamed about my culture and my blood. Right now, the world is cruel, separating innocent families by ICE. This makes me so emotional, and I cry for the families who are worried and in fear of being detained and deported. My poor parents had to adapt the American life, only speaking Spanish; they had to learn a new language, which is English, get new jobs to earn money, and get an apartment. My mother actually went to Gateway for English, but there was a blessing, which she got pregnant and had a baby, and it was me! She couldn't keep up with school, so she pushed herself by going to work so I could have a roof over my head. Then months later, I was born, and she had more kids, who are my younger siblings now. Finally, I want to say this: without my parents' sacrifice, going to the USA and having the American dream, I wouldn't be here right now typing this and attending college and going to high school. I wonder how life would be if I were only born in Mexico. I'm so grateful for being a first-generation Mexican American. This topic truly has my heart, being an immigration lawyer, and I hope I can accomplish my dream career.

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What did they learn about race and whiteness back when they were in school?- There weren't any race issues in thought in Mexico when my mom was living there, but they were thought about Spanish colonization. But sometimes some kids can be discriminated against if their skin is dark or very tanned

How did they experience race issues when they were young, compared to today?- When they came to this country, they had issues, especially when people looked at them weirdly or stereotyped their accent. This happens today and can happen to people coming to this country.

Post a relevant picture, infographic, news story, or similar visualization related to that time period-

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Back in 1953, people thought it was okay to have stereotypes about Native Americans and use the character redskin native American, and now Disney had to cut this scene due to many people who are concerned.

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I read this book in my freshman year of high school. This book is about a teen going to leave his reservation for an all white school. He has been treated differently sincehe'ss a native american going to a white school. This is modern-day book that is taught in schools today about teens getting stereotyped and bullied in all white schools.

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This day, they call it Little Rock 9, which means 9 teens going back to school at a high school where the Supreme Court made school segregation illegal. Before their first day, they sent state troops for the safety for the students. But they prevented them from entering the school and the Supreme Court.

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Black Americans experience racism in the workforce today's society, especially slurs and harassment. Two black men who worked paper plant in California experienced harassment and being called slurs, and not a welcoming atmosphere. According to the Harvard website, about 57% black people reported discrimination in the workforce. The plant company is under a lawsuit due to a supervisor calling two men slurs over a radio, and the company must pay up. Racial trauma can lead to PTSD, and it can result in anxiety and depression.

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In the 1930s, this was during the great depression, they began a program called repatriation. They started doing that to deport "illegal aliens," but matter fact they deported Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

There is an estimate of about 400,000 to a million Mexicans and Mexican Americans who were deported or left the US. They believe that Mexicans are taking over American jobs.

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The Deportation Campaigns of the Great Depression | HISTORY

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Up to 1.8 million people of Mexican descent—most of them American-born—were rounded up in informal raids and deported in an effort to reserve jobs for white people.

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A Chicago father and his baby girl daughter were going shopping at a Sam's Club in Cicero, Chicago. They heard a helicopter and honks from cars; it was ICE, and they targeted this father and daughter for no reason at all. A masked ice officer uses a pepper spray gun and sprays it at the baby, and the baby can't breathe or open her eyes. Now, today, there are a lot of deportations since Trump is now on office and ICE officers pepper-spraying Americans during protests. The Chicago operation is still happening. ICE can racially profile and detain people due to the Supreme Court allowing ICE agents to racially profile, and Americans are getting detained, too.

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I chose this article because the pandemic causes more hate crimes and more dramatic anti-Asian racism worldwide. There have been slurs and jokes about their race and ethnicity, and Trump calls the virus the Chinese virus or kung flu. It causes asian and Asian American mental health, especially PTSD, especially those disgusting comments about bat soup.

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Abstract

Objective

This study investigates the prevalence of COVID-19-related discrimination and the extent to which COVID-19-related discrimination is associated with mental health symptoms among Asians and Asian American (A/AA) young adults during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

We used data from the COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES), a cross-sectional online survey conducted in the U.S. Out of 1,001 respondents, 211 A/AA young adults were analyzed for this study.

Results

Sixty-eight percent of A/AA young adults reported that they or their family have experienced COVID-19-related discrimination and approximately 15% of respondents reported verbal or physical assaults. After controlling for covariates including predisposing factors, lifetime discrimination, and pre-existing mental health diagnoses, COVID-19-related discrimination was significantly associated with an increased level of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not of anxiety or depression. Our study results suggest that COVID-19-related discrimination may contribute to PTSD symptoms among A/AA young adults.

Limitations

This was cross-sectional data which was collected through online and self-report rather than clinical evaluation.

Conclusion

This finding adds greater urgency to develop and implement policy- and individual-level interventions to reduce race-based discrimination among A/AA.

Keywords: Covid-19, PTSD, Discrimination, Asians, Asian Americans, Young adults

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in anti-Asian racism and xenophobia worldwide. References to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" or "Kung Flu" by former U.S. President Trump and other government officials encouraged implicit bias against Asians and Asian Americans (A/AA), which have since fueled explicit anti-Asian sentiments ( Reny and Barreto, 2020). Asians of all ethnicities have been subjected to slurs and jokes related to their race or ethnicity ( Ruiz et al., 2020) and have been the target of profane verbal harassment, shunning, and spitting/coughing ( Turton, 2020; Yan et al., 2020). Although overall hate crimes decreased by 7% nationwide, hate crimes targeting A/AA have risen by 150% in 2020 and 194% in the first quarter of 2021 ( Levin and Grisham, 2021), totaling 344% since the pandemic. Between March 2020 and March 2021, the data tracking organization, Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate, recorded over 6600 Anti-Asian racist incidents nationwide.

The Pew Research Center reported that in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 58% of U.S. Asian adults perceived anti-Asian racial discrimination to be more frequent after the start of the pandemic ( Ruiz et al., 2020). Among the Asian respondents in the Pew report, 39% indicated that non-Asians have acted more uncomfortable around them because of race, 31% state that they have been the subject of slurs or jokes, and 26% fear that someone may threaten or physically attack them ( Ruiz et al., 2020).

Anti-Asian rhetoric has not only led to discrimination but also racially motivated violence. As early as March 2020, the FBI predicted a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes due to the pandemic ( Kim et al., 2021). In 2021, anti-Asian sentiments escalated from microaggressions to physical assaults, vandalism, and even murder. Most recently, six Asian American women were killed when a man went on a shooting rampage at three spas in Atlanta ( "Atlanta shootings," 2021).

1.1. Lifetime discrimination, COVID-19-related discrimination, and mental health among Asian Americans

Stereotypes and scapegoating of A/AA as disease carriers are not new. Long perceived as "perpetual foreigners," A/AA are no strangers to both overt and covert forms of discrimination and racism. The Chinese Exclusion Act ( Chen et al., 2020) was the first immigration law to exclude an entire ethnic group, and the internment of Japanese Americans and confiscation of their properties during World War II has been widely regarded as discriminatory and dehumanizing. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, A/AA have been subjected to surges in overt racism: dehumanizing racial slurs and jokes, references to the "Chinese virus," verbal harassment, shunning, spitting, workplace discrimination, and violence ( Liu et al., 2020a; 2020b, 2020c, 2020d).

There are explanations for why racialized discrimination might increase mental health problems. According to Race-based Traumatic Stress Theory ( Carter et al., 2017), experiences may be traumatic if one perceives a racially discriminatory experience as a threat to their physical or emotional well-being and is an incident that is sudden and out of their control. When dealing with racially traumatic experiences, commonly used coping strategies may be ineffective; dehumanizing experiences may increase internalized racism, in which individuals may accept stigmatized and negative messages about their own intrinsic worth ( Jones, 2000). Therefore, individuals experiencing such events may suffer from psychological distress and mental health symptoms similar to those seen in posttraumatic responses, including sleep disturbance, poor psychological and physical health outcomes, increased pain and disability, and higher all-cause mortality ( Hyun et al., 2021; Litam, 2020; Liu et al., 2020b).

There is significant evidence to suggest that lifetime discrimination is likely to exert negative effects on the mental health and well-being of A/AA ( Chen et al., 2020; Lee and Ahn, 2011). Lifetime discrimination is described as chronic and institutionalized discriminatory experiences, such as those experienced at work, within healthcare services, or with police ( Williams et al., 1997). This can contribute to lower self-worth, internalized stigma, and worsened health. In addition, lifetime discrimination is associated with increased risk of psychological distress, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression among A/AA populations ( Lee and Ahn, 2011). However, the intensity and magnitude of discrimination specifically related to COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination have the potential to worsen mental health problems beyond more chronic and indirect systemic lifetime discrimination, especially during the first three months of COVID-19 pandemic ( Liu et al., 2020a; 2020b, 2020c, 2020d). Therefore, it is important to examine the roles of acute discrimination on mental health controlling for chronic and systemic discrimination. Although a tracking system has been established for documenting the experiences of anti-Asian discrimination in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, the research on COVID-19-related discrimination and its implications for Asian American mental health remains largely limited. In another study, perceived racism and racial discrimination among Chinese American parents and youth were associated with reported poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Cheah et al., 2020).

This present study documents the prevalence of COVID-19-related anti-Asian discrimination and examines the association between COVID-19-related discrimination and mental health symptoms. We purposely focus our attention on A/AA young adults given the high prevalence of mental health disorders and an alarming upward trend in mental health struggles during this developmental time period ( Augsberger et al., 2018; Choi et al., 2020). We also assessed discrimination experiences that took place within the first few months of the U.S. pandemic. Considering anti-Asian racial incidents received significant national attention only recently in 2021, an analysis of the early months of the pandemic sheds light on the occurrence of discrimination and its negative potential mental health effects on the A/AA community as a baseline regarding the prevalence of anti-Asian discrimination and associated mental health outcomes.

We hypothesized that A/AA who reported experiences of COVID-19-related discrimination would report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. We controlled for lifetime discrimination and pre-existing mental health diagnosis to ensure that COVID-19-related discrimination was separate from prior reports of discrimination as well as pre-existing mental health conditions, given that young adults with pre-existing mental health problems may be more susceptible to COVID-19-related anxiety and more vulnerable to psychological distress during the pandemic ( Liu et al., 2020b).

2. Methods

2.1. Data

This study uses Wave I of the COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES) ( Conrad et al., 2021; Hyun et al., 2021; Kamal et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2020a; 2020b, 2020c, 2020d), a longitudinal study examining the psychosocial experiences of individuals aged 18-30 years across four time-points from 2020 to 2021. The purpose of CARES is to assess a range of COVID-19-related experiences, including discrimination, perceived and experienced lifetime discrimination, psychiatric symptoms, and physical and mental health functioning. A total of 1002 young adults, aged 18-30 years, completed a 30-minute online survey from April 13 to June 11, 2020, representing the first wave of the study. Respondents were recruited through social media, email listservs, and word of mouth. All participants were either currently living in the U.S. or attended U.S.-based educational institutions. To ensure data quality, the online survey embedded various attention checks and human verification questions. One out of every 10 participants received a $25 gift card. This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board. The current analysis includes study participants who self-identified as Asian or Asian American ( n = 211). Participants who self-identified as a mixed race but did not identify as Asian ( n = 61) were excluded from the analysis, because their experience related to COVID-19 could be different from those who self-identified as A/AA.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. Explanatory variable

2.2.1.1. COVID-19-related discrimination

The key explanatory variable in the analysis was COVID-19-related discrimination. Respondents were asked if they had encountered any COVID-19-related discrimination using a 7-item measure newly developed for this study by the research team ( Hahm et al., 2021). Items included: "Someone has actively avoided physical contact with me or my family because of my or my family member's race/ethnicity"; "Someone has made a comment about Chinese/Asian people being the source of the virus"; "Someone has made a comment about Chinese/Asian people being dirty"; "Someone has made a comment that they avoid eating Chinese/Asian food because they are worried about contracting COVID-19″; "Someone has made a comment about Chinese/Asian eating habits"; "I or my family member have been verbally assaulted because of my or my family member's race/ethnicity due to COVID-19″; and, "I or my family member have been physically assaulted because of my or my family member's race/ethnicity due to COVID-19." Cronbach's α for these items was 0.71, indicating good reliability. The sum score was used for this analysis.

2.2.2. Outcome variables

Depression was assessed with an 8-item version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8, Kroenke et al., 2009) which asks about the frequency of depressive symptoms in the past two weeks on a scale of 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"). Sum scores of the PHQ-8 had a total possible range of 0 to 24 and were recorded dichotomously based on a cutoff score of 10 or higher ( Liu et al., 2020b).

Anxiety was assessed with the widely used Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7, Spitzer et al., 2006), which assesses the frequency of anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks on a scale of 0 to 3, with 0 being "not at all" and 3 being "nearly every day." Sum scores ranged from 0 to 21. Following the convention of prior studies ( Plummer et al., 2016), responses were recorded dichotomously based on a cutoff score of 10 or higher to determine elevated anxiety.

The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), a validated 17-item measure was administered to assess PTSD symptoms ( Weathers et al., 1993). Participants expressed how much they were bothered by stressful life events in the past month, with 1 as "not at all" and 5 as "extremely." Sum scores of the 17 items were calculated and recorded dichotomously with a cutoff score of 45 or greater, based on the psychometric properties for the measure and as suggested by the National Center for PTSD ( Blanchard et al., 1996).

2.2.3. Covariates

Four sets of covariates associated with mental health outcomes in minority populations were included in the analysis to control for potential confounders: 1) predisposing factors, 2) socioeconomic status, 3) lifetime discrimination, and 4) pre-existing mental health diagnoses. In the descriptive analysis, we showed the percentage of students in the sample as the study focused on the young adult population. However, we excluded student status in the multivariate analysis because it was highly correlated with age and employment status.

2.2.3.2. Predisposing factors

Key demographic characteristics of the sample, including gender (female, male, and trans/non-binary), age, and U.S. nativity were included as covariates.

2.2.3.3. Socioeconomic status

Two questions were used as proxies for respondents' socioeconomic status, which served as covariates in the analysis: current employment status, and current housing situations. The current employment status options were "employed" (coded as 1) and "unemployed" (coded as 0). Respondents were asked to rate the stability of their current housing situation, with 1 being "not at all stable" to 5 being "extremely stable." We created a dichotomous variable, combining "stable," and "extremely stable," to be stable (coded as 1) and "not at all stable," "slightly stable," and "moderately stable" to be unstable (coded as 0).

2.2.3.4. Lifetime discrimination

Participants' lifetime discrimination was measured with 11 items in the questionnaire Major Experiences of Discrimination Scales ( Williams et al., 1997). Respondents were asked the number of times they have been unfairly treated with regard to 11 discriminatory events at school or work, and in receiving financial and other services over the course of their lifetime on a scale of 0 to 3, with 0 as None, 1 as 1-2 times, 2 as 3-4 times, and 3 as 5 times or more. The sum of the scores from the 11 items was used in the analysis, with a higher score corresponding to increased experiences of lifetime discrimination.

2.2.3.5. Pre-existing mental health diagnoses

Respondents were asked whether they had ever been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For each disorder, respondents were asked to indicate "Yes, diagnosed but not treated," "Yes, diagnosed and treated," "Suspected, but not diagnosed," or "No." We developed a dichotomous variable for each disorder; if respondents indicated either " Yes, diagnosed and treated" or " Yes, diagnosed and untreated, " we coded them as 1, representing that they have a pre-existing diagnosis for each of the disorders. If they responded as "Suspected, but not diagnosed" or "No," they were coded as 0, indicating not having a pre-existing diagnosis for each of the disorders.

2.3. Analytical plan

We began by documenting the correlations between all the variables included in the analysis. A series of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression models were employed to examine how the COVID-19-related discrimination experience was associated with the mental health outcomes, controlling for covariates. Two sets of analyses were conducted. First, we examined the relationship between COVID-19-related discrimination and anxiety, PTSD, and depression, respectively, controlling for individual characteristics (gender, age, U.S.-born), socioeconomic status (housing stability, employment status), and lifetime discrimination. In the second set of the analyses, we controlled for individuals' pre-existing mental health diagnoses (depression, anxiety disorder, or PTSD) as well as covariates included in the first set of analysis, considering that individuals who had prior or currently diagnosed mental health symptoms could have been more likely to experience anxiety, PTSD, or depression under the pandemic, not related to COVID-19-related discrimination.

3. Findings

Table 1 summarizes the sample characteristics. Within the A/AA racial group, about 43% identified as East Asian, 9% South Asian, 8% Southeast Asian, and about 40% as Asian in general, which included those who did not report their specific ethnicities. Specifically, one person identified as Pacific Islander, and one person identified as multiracial and Asian, and these two individuals were included in the "Asian in general" category. The sample consisted of 78.7% women, 19.9% men, and 1.4% transgender or non-binary individuals. The majority of the sample was born in the U.S. (57.8%), and about 82% of the sample reported stable housing. About a quarter of the sample (25.6%) reported having received a prior mental health diagnosis, with 19.9% of the sample diagnosed with depression, 14.7% with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and 19.9% with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In terms of current mental health status, 31.8% of the sample experienced probable clinical levels of either depression symptoms, 30.3% experienced anxiety symptoms, and 22.3% experienced PTSD symptoms at the time of the study.

Table 2 presents the prevalence of the respondents' COVID-19-related discrimination experiences. Nearly half of the respondents reported that someone had commented about Chinese/Asian people being the source of the virus (45.0%) or that someone had made a comment about Chinese/Asian eating habits (e.g., eating bat soup) (41.7%). About a third of the respondents reported that someone had commented that they avoid eating Chinese/Asian food due to fear of contracting COVID-19 (32.7%), and 27.5% reported that someone had actively avoided physical contact with them or their family members because of their race/ethnicity. Respondents also reported witnessing comments from others about Chinese/Asian people being dirty (23.2%), racially-based verbal assaults (12.8%) or physical assaults due to COVID-19 (2.4%).

Table 3 presents the mean differences in current anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms between individuals who endorsed at least one COVID-19-related discrimination incident and individuals who did not endorse any incident. The mean scores of current anxiety symptoms and PTSD symptoms were significantly higher for those who experienced at least one COVID-19-related discrimination incident than those who did not (8.2 vs. 6.6 for anxiety symptoms; 37.1 vs. 31.7 for PTSD symptoms; all p<.05). Those with COVID-19-related discrimination experiences had higher scores on the depression scale compared to those who did not endorse any COVID-19-related discrimination experiences.

The results of the OLS regression models that examined the relationships between COVID-19-related discrimination and three mental health outcome measures are shown in Table 4 . Model 1 controlled for individuals' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and lifetime discrimination. Increases in COVID-19-related discrimination were statistically significantly related to increases in anxiety symptoms ( B = 0.39, p<.05) and PTSD symptoms ( B = 1.33, p<.05). No statistically significant relationship was found between COVID-19-related discrimination and depression symptoms.

Model 2 controlled for individuals' pre-existing mental health diagnoses in addition to demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and lifetime discrimination experiences. Increases in COVID-19-related discrimination experiences were still significantly associated with increases in PTSD symptoms ( B = 1.10, p<.05). The relationship between COVID-19-related discrimination and anxiety symptoms was no longer significant in Model 2.

4. Discussion

Three key findings emerged from this study. First, our findings validate the public perception that COVID-19-related anti-Asian discrimination has been widespread from the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two-thirds of participants reported that they or their family members experienced at least one of the seven covert or overt discriminatory experiences presented in the survey. Covert racism such as others actively avoiding physical contact with them (27.5%) or making comments about Chinese/Asian people being dirty (23.2%) was more common than overt racism such as physical (2.4%) or verbal assaults (12.8%). It is important to understand the nature of the discrimination that took place during this time, as it coincided with particularly heightened anxieties about contracting the virus and being targeted by the media, scapegoating China and the Chinese as the source of virus, as well as pivotal shifts that took place as a result of the pandemic (lockdowns, transition to virtual work and school, etc.).

Second, almost one in three A/AA young adults reported having clinically elevated levels of depression (31.8%, mean=7.7), generalized anxiety (30%), and almost one in four reported having PTSD symptoms (22.3%). These rates of depression are substantially higher than mental health estimates among the general young adult population prior to the COVID-19 pandemic ( McGee and Thompson, 2015), and the level of generalized anxiety symptoms reported by our respondents was substantially higher compared to Korean American adults ( Koh, 2018) and other Asian American college students ( Cadigan et al., 2019). Similarly, the PTSD symptoms among those who reported at least one experience of COVID-19-related discrimination were higher than those in other studies that measured Asian American college students ( Pieterse et al., 2010).

Third, the results suggest that for A/AA participants, COVID-19-related discrimination may be more strongly associated with PTSD symptoms than symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety. The PTSD symptoms assessed included disturbing memories, thoughts, and avoidance. The nature of COVID-19-related discrimination measured in our study may be consistent with PTSD symptoms related to greater vigilance and fear regarding encounters with others. The link between COVID-19-related discrimination and PTSD symptoms may be due to fears regarding safety, which would lead to greater vigilance-a common symptom of PTSD. COVID-19-related discrimination could also eventually lead to higher levels of depression and anxiety, as such discrimination poses stress that can lead to higher levels of these particular symptoms. Subsequently, they may also experience sadness or hopelessness when reflecting on these circumstances. Longitudinal data analysis is necessary to test this hypothesis.

Our study also demonstrated that the intensity and magnitude of COVID-19-related discrimination was significantly associated with increases in symptoms of PTSD even after controlling for lifetime discrimination, measured as more chronic and indirect systemic discrimination such as disparities in healthcare services, unfair treatment by law enforcement, and not being promoted or paid equally ( Williams et al., 1997). This result highlights that COVID-19-related discrimination may have significantly exacerbated and was more of a proximal risk for PTSD relative to lifetime discrimination during the first three months of the pandemic.

Our findings linking COVID-19-related discrimination to PTSD symptoms were still statistically significant after controlling for pre-existing mental health conditions. Most studies that examined the relationship between discrimination and mental health symptoms did not control for other well-established mental health risk factors such as pre-existing mental health diagnoses ( Everett et al., 2016; Sutter and Perrin, 2016), thus confounding the relationship between discrimination and mental health outcomes. As such, we conclude that the associations between COVID-19-related discrimination and PTSD symptoms exist regardless of one's mental health history.

Our study has several limitations. First, our cross-sectional design precludes making assumptions about causality or directionality of the association between COVID-19-related discrimination and PTSD. Individuals with PTSD symptoms may have been more likely to recall or emphasize discrimination experiences. Second, measures of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD were based solely on self-report rather than clinical evaluation. Third, there might be a different level of experiences with COVID-19-related discrimination and its association with mental health outcomes based on specific ethnicities of participants. However, because of small sample sizes of sub-categories by ethnicity within A/AA, we were unable to conduct subgroup analyses by ethnic group within A/AA. Fourth, we asked if the respondents themselves or their family members experienced COVID-19-related discrimination. Attempting to elicit the experiences of family members may introduce bias, misreporting, or underreporting. In addition, participants may have recall bias due to the recency effect ( Greene, 1986). Specifically, recalling the most recent instances of lifetime discrimination might have been influenced by recent COVID-related discrimination. Similarly, reporting pre-existing mental health conditions might have been also influenced by the current mental health condition influenced by COVID-19 related distress and vice versa. Finally, there is also potential bias sourcing from unmeasured confounders such as stress related to COVID-19 infection of participants or their loved ones, and genetics, which are ubiquitous problems for most observational studies.

Despite these limitations, this study adds to the growing evidence base that COVID-19-related discrimination is a threat to public health given links to problematic levels of mental health symptoms. AA have long suffered from the "model minority myth," which falsely suggests that all Asian Americans are self-reliant, free from problems (including mental health problems), and successful in academic and economic aspects of life ( Sue et al., 2007). This insidious myth has led policy makers to overlook the pressing mental health needs of AA, leading to an inequitable distribution of federal investments in addressing the health of AA communities ( Đoàn et al., 2019). Subsequently, AA young adults have faced the widest disparities in prescribed medication and outpatient behavioral health treatment, with 80% of cases going untreated ( Lipson et al., 2018; Moniz and Gorin, 2018). Despite the fact that AA struggle with mental health at similar rates as their White peers, they are three times less likely to seek treatment for these concerns than the general population ( Lee et al., 2009). This may be explained by the stigma and shame attached to the diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems. AA are also prone to systemic and structural barriers to care, including severe shortages of linguistically diverse providers and accessibility barriers to quality health care ( Kim and Keefe, 2010; Liu and Tronick, 2012). The growing evidence shows that culturally grounded group psychotherapy programs such as Asian Women's Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE) can be efficacious for treating Asian American women diagnosed with PTSD ( Hahm et al., 2020a; 2020b, 2019; Rivera et al., 2019). Identification of mental health symptoms and dissemination and provision of culturally grounded PTSD treatment for vulnerable A/AA young adults are urgently needed.

On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. This bipartisan law is the first step in acknowledging that putting an end to violence against A/AA is important at a national level. Future policy must address the consequences of systemic racism and xenophobia, and systemic and policy-level interventions should be designed to have a common perspective with shared values that promote a safer society and will eventually lead to a reduction in racial disparities in mental health. Coordinated efforts to prevent violence against A/AA by justice system agencies, educational institutions, police, and social service agencies are critical. School administrators and mental health clinicians should be encouraged to screen and treat A/AA for race-based trauma.

Although we did not see an effect of lifetime discrimination on mental health outcomes in Wave I of the CARES data, the longitudinal nature of this study will allow us to test whether lifetime discrimination may also exert a negative impact on mental health along with COVID-19-related discrimination in future studies. Similarly, we did not see a significant association between COVID-19-related discrimination and symptoms of depression or anxiety. As the pandemic lingers, it will be important to conduct longitudinal assessments regarding the impact of COVID-19-related discrimination and lifetime discrimination on mental health outcomes. Monitoring changes in mental health outcomes will be crucial.

We believe that these results suggest that intervening actively to reduce and prevent COVID-19-related anti-Asian discrimination is imperative. Developing a shared understanding that "discrimination is a serious threat to public health" is an urgent task. Actions to change the narratives and rhetoric regarding Asian stereotypes must be taken so that bias and prejudice against Asians can be dismantled, whether it be on social media or in person. Future research should endeavor to develop and test trauma-focused interventions that seek to empower A/AA through validation of their experiences, providing them with a sense of safety, and supporting them to learn how to respond to racist experiences in a manner that promotes resilience.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank to Kirsten Fleming, Emily Zhang, Fifi Ga Tin Wong, and Rumin Shaik for their contribution for data collection and editing of the manuscript.

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Articles from Psychiatry Research are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

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Perceived COVID-19-related anti-Asian discrimination predicts post traumatic stress disorder symptoms among Asian and Asian American young adults

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This study investigates the prevalence of COVID-19-related discrimination and the extent to which COVID-19-related discrimination is associated with mental health symptoms among Asians and Asian American (A/AA) young adults during the first three ...

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I talked to my parents about religion while being in Mexico and younger. In Mexico, the largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church. My mom's family has been catholic, and the same for my dad. There are a lot of churches in Mexico, where my dad little town, they do a yearly festival for Saint San Miguel, where they have music, church masses, and weekends are the mini fair and parties with live music. So towns in Mexico have big festivals for saints, and they still celebrate today. So praying the rosary is an important thing to pray in the Catholic church, and Rosa de Guadalupe (Virgin Mary). Guadalupe is an important Virgin Mary in Mexico, and her apparition and appearance story was a miracle. She has been a highlight for religion and culture.

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In today my timeline, the United States is very diverse, and there are so many religious options, such as different Christian denominations, Islam, and Judaism and etc. When my parents immigrated to the States, other Mexican immigrants applied the religious practices by going to Catholic churches with their families. So, during my childhood and to this day, my family will always go to church and pray the rosary. I basically grew up Catholic since it was passed down through generations.

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I found this article about airlines before 9/11. People who were not flying out can come through the checkpoint. They didn't need to take off their shoes and belts. A small knife was allowed and depends on the size. Anyone can go to the gate to say goodbye to their families with no issues.

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On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists boarded four commercial flights - two in Boston, one in Newark, N.J. and one in Washington, DC - and hijacked them shortly after take-off. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, both flying from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. American Airlines Flight 77 flying from Washington, DC to Los Angeles crashed into the Pentagon. United Airlines Flight 93 flying from Newark to San Francisco crashed into the ground in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The deadliest terrorist attack on American soil claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people.

was passed by the 107th Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The Act established the Transportation Security Administration

The TSA Honor Guard processed through PHL's terminals during the 2019 9-11 remembrance.

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A Look at How Airport Security Has Evolved Post 9-11 | PHL.org

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On September 10, 2001, anyone - even those who weren't flying out - could come to the airport and pass through the security checkpoint to enter the secure area. At the checkpoint, screeners employed by private companies hired by the airlines scanned carry-on bags.

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Shurkri's story stands out to me the most, she is lost, and she has a hard time with her idenfity as a black and Muslim woman. She got bullied in high school, got into fights, and her hijab got taken off by mean kids.

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September 11, 2001, is widely understood as a marker of deepening Islamophobia in America. While that's perhaps oversimplified, the attacks did set off a series of political and social reactions that have worked together to fuel fear and ignorance about what it means to follow Islam.

I spoke to nine Muslim Americans about how misunderstandings, stereotypes, and hateful rhetoric about their religion has affected their lives in the years since. Their experiences vary with age, race, geography, and the visibility of their faith. Some live in daily awareness of dirty looks, rude comments, and constant fear of violent retaliation. Others have pursued careers in activism or processed their questions through work in academia. A few make it their mission to change minds about Islam through daily interpersonal interactions, and most keep a careful eye on political rhetoric as a powerful shaper of the country's climate. All of them agree that since 9/11, nothing has been the same.

These are lightly edited excerpts of what they told me during our conversations.

"The flag became a way to protect yourself from being hurt."

I was in fifth grade. That day [9/11] is still pretty vivid in my mind because I lived in Arlington, which is where the Pentagon is, and my mom picked me, my brother, and sister up from school early. The police had blocked off our street because that was an access road heading toward Washington, DC, and my mom and this police officer got into an argument as I was sitting in the front seat and the officer got really angry at my mom. He said she wasn't listening to him and he wound up pulling his gun on her. I remember my little brother and sister screaming in the car and we got home and my mom told me to go put on a movie and take care of them. I went and put on the movie and when I went back, my mom was in the kitchen and she was crying.

"I went and put on the movie and when I went back, my mom was in the kitchen and she was crying"

What was crazy was that my mom felt really bad for the police officers, so she went to McDonald's and brought them food because they'd been out there that morning. And she organized a candlelight vigil on our front lawn, even though she was still upset. People had all these tiny American flags, and everyone was singing the national anthem. I didn't even know my mom knew the national anthem until that day. It was a really beautiful thing where people were sad and came together around the flag. I think, for my mom, the reason she did the stuff with the police officers and gave them food and drinks even though she was a victim of police abuse that day, and organized this whole patriotic thing, was that she wanted to show that she was scared too, and she was American too.

"She wanted to show that she was scared too, and she was American too"

In my community, my uncles, my aunts, the taxi drivers, they had American flags everywhere. They were just scared that if they didn't put up these flags they'd be feared. There were all these stories about people in turbans being killed or attacked. The flag became a way to protect yourself from being hurt.

"I feel like I grew up right after that."

I feel like I grew up right after that. I feel like after that day I was no longer a child and had to, like, be very careful about things. The day we went back to school, people were talking about this stuff, saying, "Your mom sometimes wears a scarf, do you know anything about this? What's a Sunni? What's going on?" and I was like, "I don't know, I'm just a normal dude who plays video games."

After that, I remember being told repeatedly by my mom, dad, aunts, and uncles never to talk about politics in school and never to share my opinion about things. I remember we would have current events day in social studies class; they would be mad at me if I ever said I talked about the Iraq War. There was this paranoid sense that we couldn't just be ourselves. Through the Bush years, this was a very dominant feeling.

"They would be mad at me if I ever said I talked about the Iraq War. There was this paranoid sense that we couldn't just be ourselves."

My mom works in a school now, and the kids repeat what they hear, and kids say like weird stuff to her a lot. When they're mad at her they'll use the word "Muslim" in a negative way. It's sort of like how people 10 years ago might have said "you're gay" in a negative way. My mom's just trying to go work like anyone else and help my little brother and sister pay their tuition and stuff. It felt hopeful in '08, but it's gotten worse this year because of almost half the country approving of this stuff.

"It's even more difficult when you identify as a Muslim and you also happen to be black."

When 9/11 happened, I think that morning, I was at my cousin's house. My siblings and I were there having breakfast, sitting on the couch. We kept hearing "hijackers" and "planes crashed." We later figured out that the people who committed that horrific attack identified with Islam. That changed our lives tremendousIy. I remember in high school, in a predominantly white school, getting the looks, getting in fights, kids taking off your hijab. ... I remember one of my high school teachers saying something about "your kind" and about violence. There were moments like that that shook my foundation a bit.

It's even more difficult when you identify as a Muslim and you also happen to be black. I was born in Somalia and came here around [age] 9. My experience as a black woman who is a Muslim is different from a woman who isn't black and can hide her identity - if she doesn't wear a scarf, she won't necessarily suffer.

"I understand what people fear they often turn away from."

I think "Islamophobia" is not really a term that I understand. But I understand fear and I understand that what people fear they often turn away from and put down, but once they know better, they do better. So I try to bring whatever information I have, so they can change their beliefs and hate can be reduced.

I believe there are good Americans who just want to understand. So how do I help them understand? How do I share a meal with my neighbor during the month of Ramadan? How do I, during Eid, give my neighbor's children a dollar or two, or candy, which is what we do when we're celebrating? How do I greet my neighbors, which is a part of Islam, greeting and smiling? How do I take what I learned from the Quran and the teachings of our prophet and through my actions and through my behavior help change the views of others? I try to do that every day in small acts.

"How do I take what I learned from the Quran and the teachings of our prophet and through my actions and through my behavior help change the views of others?"

We have two kids and we live in Washington, and we travel a lot to different parts of the States. There was a person last week in Seaside, Oregon, who actually asked what I was wearing and I said, "This is a hijab," and explained that it was about Islam. She asked me why I was wearing it, and I said, "It's the same way nuns or Orthodox women wear it, to please our Lord," and she understood.

I think microaggressions are on the daily. But it's rare to have people ask me and to have an honest human interaction about why I cover or why I'm a Muslim. When it happens, it's an opportunity.

Although what we as Muslims are going through is difficult at the moment, in the history of this country, of our country, there have been many others, either through systems or policies, who have endured much more. Be it African Americans, Chinese Americans who at one point were excluded from entering this country, Japanese Americans who were in internment camps, there have been many who have felt the "othering" and the fear that's often created by those with political power. We are not the first and certainly won't be the last.

"Political racism toward Arabs was written before 9/11."

I don't call myself "Muslim." I would say I'm somebody who practices Islam. I'm probably in the extreme minority when it comes to identity politics. I'm Arab. My background is Syrian; my mother grew up in Lebanon. Her family has Saudi citizenship. So, growing up born and raised in SoCal in a kind of conservative white dominant space, it was actually easier to be Muslim than Arab.

I was born in '82. What people have to remember is that at that time, the language of "let's shift from calling it 'Christmas break' to 'holiday break'" was on the rise. Public schools were transitioning from faith-focused to secular programming. In the same way that now it is taboo to be homophobic, then it was taboo to not want to celebrate religious tolerance.

But the history of political racism toward Arabs was all written before 9/11. My dad said literally every day at [California State Polytechnic University] Pomona, he would walk into the dorms and a group of white kids would call him "camel jockey." He was working in the school cafeteria, and he was working with some white kids who were pissed he got promoted. A white kid pushed him to the floor and stepped on his back - because this one Arab guy was promoted ahead of him. He was in rehab for six months.

"I'm Arab. I'm gonna own that."

Pre-9/11, I was really ashamed of my Arab background. I wanted to do anything to emulate white beauty standards. When 9/11 came, it did the reverse. I remember I had the TV on at 5 am studying for an exam and they went to breaking news. I didn't know the magnitude or all the ramifications. I went to school, had my exam, and came back home. My dad sat me and my brother down and said, "From now on we don't know what the atmosphere and the climate is like, but you have to get back home by 7 pm, because we don't know what people will do to you."

"Pre-9/11 I was really ashamed of my Arab background. I wanted to do anything to emulate white beauty standards."

I remember thinking it's not a big deal because everyone thinks I'm Mexican anyway. But in the middle of that thought, I had this thought that, "Fuck it, I'm Arab. I'm gonna own that." I became so radically invested in finding and getting educated on my Arab origins background. In households of Arab immigrants who have children, not all of them get interested in where their parents are from, but some do. I became the one to go back home, learn the history, educate myself, major in Arab/Islamic studies. This was a trend. A lot of us got into media after 9/11. That was our big impetus.

"I think it had something to do with being Muslim. Of course, you cannot prove it."

I'm a social worker and activist, a Muslim feminist, all of those things combined - I consider myself a person of faith. I am a proud Muslim. My profession for the past 25 years has been social work, and almost 12 years ago I started this nonprofit called Turning Point for Women and Families. This is the first nonprofit in New York City that directly addresses domestic violence in the Muslim community and the first to start a program for teenage Muslim girls. It started in September 2004.

"There was enough fear in the Muslim community, and if there was abuse going on at home, it created even more fear in the hearts of women and children."

It was a moment of reckoning ... seeing how dire the needs in our community were and still are. My expertise was in the area of domestic violence, so it made a lot of sense because a lot of Muslims were being picked up, thrown into detention centers, or being deported, and their wives and children were left here on their own.

There was enough fear in the Muslim community, and if there was abuse going on at home, it created even more fear in the hearts of women and children. Their abusers would often use it to control them, warning them against seeking help and saying if they do the abusers be would be picked up, thrown in jail, and deported, leaving them without anyone to provide food and rent.

"Bigotry has serious long-term impacts."

There have been tremendous trust issues, since trust has been eroded within the society as well as outside our community. And sometimes people have been fearful of each other as well. We know that the FBI has recruited informants from among Muslims who have gone into mosques and Islamic centers and befriended and framed innocent people - a lot of innocent Muslims have been picked up and thrown in jail for life.

At one of the ARISE NY workshops in a school, an 11-year-old boy shared with our youth leader that he was stopped one day by the school security guard, saying, "Let me check your backpack; your name is Mohammed, isn't it?" I believe many of these kids were being told by their parents to lie low and not make any trouble while they bottled their pain and anger inside. We know it affects young people's self-esteem and confidence, and the trauma and bigotry has serious long-term impacts.

"It made me realize there was a scary world out there."

I grew up in Spring, Texas. I was in high school when September 11 happened. I had a lot of different friends, and religion wasn't an issue for us. I wasn't wearing the headscarf yet. Some of my friends knew I was Muslim, but I had Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, and Catholic friends. Religion was just something we did at home with our families. I guess I was sort of in a bubble when September 11 happened.

I remember afterward some of our neighbors came to our house and gave my mom flowers and said, "If you want to go to the grocery store or anything, we'll go for you, don't worry about it." It was very sweet, but it made me realize there was a scary world out there. I was 15. There was no Twitter, just TV. I wasn't really exposed to Islamophobic attacks. I thought maybe people were just saying mean things like, "Go back home. "

"Some of our neighbors came to our house and gave my mom flowers and said, 'If you want to go to the grocery store or anything, we'll go for you, don't worry about it.'"

Then I was in college at Texas A&M University in 2008 or 2009. I still wasn't wearing a headscarf, but I had friends who did, and I don't remember hearing anything from them. Maybe one friend had someone yell something from a truck but [my reaction] was just like, "Oh, they're just one bigoted person." Then we had an Islamophobia session for our Muslim Student Association. I remember thinking, "What is this?" It was kind of my first introduction to modern-day Islamophobia.

After college, after the 2008 presidential elections, Islamophobia started ramping up. I realized it was very connected to politics and it's just an avenue to change policy. Once it became tied to politics is when things got scary, and when it actually became a movement. Now it's a multimillion-dollar machine.

"The blog exposed me to a lot of hateful comments."

I started my blog, Young American Muslim, for the Houston Chronicle in 2009, after college. Part of it was to combat this stereotype about what a Muslim American looks like. I was working as an accountant, and it was a way for me to explain what it's like to be a Muslim, and the things that you're hearing on the news aren't true, and this is what an actual American believes and thinks and does. These are the traditions I celebrate; this is what my life is like.

"I would hear terms that, as someone who grew up Muslim, I never even heard before, and I would have to Google them"

The blog exposed me to a lot of hateful comments. I would hear terms that, as someone who grew up Muslim, I never even heard before, and I would have to Google them. Or they would say, "Look at chapter nine, verse five" [of the Quran], and it would pull up this scary-sounding verse, and I would dig a little deeper and see the context of it, and where it came from and what the true meaning was. It was just stuff like that - stuff that was being perpetuated as part of a political and social agenda. That is what really got me to understand what Islamophobia looks like.

Now that I wear the headscarf, it's more of an issue for me as a visible Muslim. Living in Washington, DC, after the San Bernardino attacks, I was a little afraid, so if I was going out at night I'd put a hood over my scarf. And I wouldn't stand close to the Metro platform in case someone would push me in.

"I was lucky I wasn't harmed physically."

I personally don't wear the hijab, so that makes me less of a target than somebody who does - and the fact that I'm married to a white man also gives me certain privileges, but I really fear for people who are more visibly Muslim.

In 2001, right after the attacks happened, I was living in Astoria and I was about to cross the street, and this driver kind of stopped as I expected him to stop, but as I started crossing the street, he basically sped up. We made eye contact, and he [accelerated and] tried to hit me. It was very, very intentional. I'm very lucky I wasn't harmed physically, but that happened two blocks from my home. It was crystal clear what happened.

I've been an activist since childhood - I created a literacy program for homeless kids from Bangladesh - and I'm very sensitive about "-isms," so there was never a moment when I was like, "Why did he do that?" It was very clear what had happened.

My mom does wear the hijab. Around 2012, she was on the bus and the driver told her to stop reading the Quran. She was scared, as most people would be. When these things happen, we don't know how to react, because the human brain is just not trained to react.

"I just don't feel safe."

Most recently, we were in Texas for a road trip, and my husband was like, "This is your country, don't let them take that away from you," but we were stopped by immigration officials. He was driving the car, but I was asked to show my papers. I was not driving. That unsafe feeling outside of New York City is just tangible. I would not go again without my white husband with me. This is my country, and I'm not going to let them take it away from me. Our country is so beautiful. But I just don't feel safe.

"I did a hijab experiment."

I've never had a personal experience with Islamophobia. I don't know if it's because I'm Indo-Caribbean. I'm brown, and I don't wear the hijab. I wonder what role race plays in that. I did a hijab experiment because I was frustrated that people didn't recognize me as being Muslim. I walked down West Fourth Street, wearing a pink hijab in the street. This was the first time I really felt what it was like to be Muslim. There was a homeless man begging, and when I walked by he said nothing to me. He looked at me like he was scared of me! This one white woman was looking at me, and I was smiling but she didn't smile back. I was like, "This is what it feels like."

"I walked down West Fourth Street, wearing a pink hijab in the street. This was the first time I really felt what it was like to be Muslim."

I was on a team in graduate school researching how people who practice non-Western religions used them as a way of integration into American society. Now I'm doing a study looking at the ways in which Muslims are reframing their identities by responding to Islamophobia through grassroots organizations. I think that's relevant because a lot of the social science literature surrounding Islamophobia and post-Muslim identities covers Muslims from a place of victimization, and it doesn't highlight what they're doing to fight back.

"9/11 was like a baptism by fire."

I grew up in the 1980s in Fremont, California, in a multicultural tossed salad. I went to an all-boys Catholic school where students were Indian, Sikh, Muslim, Filipino. ... I was usually the token Muslim and the token Pakistani.

I was a 20-year-old student leader about to turn 21. I was a senior at UC Berkeley. I was elected to the Muslim Student Association, and the next thing you knew 9/11 happened. People were looking for leadership, so 9/11 was like a baptism by fire that thrust me into the spotlight and made me into an accidental activist. It also gave me the training that I have been able to use in my career.

"You're guilty until you prove yourself moderate."

Fast-forward to 15 years after 9/11: As a Muslim, you're always interrogated, you always have to explain. Before I was the friendly explainer. ("Why do you eat this food?" "How do you pray?") Now it's different. You're guilty until you prove yourself moderate. This very sustained deliberate movement [of Islamophobia] has blossomed into a mainstream hate movement filed by politicians.

"By the way, even Muslims don't know what Sharia is! in the '80s it would have sounded like a name for a female punk band."

Never, growing up, did I think a mainstream presidential candidate would call for a ban or the extreme vetting of Muslims. Never did I think there would be armed protests against mosques, mainstream candidates talking about banning Muslims, loyalty tests, banning Sharia. ... By the way, even Muslims don't know what Sharia is! in the '80s it would have sounded like a name for a female punk band.

"Of course, I was the wrongful target of backlash."

I'm an American born in Texas. I was 10 when we were attacked on 9/11 and was the only Muslim student in my grade at a small Catholic elementary school in Portsmouth, Ohio. It was a small city in one of Ohio's poorest counties on the foothills of the Appalachians. We moved to Portsmouth because my dad, an immigrant from Egypt, was needed in the area as the only specialist in his field.

Before 9/11, where I was growing up in rural Ohio, most kids had never known a Muslim. Many hadn't even heard of Islam. Most parents and school teachers knew little, if anything, about what Islam actually teaches or what our illustrious civilization has brought to humanity. Those who had an idea about Islam held perceptions that were deeply skewed by Orientalist notions where the Muslim "East" was backward, poor, and superstitious, whereas the European "West" was modern, rational, industrial, and advanced.

Of course, I was the wrongful target of the backlash against Islam that we started to feel after 9/11. The "war on terror" fear narrative that the Bush administration built along with the war profiteers and media giants actually turned into anger and hatred toward me - and I was the hyper, American kid who used to think it wrong to squash an ant or a ladybug.

"I could never let my family know, because I was the eldest and am supposed to be strong, a leader. Kids called me 'terrorist,' 'Osama,' 'Taliban,' time and time again."

I was victim to that kind of bullying for years, through high school, even. In ignorance and in anger I was the subject of much torment - threats, name-calling, and physical abuse when I was younger. I could never let my family know, because I was the eldest and am supposed to be strong, a leader. Kids called me "terrorist," "Osama," "Taliban," time and time again. I felt alienated - I was the only Muslim kid there, and sometimes it felt like nobody had my back. I think most in my generation shared that torment at a young age.

Eventually I became really tall, and most people stopped talking, although sometimes I still feel some lingering disdain and suspicion - and sometimes a petrified stare when a large man with a beard and kufi walks into a store.

"I've come to forgive - and ignore - the haters."

Over time I've come to forgive - and ignore - the haters. In Catholic school, I stood every morning for prayer with my classmates who recited the "Our Father," daily, asking, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." And the first words any Muslim says before doing pretty much anything are, "In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful." So love and mercy are supposed to be central to our consciousness as a Muslim.

"The first words any Muslim says before doing pretty much anything are, 'In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful.'"

Even today, the mass media far too often shows an Islam of boogeymen and masked murderers. In the mainstream, Islam remains detached from the its reality as a beautiful civilization, which gave spiritual knowledge and inspiration to generations of beautiful artists, masterful architects, profound poets, mathematical geniuses, medicinal giants, philosopher-sages, and saintly teachers.

The terrorists and thugs, on the other hand are antithetical to the core of message of Islam, in which the very root letters - S.L.M. - means peace. We are only here to please God by bringing peace and justice to humanity through our knowledge and love of God and his created Being.

I'm concerned that if Donald Trump wins and we don't give a resounding defeat to Trump, it will normalize the nasty rhetoric of hate and xenophobia in the political domain and give rise to more. That may give rise to a dark new wave of bigoted politicians and hate crimes. At least during the Bush era, he would make it clear that Islam is not the enemy. The media might have sent a different message, but at least Bush made it clear. Trump's advocacy for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" is cause for great concern.

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9 devastating, revealing stories of being Muslim in post-9/11 America

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These interviews show the deep impact of Islamophobia.

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Jewish Americans were serving in World War II; about 550,000 served in all branches, not just men, and women too served in the war. They had to face a lot of antisemitism both at home and at work. They fought the war against fascism. I didn't know that Jewish Americans fought war too!

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Jewish Americans in World War II | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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American Jews supported the war effort while many anxiously awaited news of their families under Nazi rule in Europe.

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I found this article that US jews had to take a survey, they're proud of their cultural heritage and sharpied divded but worried about antisemitism. The total poplaution is 7.5 million. There is more antisemitism today in america. But jewish people are more democratic. There was attack of a snyagogue in 2018.

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A comprehensive new survey of Jewish Americans finds them increasingly worried about antisemitism, proud of their cultural heritage and sharply divided about the importance of religious observance in their lives.

The survey, released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, estimated the total Jewish population in the country at 7.5 million - about 2.3% of the national population.

The survey of 4,178 Jewish Americans was conducted between November 2019 and June 2020 - long before the current escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the findings reflected skepticism among U.S. Jews regarding that conflict - only one-third said the Israeli government was sincere in seeking peace; just 12% said Palestinian leaders were sincere in that regard.

Compared with Americans overall, Jewish Americans, on average, are older, have higher levels of education and income and are more geographically concentrated in the Northeast, according to Pew.

Yet even as the Jewish population is thriving in many ways, concerns about antisemitism rose amid the deadly attacks in 2018 and 2019 on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California; and a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Three-quarters of Jewish Americans say there is more antisemitism in the U.S. than five years ago, and 53% say they feel less safe. Jews who wear distinctive religious attire such as head coverings are particularly likely to feel less safe.

The impact of such worries on people's behavior seems limited: Pew reported that the vast majority of American Jews - including those who feel less safe - say concern about antisemitism hasn't deterred them from participating in Jewish observances and events.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, said American Jews believe they are being singled out for attacks and vitriol, yet also see antisemitism as part of a broader national problem of bigotry and intolerance.

"We have to get a lid on the tolerance of intolerance in the United States," he told The Associated Press. "Hatred and bigotry existed before five or six years ago, but in recent years it has become OK to do it in a very public, unrestrained way."

According to Pew's criteria, Jews are notably less religious than American adults as a whole. For example, 21% said religion is very important in their lives, compared with 41% of U.S. adults overall. A majority of U.S. adults say they believe in God "as described in the Bible," compared with 26% of Jews. And 12% of Jewish Americans say they attend religious services at least weekly, versus 27% of the general public.

Orthodox Jews stand apart in this regard. They are among the most religious groups in U.S. society in terms of the share - 86% - who say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 78% of Black Protestants and 76% of white evangelicals.

According to Pew, 9% of U.S. Jews describe themselves as Orthodox. Far more belong to the two long-dominant branches of American Judaism: 37% identify as Reform and 17% as Conservative. More than one in four don't identify with any particular branch yet consider themselves to be Jewish ethnically, culturally or by family background.

Interfaith marriage is commonplace: 42% of married Jewish adults said they had a non-Jewish spouse, according to Pew.

Jacobs said he wants Reform congregations to embrace this phenomenon rather than view it as a sign of demise.

"Intermarriage can expand who's part of the Jewish community," he said. "You see Black, brown, Asian families choosing to be a part of Jewish life."

Pew found evidence that the U.S. Jewish population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Overall, 92% of Jewish adults identify as non-Hispanic white, and 8% identify with all other categories combined. But among Jews ages 18 to 29, that figure rises to 15%.

Pew's survey suggests other generational changes are unfolding. For example, among Jews ages 18 to 29, 17% self-identify as Orthodox, compared with just 3% of those 65 and older. And among Jewish adults under 30, 37% identify with either Reform or Conservative Judaism, compared with about 70% of those 65 and older.

Politically, U.S. Jews on the whole tend to support the Democratic Party. In the survey, which was conducted months before the 2020 election, 71% said they were Democrats or leaned Democratic.

But Orthodox Jews have moved in the opposite direction: 75% of them said they were Republicans or leaned Republican, compared with 57% in 2013. And 86% of them rated Donald Trump's handling of policy toward Israel as "excellent" or "good," while a majority of all U.S. Jews described it as "only fair" or "poor."

While there are signs of political polarization among U.S. Jews, the survey also found areas of consensus. For instance, more than 80% say they feel at least some sense of belonging to the Jewish people, and three-quarters say "being Jewish" is very or somewhat important to them.

Pew asked respondents which of various causes and activities are "essential," "important but not essential" or "not important" to what being Jewish means to them. More than 70% said remembering the Holocaust and leading a moral and ethical life are essential, and 59% cited working for social justice.

Rabbi Noah Farkas of Valley Beth Shalom, a Conservative synagogue in Encino, California, said he hopes Jewish Americans can maintain solidarity even as their ranks diversify and many forego religious observance.

"It is our imperative to find ways to be nimble and compelling enough for the Jews to want to invest their time and resources in the broader community," he said via email. "So the struggle for me is not the identity, but the practice of Jewish life and how we hold a community together when others are trying to tear us apart."

Rabbi Motti Seligson, media director of the Hasidic organization Chabad-Lubavitch, expressed pride and optimism as the ranks of young Orthodox Jews remain robust. Yet he commended other young adults who don't identify as religious but still embrace Jewish culture and traditions.

"They are eschewing the old construct of denominational affiliation and choosing a Jewish lifestyle that is uniquely their own yet ultimately connected to their people and heritage," he said.

Pew's survey was conducted online and by mail; the margin of error for questions posed to all respondents was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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New survey of US Jews reveals worries, strengths, divisions

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A comprehensive new survey of Jewish Americans finds them increasingly worried about antisemitism, proud of their cultural heritage and sharply divided about the importance of religious observance in their lives. The survey, released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, estimated the total Jewish population in the country at 7.5 million - about 2.3% of the national population.

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I found this article about Latina women getting low pay, especially it's about wage gaps in women. You can see that men get higher pay than Latina women. Sadly, men are more dominant, so they get higher pay and wages. It's super discriminating and sad.

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I think as a woman, it does affect me since I'm very empathetic. I'm a woman, and it hurts for other women not able to get good pay and wages. Some women deserve higher pay because they have families to feed. As a Latina woman, it hurts seeing that graph; they get super low pay and low wages! It's been an issue for the past decades since the 90s.

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Today, this is about my friend Noah, who was a dog groomer. You see, they have a syndrome called Ehlers-Danlos, which is when the joints can cause issues and dislocate more. They told their bosses about this disability, but they refused and didn't listen to them; they made them do tasks that they shouldn't have been doing. This is discrimination for disability and forcing a person with a disability can cause physical and mental problems. They are non-binary, but the managers talked down to people who were transgender and LGBTQ+, calling them brainwashed. They keep calling them a girl, and they already told the managers they're they and them, not a girl. This example of straight-up anti-LGTQ+ and doesn't give respect to trans and non-binary people. This experience relates to disability. Well, whatever color or race, this is a sad experience my friend had to go through. No one should go through this experience at work.

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This is Jesus. He was killed for being an activist for LGBTQ and trans, and non-binary rights. He was found dead next to his partner. He was the first open up about his non-binary identity and made history in Mexico. You see, not only does the USA have hate crimes for being LGBTQ+.In Mexico, there are also hate crimes and violence. https://yris.yira.org/column/crime-of-passion-or-lie-to-the-nation-the-murder-of-non-binary-mexican-magistrate-ociel-baena/