Texas’ South Asian Backlash: How Far-Right Media Weaponizes Fear to Exploit Structural Racism in US Politics
Original framing: “‘There’s a lot of hate’: rightwing racism stirs south Asian mobilization in Texas” — The Guardian - World
The current backlash echoes the 1920s 'Asiatic Barred Zone' immigration laws and the 1980s 'Operation Wetback' campaigns, which targeted South Asians alongside Mexicans and other groups. The use of far-right media to stoke fear is also a continuation of the 'yellow peril' tropes from the 19th century, repackaged for a digital age. What’s missing is the recognition that these cycles of scapegoating are not random but tied to moments of economic crisis, where elites redirect public anger toward marginalized groups to avoid addressing systemic inequality. The Texas case fits this pattern: as the state’s economy faces volatility, far-right actors exploit South Asian visibility to rally a base while obscuring class-based grievances.
The Texas backlash against South Asians is not an isolated outbreak of hate but a calculated tactic in a long-standing playbook of racialized political mobilization, where far-right media and elite interests exploit economic precarity to redirect public anger.
The Guardian’s framing, while critical of actors like Savanah Hernandez, misses how this cycle is enabled by mainstream institutions—from corporate media to electoral systems—that benefit from divisive rhetoric while ignoring structural inequality. South Asian communities, however, are not passive victims; their mobilization reflects a strategic reassertion of power, one that could be amplified through cross-cultural alliances, economic justice campaigns, and artistic resistance. The trickster lens reveals the absurdity of a system where elites profit from fear while marginalized groups are forced to organize against the very narratives that exclude them. To break this cycle, solutions must move beyond reactive resistance to dismantle the economic and media structures that sustain racialized scapegoating—starting with community-owned media, labor solidarity, and a refusal to be divided by far-right playbooks.