Spate of Violence Against Asians in DC, Oakland Prompt Concern

By Tim | Tuesday, April 20, 2010 | 9 Comments

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There was unfortunately a couple of prominent news articles highlighting violence against Asians this week. Most recently comes the news that actor Kal Penn was mugged at gun point in Washington D.C. Penn is in DC working in the Office of Public Liaison and focuses on President Obama’s outreach to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

Closer to my home was the news that 59 year old Tiansheng Yu died after a brutal attack in broad daylight on what was considered a relatively safe neighborhood in Oakland, CA. His death followed an incident where his son, was punched for no reason after entering a store. Tiansheng Yu went to confront his son’s attackers and was punched in the face by the same attackers. Two African American men, accused of the crime have been arrested.

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article this week recapping the violence against Asian American students in a local high school. The article compared the recent attacks with ones that occurred in 2002 at a high school in Lafayette, PA.

KGO, a local San Francisco station also ran a news story about three recent attacks (one fatal) against Asians on the Muni, SF’s public transit system

It’s surprising to see so much news on anti-Asian violence. I tend to believe it’s not 1982 anymore (when Vincent Chin was murdered after being mistaken for Japanese at the height of anti-Japanese sentiment). With all the positive changes we’ve had in the last almost 30 years, I tend to believe we live in a more tolerant society. But it’s news reports like the ones we’ve had this month, that makes me wonder if we’ve learned anything at all.

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Current EventsDiscriminationLocalSan Francisco Bay Area

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topofthemark

Except for the Vincent Chin case years ago, all of the recent hate crimes against Asians have been committed by blacks. It may not be PC to point this out, but it’s true. And hopefully 8Asians can handle the truth.

Blacks see Asians as timid, easy targets. That may also be a hard truth.
timat8asians

It’s still race based violence, and that’s a problem. Most of these attacks (except maybe Kal Penn’s) happened because the victim was Asian. That in of itself is a huge problem.
topofthemark2

Tim,

I have to say I detest your PC reply which incorrectly skirts the issue that it’s black on Asian crime. You might practice in front of a mirror saying “black on Asian crime” in case you’re too timid to say it in front of another person.
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filmhustler

Um… it wasn’t “Vicent Chen” but “Vincent Chin.” An Oscar nominated doc. was made about the case called “Who Killed Vincent Chin?”. I think we are really in trouble here =(
filmhustler

I guess not all Chinese Americans have the same last name.
timat8asians

Corrected. My typo. You’ll note the link on his name, goes to the 8Asians post on the movie by John (and it’s spelled correctly in his article).
filmhustler

Check out Vincent Who: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QtdFeDx48Q I guess it is more relevant that I thought.
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