Together With Asian Community In US, LA County Sheriff Invites To Stop Hate Speech

Sheriff Villanueva strongly condemns the shooting in Atlanta and Colorado (Photo via Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles)

JAKARTA - Representatives of the public and business community of Asian descent and representatives from the Consulate General of a number of Asian countries in Los Angeles shared their stance with LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva regarding racial escalation in a number of regions in the United States.

Sheriff Villanueva strongly condemns the shootings in Atlanta and Colorado and expresses his condolences to the families of the victims. He emphasized that hate speech must be stopped.

"Reports of hate speech against the Asian-American community have reportedly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic," Sheriff Villanueva was quoted as saying in a written statement from the Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles, USA, Sunday, March 28.

As a Latin American in the US, Sheriff Villanueva expressed his rejection of any form of discrimination on behalf of a person's race, ethnicity, religion, or color.

"As part of the Latin community, I do not support any form of discrimination and intolerance of all forms of crime. Nobody has the right to be discriminated against, whether on behalf of race, ethnicity, religion, or whatever," Sheriff Villanueva said at a press conference at the Hall of Justice, Los Angeles.

Racial incidents both disturb and endanger various Asian communities in the US. It is confirmed that the competent authorities are investigating racial cases.

During a peaceful demonstration on Sunday, March 21, which condemned the violence of the Asian-American group, a white driver accidentally ran over and shouted racist words at the peaceful protesters.

Sheriff Villanueva emphasized that the Los Angeles County security authorities serve and protect all residents in Los Angeles County regardless of race/ethnicity.

Meanwhile, the Consul for Social and Cultural Information of the Indonesian Consulate General in Los Angeles, Poppy Yeanny, directly conveyed to Sheriff Villanueva the desire of the people/Indonesian Diaspora in LA County to cooperate with local security authorities in addressing the dynamics of crime and discrimination on racism that tend to increase.

"We certainly do not support any form of hate speech in the name of ethnicity, race, or religion that attacks Asian communities in the United States," said Poppy Yeanny.

In addition, the public/Diaspora and Indonesian students in Los Angeles invited the Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials for dialogue activities on “hate crimes”.

Based on the criminal records in Los Angeles County, since 2013 there has been a 36 percent trend of increasing “hate crimes” cases. It is recorded that 49 percent of "hate crimes" are categorized based on hatred for a particular race/ethnicity.