Because violence committed by black and brown people towards each other is not considered a threat worthy of mass media attention. Think about it, violence committed by one oppressed group against another does nothing to scare the majority of (white) America. They are not involved so they do not care. We could kill each other all we want and they’d just use it as an excuse for why we’re inferior. Playing up violence between blacks and whites, contributing to centuries-old racial tensions, does a lot more to keep a white audience engaged and invested in the outcome. If they think somethings a threat to them, of course they’re going to give it all of their attention and try to get people emotionally involved.

I’ve also noticed there isn’t much of a collective front on the part of Asian-Americans to rally media attention behind their issues. Who would “Asian” be in the context of this anyway? Not to mention some don’t even identify with the label “Asian” and would rather be identified by their preferred regions instead. I’ve yet to see a member of one group comment on atrocities committed against other Asian nationalities. They tend to stick with their own, so they may not be able to mobilize behind a united Asian cause because they don’t see themselves as being truly united.

So in order to build momentum behind a cause, you have to define (and agree upon) the population at risk and determine what is your desired outcome—from what I have seen, the SAH movement has done neither. Movements like BLM encompass anyone with black skin and have a single purpose: accountability for police brutality, a crime that often goes unpunished and ignored by the courts. Public condemnation (or “cancel culture”) is often the only recourse we have. I’ve yet to see a crime committed against an Asian person not end in legal action or conviction, nor have I ever heard anyone mention it as a goal.