"Believe it or not, there are some states that I avoid visiting because I'm Asian American."

How would you feel if you didn't feel safe to travel in your own country because of your ancestral lineage? Many Asian Americans have the same concerns as Marcia Hashimoto, president of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).

Despite growing numbers of Asian American communities, especially in universities like UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC Berkeley, many Asian Americans still feel out of the mainstream loop because they are subject to discrimination and hate crimes. According to FBI statistics, the greatest growth in hate crimes in recent years is against Asians and homosexuals.

In 1999, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) reported 486 anti-Asian incidents in 41 states (compared to 429 incidents in 1998). In 2000, five Asian Americans lost their lives to hate crimes; and vandalism accounts for 21% of reported anti-Asian crimes. Asian Week, a newspaper for the Asian community, reports a recent hate crime in every issue, but most offenses go unreported and unsolved. The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama estimates that every hour in America someone commits a hate crime; every day 8 blacks, 3 whites, 3 gays, 3 Jews and 1 Latino become hate crime victims; and every week a cross is burned.

"Most [hate crimes] go unreported because the families try to avoid more problems. But even if the victim does go to court [to press charges against the attacker], few cases accomplish anything," notes George Ow, Jr., President of APICA (Asian Pacific Islander Community Awareness). Most hate crime victims are scared to call the police for fear of becoming vulnerable to further violence, endangering their families, receiving threatening calls or letters, getting fired, becoming an object of public ridicule, or getting murdered. Their motivation to keep silent is simply to avoid further abuse.

"One of the most important factors in determining the risks to those who report hate crimes is the reaction of leaders and other citizens in the community. If those leaders and other citizens ignore the reports or fail to take action, then it sends a signal that hate is okay and acceptable to the community. This obviously represents dangers not only to the person who reports the crime, but to other citizens who may be members of groups that are the focus of hate crimes," says UCSC Social Psychology Professor, Anthony Pratkanis, "On the other hand, if leaders and citizens respond with disapproval and action against the hate crime, it sends a signal to all that such behavior is not accepted. In fact, one study showed that the best way to deal with racial slurs and other hate behavior is for a citizen (who is not under attack) to calmly condemn the behavior in a way that supports underlying American values - for example, 'I don't care to hear that word used to describe other people; it just isn't what we Americans should be doing.'"

Psychiatrist, Gerry Busch, M.D., says that the best thing for a potential victim to do when harassed is to engage the perpetrator in conversation even though he might be frightened. When they start talking, the victim becomes "humanized;" he is not just a minority to be hated.

"As a community member and a parent, violence in schools is one of my biggest concerns," says Ow. Asian American children who were targeted in hate crimes increased from 13 in 1998 to 35 in 1999.

Ow recalls that he was "taunted and beat up as a kindergartener and first grader at Laurel School in Santa Cruz (now the Louden Nelson Center). Eventually I stopped going outside for recess and just stayed inside to read. My teacher had an inkling of what was going on and let me stay in the classroom. In tough situations, you have to use your words and wits to turn things around."

Racism and discrimination can spring from ignorance, fear, hate, substance abuse, jealousy, or power. Pratkanis says that there are often two psychological motivations behind hate crimes: "First, hate crimes are often done by organized groups. The typical member is often frustrated with his or her chances in life; they have a feeling of a sense of relative deprivation or not getting everything that they want out of life. The hate group becomes a source of social identity for the member. 'I am important because I am a member of this group.' A second psychological process leading to hate crimes is conformity. Conformity can explain such incidents as a group of high schoolers (who may have little of no connection to formal hate groups) who attack someone who is different or shout racial slurs. It becomes an act of conformity or going-along-with-the-group."

The negative effects of being assaulted because of one's heritage involve much more than just physical damage; many victims become angry, depressed or paranoid. "It can make a person look at the whole world in a negative way. He can become hateful and cause harm too. It is a tricky and difficult task to experience a hate crime and to not get poisoned for life by it," says Ow.

During and after World War II, anti-Japanese sentiment peaked. Bigotry and hatred, passed along by parents, influenced their children's attitudes towards minorities. "I think that growing up in that kind of home environment may be part of the profile of a person who commits hate crimes," says Marcia Hashimoto.

The media often negatively stereotypes Asians as sneaky and ruthless with slanted eyes and buck teeth. Children, influenced by what they see and hear, will mimic the slanted eyes and call Asians derogatory names such as Jap, Chinaman, and Gook.

"In a crisis," says Susan Tatsui-D'Arcy, director of Merit Academy, "people often look for a scapegoat on which to unleash anger and to attach blame. Those who are different often become the targets."

"Acts of hate stem from severe insecurity and feelings of instability and fear in the perpetrator. At the bottom of the motivation is fear, feelings of helplessness or threat. They want to have a sense of power and domination," says Dr. Busch, "There needs to be an increase in cultural and moral education to teach people why hate crimes occur. Hate crimes show that the perpetrator was so scared or intimidated by this other culture that he had to lash out to prove that he has power."

Even though WWII ended in victory for the U.S. more than fifty years ago, letters to the editor from local people still blame Japanese Americans for the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Bataan Death March during World War II. "There are people who do not and will not recognize Americans of Asian heritage as Americans. They do not understand that we, as Americans, are appalled, too, with such events, and we are not and never have been responsible for the actions taken by the Japanese government during WWII. Our loyalty has always been to our country, America," writes Marcia Hashimoto.

When the Japanese American citizens were incarcerated into internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, even the U.S. government lost sight of constitutional civil rights.

Paranoia and hysteria swept the nation as it changed gears and entered WWII. In 1942, and even today, many people can't distinguish between the Japanese from Japan who bombed Pearl Harbor and the American citizens of Japanese ancestry. "We are Americans first. Our heritage simply identifies our ancestral past and our physical features, just as it distinguishes Irish Americans from African Americans," inserts Tatsui-D'Arcy.

The ultimate irony during WWII was when the Nisei (second generation Japanese American) soldiers, whose families were imprisoned behind barbed wire for fear that they were enemy spies, enlisted in the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) and became the most heroic, most decorated unit in the history of U.S. military. Japanese Americans enlisted and fought both in Europe and in the Pacific (with the Military Intelligence Service) theaters to prove their loyalty to the U.S. as true Americans.

The children and grandchildren of these brave Japanese American soldiers are speaking up about the patriotism exuded by the 100th/442nd RCT to stop the discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans and others. Many films and books tell the stories of the feats of these soldiers.

The film, "Beyond Barbed Wire," is a brilliant, emotional, heart-wrenching account of the experiences of the Nisei soldiers. "Beyond Barbed Wire" breaks the silence; and as the survivors and veterans tell the stories they have kept secret for over fifty years, stories of bravery, unbelievable devotion, and honor are uncovered on film.

"All high school students who study U.S. History should see this film to ensure that the U.S. government never again incarcerates its own citizens amidst hysteria of war or crisis," says Tatsui-D'Arcy. The Go For Broke Foundation in Los Angeles is an excellent resource for materials, curriculum, and videos for teachers and families (www.goforbroke.com).

It was the brave immigrants, our forefathers, who risked their lives to come to the "land of opportunity," who have created the foundation of America. By perseverance and assiduousness, they have proven their loyalty to the United States. After all, only 0.6% of the U.S. population is Native American; the rest are the descendents of immigrants from all over the world. Only when our society welcomes all of its American citizens regardless of their national origin, color of skin, or religion, will we see the end of hate crimes.