Why Fresno police shouldn’t leap to Asian gang stereotype after mass shooting
Andy Hall is a policeman by trade, not a seamstress. Still, it was impossible to miss the careful needlework done by Fresno’s new police chief in the aftermath of Sunday’s mass shooting.
On one hand, Hall went out of his way during Monday’s press briefing to state none of the four dead or six wounded have ties to criminal street gangs. Nor, he said, was the house on Lamona Avenue in southeast Fresno a known gang hangout.
But in the next breath, Hall announced the creation of an “Asian gang task force” charged with bringing the shooters to justice.
So are gangs at the root of this senseless act of violence, or not? The simple answer is “We don’t know.” And leaping to any other conclusion, whether it be by police or members of the public, is irresponsible and prejudiced.
“There is no indication this was gang-related,” Hall said. “However, when we do have a violent incident such as this we always investigate to see if it involves gangs. We haven’t ruled that out in this case.”
Listening carefully to Hall’s words, both in the crowd and from behind the dais, were several leaders of Fresno’s Hmong community who have long battled stereotypes about members of their ethnicity.
Namely that if young Asian males from southeast Fresno are involved in a violent shooting, they must be gang members.
There’s little evidence to support this, mind you. Just our prejudices and suspicions.
“It’s a stereotype that we’ve fought for a very long time,” said Bobby Bliatout, the Congressional candidate from southeast Fresno who is the son of Hmong immigrants.
“Even when we run for Congress the stereotype is still there. Even though we are CEOs of successful nonprofits the stereotype is still there. ... The moment people see something go wrong in our community, they believe it comes from gangs or a gangster mentality.”
I’m not saying Hall is guilty of this. In fact, credit to Hall for exercising caution and restraint while answering sensitive questions. However, choosing this moment to create a task force that specifically targets Asian gangs makes it look as if the police are leaning that direction. Which also colors public perception.
Perhaps for good reason. Hall went on to say police have noticed a recent “uptick” in gun violence occurring in southeast Fresno, some of which is gang-related.
Between 55% to 60% of Fresno shootings and homicides involve a gang member as a suspect or victim. That’s what Fresno police Lt. Mark Hudson told me in June for a column about Advance Peace.
Blong Xiong, the former Fresno City Councilmember of Hmong descent, appreciated Hall being “careful with his words.” At the same time, Xiong wondered if the formation of an Asian gang task force perpetuates a stereotype he and others have worked so hard to change.
“We want to support our police chief in his cautiousness because it’s taken a while for us to get out from under this stigma,” Xiong said. “This is a public-safety issue for Fresno, but it is personal for me because it involves the Hmong community.”
While Xiong appreciates police efforts to apprehend the shooters, he also wonders if putting the word “Asian” in the title of the task force adds “a presumption which we shouldn’t put on there.”
Stereotypes and stigmas exist for a reason. Let’s not ignore that reality. Fresno does have Hmong gangs and gangs whose members descend from other southeast Asian countries. And sometimes these gangs commit violent acts that command widespread attention. Video of a huge brawl during a 2017 Hmong New Year celebration at the Fresno Fairgrounds went viral.
However, let’s not paint all Hmong men of a certain age with the same brush.
One of the deceased, Xy Lee, was a popular singer in the Hmong community. Lee had a sizable online following with over 90,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. Another, Kou Xiong, was a hard-working homeowner, husband and father of a 3-year-old girl.
Hall also mentioned that the wounded and other witnesses have been fully cooperative with police, which does not jibe with the typical code of silence associated with gang violence.
“These are people who are near and dear to us,” said Pao Yang, CEO of The Fresno Center, a nonprofit that provides social services to southeast Fresno residents. “I don’t see any gang affiliations with these folks.”
Why does it matter if this was a gang shooting? It matters because of how we react.
When gang bangers kill or wound other gang bangers, most of us slough it off with a collective shrug. That’s the life they chose, and violence begets violence. No lessons learned or corrective measures taken.
But if these are normal folks with jobs and dreams and families and mortgages, then it’s viewed differently. We’ll feel outrage and demand police leave no stone unturned until the shooters are brought to justice. And even then it won’t feel like enough.
The difference is immense, which is why no one should leap to any conclusions until all the facts are known. And if you already have, consider leaping back. The Hmong community at least deserves that much.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 4:39 PM.
