[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1577-S1578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GEORGIA SHOOTINGS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now let me proceed to my remarks.
  First, on the terrible tragedy in Georgia, the people of Atlanta, GA, 
and the surrounding communities were just shocked last night by a 
series of shootings that left eight people dead, six of whom were of 
Asian descent.
  The motivations behind this devastating tragedy are still unknown, 
but there is a legitimate concern that these killings may have been 
racially motivated. Over the past year, the Asian-American community 
has faced a rising tide of abuse and violence in the wake of COVID-19, 
driven by ignorance, by misinformation, and by age-old prejudices 
against the Asian-American community. Tragically, hate crimes against 
Asian Americans have skyrocketed.
  There is bigotry in the land and far too much of it. These dark 
forces have always existed in America, but, recently, they seem to have 
been unleashed. The sort of superego that puts

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these things down seems to have weakened, and the id seems to have 
strengthened.
  We cannot lose for a moment our vigilance against these forces of 
hate, intolerance, bigotry, and discrimination.
  I love the Asian American community. They have done so much for 
America. I see it in my borough of Brooklyn, in my city and State of 
New York, and throughout the country--hard-working people, people who 
do so much for our country at every level. They are welcome here. That 
is America. Yet, bigots have increased hate crimes and maybe even 
possibly led to the deaths of these people.
  So I hope that all Americans first will realize that there is too 
much hate in the land, that hate against one group is hate against any 
group, and we should all, Americans of every background and race and 
creed, color, and religion, gender, and sexual orientation, band 
together against the haters. It is so un-American.
  E pluribus unum--out of many, one. That is what America has always 
been. That is what America must continue to be, and our voices must 
speak out.

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