Stop Asian Hate

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Off Topic
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I’ve been meaning to get a thread on this started here. Perhaps I’ve been putting it off in hopes it would just go away. But it isn’t.

Hate Crimes Targeting Asian Americans Spiked by 150% in Major US Cities
By Masood Farivar
March 02, 2021 12:39 AM

A demonstrator wearing a face mask and holding a sign takes part in a rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence, near Chinatown in Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2021.
WASHINGTON - Hate-fueled attacks on Asian Americans spiked across major U.S. cities last year — in some cases by triple-digit percentages — even as overall hate crimes declined, newly analyzed police department statistics show.

Moreover, the alarming trend has continued into this year, experts say.

There were 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes in 16 of the country’s most populous cities in 2020, an increase of almost 150% over the previous year, according to data compiled by California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and exclusively shared with VOA. VOA independently collected data for two of the cities.

Asian American rights advocates attribute the unprecedented string of attacks to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric blaming China for the deadly coronavirus and, more broadly, the scapegoating of Asian Americans by ordinary people frustrated or angered by the economic and social impact of the pandemic.

“I think the political leadership under Trump really put a target on the backs of people perceived to be Chinese. It’s Sinophobia,” said Chris Kwok, a board member for the Asian American Bar Association of New York.


The increase in anti-Asian hate crime was the highest in New York City, the country’s largest city with a sizeable Asian population, where police investigated a record 28 incidents involving Asian American victims, a more than ninefold increase over 2019.

Four other American cities also reported triple-digit percentage increases in anti-Asian hate crimes: Philadelphia and Cleveland each reported six incidents, up from two in 2019; San Jose had 10, up from 4, while Los Angeles reported 15, up from seven.

“While most cities experienced overall hate crime declines, including attacks against groups that had recently spiked like Jews, attacks against Asians rose materially in most cities, and only declined in one — Washington, D.C.,” said Brian Levin, executive director of the hate and extremism research center.

The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation and other factors. Examples include assault and vandalism. Each November, the FBI publishes its annual hate crime data for the previous year. That means the data released by a handful of police agencies provides the only early window into the number of hate crimes last year.

Though based on a relatively small sampling of data, the figures “strongly suggest that 2020 will be the worst year this century for anti-Asian hate crime,” Levin said.

The reported spike in anti-Asian hate crimes is in line with data tracked by Asian American advocacy organizations.


A demonstrator holding a sign and a flower takes part in a rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence, near Chinatown in Los Angeles on Feb 20, 2021.
Stop AAPI Hate, a hate tracker created last year by several Asian American groups, has recorded more than 2,800 incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans between March and December 2020. While verbal harassment and shunning made up more than 90% of the incidents, physical assaults accounted for nearly 9%.

Many of the victims are non-Chinese Asians who apparently were mistaken for having hailed from China.

“East Asians who look Chinese are now experiencing this, and this goes back to a long history of anti-Asian discrimination in this country,” Kwok said of the United States.

In a troubling report released last month, Stop AAPI Hate said 126 of the incidents involved Asian Americans over the age of 60. A number of incidents took place in the San Francisco Bay area last month, including one involving a 91-year-old Asian man violently pushed to the ground by a stranger.

“These violent assaults have a devastating impact on our community as they are part of an alarming rise in anti-Asian American hate during the COVID-19 pandemic,” co-founders of STOP AAPI Hate said in a February 9 statement.

In the latest incident, Salman Muflihi, 23, was arrested last week for allegedly stabbing a 36-year-old Asian man on a street in New York City’s Chinatown. Muflihi was charged over the weekend with one count of attempted murder in addition to other charges, but not a hate crime. If authorities were to file a hate crime, it could result in a longer prison sentence.

Kwok said “there is a level of frustration” in the Asian American community over prosecutors’ refusals to file hate crime charges.

“I think they need to really reassess how they approach it, particularly in this era that we’re in, which I think of it as an emergency area, particularly for Asian Americans as they experience discrimination,” he said.

In a statement, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said additional charges may be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, overall hate crimes last year declined by an average of 7% in the 15 cities tracked by the center for the study of hate and extremism. In New York City, for example, police investigated 265 hate crimes, down from 428 the previous year.

Of the five cities that reported increases, two are in California, including San Jose, which saw an increase of 162%.
San Jose borders Fremont where Tiger Claw is.

Street Fighter 2026
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In the televised news reports Ive seen on this, I couldnt help but notice that the people marching and protesting anti-Asian hate crimes were all Asian-Americans. In the footage I saw, there were zero whites or blacks marching with them. Unlike during the BLM protests, which had MANY non-black participants (white, Hispanic, even many Asians). Im not sure what to make of that, other than some groups in this country are considered more important than others.

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Interesting observation Jimbo…

…I hadn’t noticed that but will tune into it now. I’m on a lot of azn newsfeeds so I’ve been reading more than my share of coverage, but I have noticed that people who aren’t tuned into this barely get it.

Here’s an article that addresses this a little:


People hold signs during the Rise up Against Asian Hate rally in New York City on February 27.
The history of attacks against Asian Americans is complicated. Addressing it will be, too
By Harmeet Kaur, CNN

Updated 7:49 AM ET, Thu March 4, 2021

(CNN)The quote has been ringing in Jose Antonio Vargas’ ears ever since he came across it.

“Nobody came. Nobody helped. Nobody made a video.”
They were the words of Noel Quintana, a 61-year-old Filipino American who on February 3 was slashed across the face on the New York City subway. He was describing his experience to journalists at the Washington Post and would later echo the same sentiment to city leaders during a recent rally protesting violence against Asian Americans.
For Vargas, Quintana’s remarks underscored how he feels Asian Americans have long been seen in the US: as “the invisible within the invisibles.”

Demonstrators hold signs at rally to protest violence against Asian Americans on February 20 in New York City.
Despite being the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the country, despite consisting of 20 million people with roots in more than 20 countries, the racism, discrimination and disparities experienced by many Asian Americans are often overlooked, he said. Now, as a string of high-profile attacks has made more people pay attention, that’s starting to change.
“It’s been really quite stunning to witness ‘mainstream America’ wake up to this invisibility,” said Vargas, a journalist whose organization Define American seeks to humanize immigrants through storytelling.
Wider recognition of the racism Asian Americans have been facing since the start of the pandemic is a critical step, advocates and experts say. But this moment has also prompted some to consider another question: What is the best path forward?
Asian Americans occupy a unique spot in the racial hierarchy
To understand the current problem, it’s important to acknowledge the unique position that Asian Americans occupy in the United States’ racial hierarchy.
“From the moment that the first Chinese arrived in the 1850s until today, Asian Americans have been considered not White but also considered not Black,” says Claire Jean Kim, a professor of political science and Asian American studies at the University of California, Irvine.
In many ways, that status has worked to their advantage, Kim said.
Asian Americans haven’t experienced the same degree of historical injustices that Black Americans have, meaning they also haven’t faced the same structural barriers and inequities. On the whole, Asian Americans earn more and are more likely to have college degrees than other racial groups – though a closer look at the data yields a more nuanced picture.
And while it’s true that Asian Americans aren’t as visible in politics and popular culture, their overall lack of visibility has shielded them from the kind of scrutiny and suspicion that has made their Black, Latino and Native counterparts more likely to die at the hands of police violence, Kim said.
That’s made them a target during times of crisis
Still, the discrimination and hate Asian Americans have experienced throughout history is very real. Often perceived as foreigners, Asian Americans have been systematically targeted during periods of tension or crisis – a pattern that’s being repeated again today.
In the late 1800s, Chinese laborers were scapegoated for a declining economy and banned from immigrating to the US. During World War II, Japanese Americans were painted as disloyal and rounded up into concentration camps.
In the 1980s, a Chinese American named Vincent Chin was mistaken as Japanese and beaten to death by two White men who blamed Japan for the loss of auto jobs.
After 9/11, South Asians were among those swept up in a wave of Islamophobia.
And since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, countless Asian Americans have been coughed on, spat at, harassed and attacked.
continued next post

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continued from previous post


A demonstrator takes part in a rally on February 20 to raise awareness of violence against Asian Americans near Chinatown in Los Angeles.
Tung Nguyen, chair of AAPI Progressive Action and director of the Asian American Research Center on Health, says Asian Americans “suffer from the racism of being made invisible.”
He sees the invisibility of Asian Americans everywhere.
It’s in the “model minority” myth, through which the successes of a relative few obscure the stark inequalities felt by other subgroups.
It’s in the aggregated collection of data, which masks health disparities and justifies the lack of investment in certain communities.
It’s in the challenges to language access, which prevent many Asian Americans from accessing resources in their native tongues.
Those notions, which suggest that Asian Americans are outsiders who don’t face disadvantages, make it possible for them to be seen as acceptable targets – and contribute to the spate of violence seen over the past year, Nguyen said.
“It’s easier to hurt someone when they’re invisible,” he said. “Our invisibility is all over the place.”
The younger generation is no longer willing to stay silent
Despite those feelings of invisibility, or perhaps because of them, the recent high-profile attacks against Asian Americans have generated a level of mainstream attention that feels different.
Multiracial coalitions have come together to denounce the violence. Actors and athletes have delivered impassioned responses. Mainstream media outlets have published numerous stories. California has allocated more than a million dollars to help track incidents of discrimination and hate, while New York City announced a new push to combat the issue.
A number of factors might explain the heightened awareness this time around, experts said.
One is a younger generation who grew up in the US and is no longer willing to stay silent the way their immigrant parents might once have.
“The older parents or the aunties and uncles and the grandparents may not say something, but their children and their nieces and nephews and their grandkids will because we’re online,” Vargas said. “We know how to use the hashtag.”
Social media, in turn, has allowed video footage from the disturbing incidents to be seen and circulated widely, while more Asian American journalists in newsrooms have helped to amplify those stories. Meanwhile, the killing of George Floyd last May and the uprising that followed thrust issues of racism into the national spotlight and prompted Americans to take them more seriously.
“There’s been a kind of shift where people feel it’s important to at least talk about racism,” said Kim. “That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily committed to changing it in any deep way but there’s more discussion of it.”
But the community is divided on the solutions
Advocates and activists are largely united in calling for more discussion and attention around the issue of hate and violence against Asian Americans. But they seem to diverge on how best to address it.
“The main issue for us right now is: Do we go ahead as a single Asian American movement to address anti-Asian racism?” Nguyen said. “Or is anti-Asian racism both part of a bigger wave of racism, and the solution is beyond just what Asian Americans care about or should do?”
After a string of attacks in Oakland’s Chinatown, actors offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and some community leaders called for police to step up their presence in the neighborhood.

Oakland’s deputy chief of police visits businesses around the city’s Chinatown on February 16.
A coalition of more than 90 Bay Area organizations took a different approach, calling for community-based solutions and warning against interventions that would contradict reforms championed by Black Lives Matter activists.
Some are calling for the recent attacks to be charged as hate crimes, arguing it would help deter potential perpetrators and encourage otherwise reluctant Asian Americans to report such incidents. The New York Police Department created an Asian Hate Crimes Task Force after a spike in attacks last year, while recent incidents in the Bay Area prompted officials in Alameda County to announce a special response unit focused on crimes against Asians.
But bringing and prosecuting hate crime charges requires proving a specific motivation of bias, which can be difficult to do.
Though the family of Vicha Ratanapakdee, the 84-year-old Thai immigrant who died after being violently shoved to the ground in San Francisco, called his attack a hate crime, law enforcement officials have so far indicated there isn’t evidence to suggest it was motivated solely by race. The perpetrator who allegedly shoved a 91-year-old man, among others, to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown has been hit with several charges, though none accuse him of a hate crime.
Others have cautioned against connecting the recent high-profile attacks to the larger wave of violence Asian Americans have been experiencing since the pandemic.
Alvina Wong, campaign and organizing director for the Oakland-based nonprofit Asian Pacific Environmental Network, told the local news outlet Oaklandside that it was common for the community to experience robberies, especially around Lunar New Year.
“These crimes and violent situations that happen in Chinatown have been happening for a while,” Wong told the publication.
The response will have to involve everyone
The public safety threat that many Asian Americans are feeling right now stem from structural problems of unemployment, housing insecurity and income inequality, some progressive activists argue. And they say what’s needed to combat that threat is a movement that works in conjunction with other racial groups to help solve those big issues.
“The idea that we’re going to solve anti-Asian racism without addressing racism in general and anti-Black racism is a mistake,” Nguyen added.

Community members tape notices in Oakland’s Chinatown to help the neighborhood keep safe against crime on February 27, 2021.
Vargas says he’s heartened by the efforts he’s seen so far. Hundreds of volunteers across racial lines have volunteered to escort elderly Asian Americans to keep them safe, and communities at the local level have rallied together to express their solidarity.
“What’s needed is really putting intersectionality in action,” he said. “What does it actually look like to protect each other? What does it look like to be somebody’s neighbor? I know these seem like basic questions but I would argue that these are basic questions that we all have to answer to really make this country safer for everybody.”
Vargas hopes more people are having conversations about the history of hate and violence that Asian Americans have long faced. But what happens next is critical, he and other advocates say. Because how communities choose to respond in this moment could set the course for whether Asian Americans – and other groups – continue to face these problems in the future.
Oakland is less than an hour north from the Tiger Claw CA HQ.

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Greetings,

When it comes to demonstrations, it comes down to the organizers and their ability to reach out to others. One cannot expect a turnout when there may not have been an announcement. Then you must also consider media/government in how they like to present things. I am very concerned about the escalating violence in this country. I was talking to my sister about this subject and I shard my concerns about the “Purge” movies, sharing that it may have pushed a button for peoples who need that kind of release and are now looking for ANY reason to act with blatant disregard towards others.

mickey

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I could fill this thread with so much news…

I’m on a lot of Asian news feeds and am getting inundated with news related to this.

Coronavirus Living
Morning Mix[URL=“https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/15/texas-ramen-restaurant-vandalized-graffiti/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2-RxyrTVFlROXaHMabh2XT4Hk5LV1A4HF-OJrwGyLly9FZuG3FCqqnlnw”]
An Asian American chef slammed Texas for lifting its mask mandate. Then racist graffiti hit his shop.

A ramen restaurant in San Antonio is vandalized after its owner appeared on TV criticizing the order by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to end the state’s mask mandate. (Mike Nguyen)
By Andrea Salcedo
March 15, 2021 at 4:08 a.m. PDT
When Mike Nguyen found the racist slurs covering his restaurants windows and patio tables on Sunday, he said he immediately knew the cause. One message spray painted on the front door of his San Antonio ramen shop particularly stood out: No masks.

Ever since Nguyen, 33, went on national TV last week to condemn Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for lifting the states mask mandate, the Asian American chef and owner was flooded with death threats, one-star online reviews and harassing messages, Nguyen told The Washington Post.

I definitely know 100 percent it had something to do with the interview, Nguyen said. When you first see it, youre kind of shocked, and then you realize this is real. Then, anger took over. I was so mad I ended up pacing back and forth trying to wrap my head around this.

Three Asian American medical providers on the front lines spoke with The Post about the racial discrimination they faced early in the pandemic. (Allie Caren/The Washington Post)
As Texas and Mississippi move to open 100% and lift mask mandates, health officials warn: Its still too early

The incident appears to combine two disturbing national trends: A backlash to mask mandates that has often turned violent and destructive, and a surge of racist attacks and threats against Asian Americans, which some advocates tie to former president Donald Trumps anti-China rhetoric over the pandemic.

Among the terms spray painted in red on Nguyens windows on Sunday was the phrase Kung flu, a racist slur that Trump helped popularize during his campaign rallies and other appearances.

Local officials swiftly denounced the vandalism, while police have opened an investigation.

Thank you to all the neighbors who showed up to help & proved that were better than this one hateful act, Mayor Ron Nirenberg tweeted Sunday. We must work together to eradicate racism from our city.

For the past two years, Nguyen, a California native who moved to San Antonio in 2016, has owned the Noodle Tree restaurant, which sits across from the University of Texas at San Antonios campus. Nguyen is undergoing treatment for lymphoma, his second bout with cancer.

The condition forced Nguyen, who is immunocompromised, to close his restaurant for six months last year. So even though Abbott ended Texass statewide mask mandate last week a move opposed by public health officials Nguyen still requires all indoor customers to wear masks when they are not eating.

Hours before he appeared Wednesday on CNNs The Newsroom, Nguyen pondered whether denouncing Abbotts decision would be worth the backlash he would likely court. But he decided he needed to speak out.

It needed to be said, Nguyen wrote Wednesday on the restaurants Instagram account.

On air with CNNs Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto, Nguyen accused the governor of placing him and millions of Texans at risk by lifting the mandate.

Masks required signs are coming down after Texas, Mississippi lift coronavirus restrictions

His decision to drop the mask mandate is selfish and cowardly. Theres no reason to do it, Nguyen told CNN. A lot of us feel like hes putting a lot of us in danger.

Near the end of the almost six-minute segment, Nguyen said the recent rise of violent attacks and harassment against Asian Americans posed additional concerns for him and his business.

Since Im an Asian American, weve seen a lot of attacks against Asian Americans and thats a huge concern for me, Nguyen said. We see all these incidents of that and this is an opportunity. It opens up that opportunity.

On Sunday, Nguyen woke up to messages alerting him that his restaurant had been covered with graffiti. When he got to the store, he counted at least seven spray painted phrases, including one urging him to Go back 2 China and another one reading Hope u die.

They did it on the windows where everybody who drives could see it, Nguyen told The Post.

Nguyen called San Antonio police, who photographed the damage and filed an incident report.

Nguyen said he was so rattled by the vandalism that he wasnt sure whether he should open for business. But after asking his staff whether they still felt comfortable showing up for work, Nguyen decided he would open an hour later than usual.

We all decided whatever their motive was, we werent going to let them win, Nguyen said.

Nguyen said he believes the incident was a hate crime, given the language used in the graffiti, and he urged police to investigate it as such.

By the time his first customer arrived to pick up her food, Nguyen, bucket and sponge in hand, was just beginning to scrub the graffiti on the patio tables. She said, If you have another sponge Id love to help, Nguyen recalled.

About a dozen other strangers who had heard the news later showed up with cleaning supplies and paint remover. By the end of the day, the storefront was clean again.

Something like that, its very touching and very moving because my day started off with a lot of anger, hostility and I was hurt by this, Nguyen told The Post. And to see the support and the love of the community, it kind of helps you heal a little. San Antonians and Texans will not tolerate this.

Updated March 10, 2021
More on anti-Asian hate crimes:
Trends: Targeting Asians | Victim voices | Online racism | Elderly Asians | Underreporting | Declining businesses | Asian students missing from classrooms | Negative views on the rise

Andrea Salcedo
Andrea Salcedo is a reporter on The Washington Post’s Morning Mix team. Before joining The Post in 2020, she covered breaking news and features for the New York Times metro desk. Follow

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Really sad to hear that we Asians are being hated by others. I don’t think that’s nice because all lives matter. Even If it’s black or white, Asian or non-Asian, we have a right to live and not to be hated.

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8 dead

Here’s one of the few news stories that didn’t put the Asian issue on its top headline.

8 dead in Atlanta-area spa shootings, suspect arrested
Six of the victims were Asian women, officials said. The shootings occurred within an hour at three spas.
March 16, 2021, 4:41 PM PDT / Updated March 17, 2021, 6:58 AM PDT
By Phil Helsel and Rachel Elbaum
Federal agents on Wednesday joined the investigations into shootings at three Atlanta-area spas that left eight people dead Tuesday evening.

The attacks began around 5 p.m., when four people were killed in Acworth, a suburb north of Atlanta, authorities said. Less than an hour later, four women were killed in two shootings in Atlanta. The victims in Atlanta appeared to be Asian women, as were two of the victims in Acworth, officials said.

Authorities arrested a suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, after a brief manhunt, Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker said. Investigators were working to confirm that the shootings were related.


Robert Aaron Long.Cherokee Sheriff’s Office / via AFP - Getty Images
The FBI was “assisting the local investigations,” the agency said early Wednesday. No other details were released about FBI’s involvement.

The Atlanta Police Department scheduled a 10:30 a.m. press conference to discuss the case.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement that “a crime against any community is a crime against us all.”

“I commend law enforcement for their quick work in arresting a suspect in the tragic shootings,” she said. “I have remained in close contact with the White House and APD as they work with federal, state and local partners to investigate the suspect who is responsible for this senseless violence in our city.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden was briefed “overnight about the horrific shootings in Atlanta.”

“White House officials have been in touch with the mayor’s office and will remain in touch with the FBI,” Psaki said.

South Korea’s foreign ministry told NBC News that four of the women who died were of Korean origin, but their nationalities have yet to be verified.


Law enforcement officials respond to the scene of a shooting at Gold Spa in Atlanta, on March 16, 2021.Brynn Anderson / AP
Authorities did not provide additional details or identifying information about the other victims. Nor did they disclose a suspected motive.

“We are in the very early stages of this,” Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant said.

Baker said Cherokee County deputies discovered two people dead and three others wounded at the massage parlor in Acworth. The injured were taken to a hospital, where two of them died, he said.

About 45 minutes later and 30 miles away, police in Atlanta responded to a report of a robbery on Piedmont Road in the northeast part of the city.

Officials discovered three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds, and while on the scene, received a call of shots fired across the street, where a woman was found dead inside that business, Atlanta police said.

Bryant described one location as a spa, and another as an aromatherapy spa.

After the Acworth shooting, the sheriff’s office released photos of a suspect.

Long was arrested in Crisp County, about 125 miles south of Atlanta, officials said.

His vehicle was spotted southbound on I-75, and a Georgia State Patrol trooper used a PIT maneuver, in which a police car is used to physically stop another vehicle, the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office said.

The killings come amid a growing number of anti-Asian hate incidents. Research released through Stop AAPI Hate on Tuesday revealed that nearly 3,800 incidents were reported over the course of roughly a year during the pandemic and that a disproportionate number of attacks were directed at women.

During a visit to South Korea this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the shootings, and said that this type of violence had no place in America or anywhere.

“We will stand up for the right of our fellow Americans and Korean Americans to be safe and to be treated with dignity,” he said.

Because the shootings were all at spas, Atlanta police said officers were dispatched to similar businesses, and that patrols were increased.

In New York City, police were deploying counterterrorism officers to Asian communities out of an abundance of caution, a department spokesperson said.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called the violence in Atlanta “an act of hate” and said that she and police Chief Adrian Diaz were taking additional steps to protect Asian American communities in Seattle, including additional police patrols.

After the slayings, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said he was praying for the victims’ families and community.

“My heart is broken tonight after the tragic violence in Atlanta that took eight lives. Once again we see that hate is deadly. Praying for the families of the victims and for peace for the community,” he tweeted.

“Our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted, adding his appreciation for the quick apprehension of a suspect by law enforcement.

Baker, the Cherokee County captain, said deadly violence was rare for the area.

“This is not very common for us,” he said. “In 2020, we had one homicide.”

Phil Helsel
Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

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Olivia Liang & Tzi Ma

‘Kung Fu’ Stars Olivia Liang & Tzi Ma Condemn Atlanta Shootings, Explain How CW Series Can Be Part Of “Long-Term Solution” To AAPI Hate
By Alexandra Del Rosario
TV Reporter
@_amvdr

March 17, 2021 10:31am

Kailey Schwerman/The CW
During a panel Wednesday promoting their upcoming series, Kung Fu stars Olivia Liang and Tzi Ma responded to the rising number of violent acts against Asian Americans, condemning the latest incident in Atlanta when a gunman killed eight people, a majority of whom were Asian American.

“What happened last night in Atlanta with eight people killed breaks my heart and I’m not quite sure what the short-term fix is,” said Ma, who appears in the upcoming series as Jin, the father of Liang’s Nicky Shen. “We are the long-term solution.”

“It pains me, everyday it happens, everyday it’s something,” he added.

While Ma said he’s unsure of any quick fix to bring justice to the victims or undo the racist attacks, he said Asian American representation in television and media are part of long-term goals. Liang agreed with her co-star, adding that “the timing of our show is really impeccable.”

Written by Christina M. Kim and inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, in the new Kung Fu, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese American woman, Nicky (Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption and her own parents Jin (Tzi Ma) and Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) are at the mercy of a powerful Triad. Nicky will rely on her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the ruthless assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai) and is now targeting her.

Liang said that the Kung Fu reboot is a notable moment for Asian Americans in Hollywood and spoke about the importance of representation and inclusion in media.

“We need to be invited to people’s homes who don’t see us in their everyday life just to humanize us, normalize seeing us and remind them that we are people just like they are and that we have a place in this world,” she said. “Hopefully having this show in their homes will expand their worldview.”

Also condemning the racist attacks was Kung Fu executive producer and co-showrunner Kim, who said the Atlanta shooting Tuesday was “absolutely sad and tragic.” She echoed her stars’ points about representation in media and how her show can be apart of bringing about cultural awareness and acceptance.

Kim wrote the pilot episode and serves as executive producer/co-showrunner with Robert Berens. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Martin Gero and David Madden also serve as executive producers. Hanelle Culpepper is directing and co-executive producing the pilot. Kung Fu is produced by Berlanti Productions and Quinn’s House in association with Warner Bros Television.

Kung Fu premieres April 7 on the CW.

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Xiao Zhen Xie

Video behind the link

Update: Elderly Asian Woman Who Clobbered Her Attacker Talks About Terrifying Assault In San Francisco
March 18, 2021 at 6:31 am

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — An elderly woman attacked on Market St. in San Francisco Wednesday – the latest victim in a wave of attacks on Asians in the Bay Area – spoke to KPIX 5 about turning the tables on her assailant, leaving him with injuries that required a trip to the hospital.

From her senior retirement home in San Francisco, Xiao Zhen Xie candidly talked to KPIX 5 in an exclusive interview about the attack and her injuries, with her daughter Dong-Mei Li interpreting.

“Very traumatized, very scared and this eye is still bleeding,” Li told KPIX 5. “The right eye still cannot see anything and still bleeding and we have something to absorb the bleeding.”

For the latest, real-time San Francisco Bay Area news and alerts, click to download the KPIX 5 news app

Surrounded by her family, the 76-year-old who has resided in San Francisco for 26 years said she was quite shaken up and that the attack was completely unprovoked. Her immediate instinct was to fight back.

Xiao Zhen Xie says she was just waiting at the traffic light and then the suspect punched her by her left eye.

Immediately, her instincts kicked in to defend herself. While she suffered injuries and required medical attention, it was her attacker that ended up on the stretcher. “She found the stick around the area and fought back,” said Li.

Li said her mother cannot see at all out of her left eye and hasn’t been able to eat. The hope is that time will heal the physical and emotional wounds, but her family said the incident has left her scared for her life.

“As you can see she is extremely terrified,” Xie’s grandson John Chen told KPIX 5. “She’s terrified to even step out.”

Xie’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with her medical expenses.

San Francisco police said they are investigating the aggravated assault. The incident happened at Market St. and Charles J. Brenham Place near McAllister St. at around 10:30 a.m.

Coming upon the scene during his morning run was KPIX Sports Director Dennis O’Donnell.

“There was a guy on a stretcher and a frustrated angry woman with a stick in her hand,” said O’Donnell.

In a video he captured on his cellphone, Xie is seen with an injury to the side of her face and eye and holding an ice pack to her face. Police said both Xie and her assailant were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Witnesses told KPIX 5 they saw Xie pummeling the assailant. In the video, the alleged assailant is handcuffed to a stretcher with his face bloodied. A sobbing Xie berates the man and waves what looks to be a wooden board at him as he’s being taken away.

“You bum, why did you hit me?” she said to the man on the stretcher in Chinese.

Xie then turned to the crowd of people who had gathered, saying, “This bum, he hit me,” as she raised the stick she held and sobbed. “He hit me, this bum,“ she repeated.

The victim added that she had been leaning against a light pole and all of a sudden, the man punched her without provocation.

“The woman said that she was hit,” O’Donnell says. “She attacked back. From what I could see, she wanted more of the guy on the stretcher and the police were holding her back.”

Police did not disclose a motive for the attack and it was not clear whether the victim’s race had anything to do with the assault.

Officers also say there was a second victim Wednesday morning, an 83-year-old Asian man. A 39-year-old man is now being investigated for both attacks, and police say they are working to determine if bias was a factor.

“We have to do our job and we have to investigate these cases with all resources brought to bear and we need to make arrests, and we’ve done that,” San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said Wednesday.

Both the police chief and the mayor highlighted the arrests made in connection with previous attacks in the city, promising more targeted patrols.

“We need to understand, not only what is going on, but why these attacks occur,” said Mayor London Breed. “Because in some cases they didn’t include any robbery or theft.”

As for one case that did include robbery; police have announced three arrests in connection with the violent attack caught on camera in a San Francisco laundromat. Police say the suspects, arrested in Antioch, are also tied to eight car burglaries in the city.

“Again, you have a small group of individuals,” Scott said. “All of those three that were arrested live outside the city.”

Hate crimes against Asian Americans rose 150% in 2020, even as hate crimes overall declined. In January, a 91-year-old man was shoved to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown. An assault in San Francisco killed 94-year-old Vichar Ratanapakdee, while another assault left 75-year-old Pak Ho dead in Oakland last week.

Most recently, 59-year-old Danny Yu Chang was severely beaten on San Francisco’s Market St. on Monday, leaving him with serious injuries.

And for every crime reported, state Assemblyman David Chui (D-San Francisco) says there are more that aren’t.

“It’s not just the incredible violence in a number of incidents, but how racism has manifested itself in so many ways,” said Chiu.

Chiu and other Asian American and Pacific Islanders are proposing a statewide hotline for reporting and dealing with hate crimes, as well as legislations for restorative justice programs. They also want Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint an attorney general from the community.

The wave of incidents has sparked rallies throughout the Bay Area condemning anti-Asian violence and more than $1.4 million in state funding to track and stop the attacks.

The group Stop AAPI Hate said over the past year there have been nearly 4,000 hate incidents against Asians across the U.S. Chiu says 1,600 of those attacks were in California.

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11

gene u been posting weird china and evil china articles for like ten years do u feel guilty yet lol

12

Nope

I’ve been posting weird news for like 20 years. Given the forum here, a lot is about China. As for ‘evil china’ I try to be balanced in my coverage, like any journalist. :wink:

How about you? You feelin the guilt?

13

Dude I grew up with hilly billy where they did nipper tipping once every two months and randomly stab Indian cab drivers and my black English teacher gave me Malcolm x book, I saw this coming a mile a away. Thats what got me into kung fu in the first place bro. I do feel bad that even enclave Asians are feeling the heat now.

How is this website still up man isnt magazine shut down

14

[QUOTE=bawang;1320587]

How is this website still up man isn’t magazine shut down[/QUOTE]

Over 100 guests on the website right now… all seeing ads for the martial arts gear store. That’s low cost advertising with reach

just guessing but seems like the reason

15

Please keep up

[QUOTE=bawang;1320587]
How is this website still up man isn’t magazine shut down[/QUOTE]

Our print magazine folded but our web publishing is still going strong. We’re still publishing fresh exclusive weekly articles on KungFuMagazine.com. Our forum here is part of that. And our sponsor, MartialArtSmart.com is still open for business.

16

Dude I’m so glad I thought it would all delete but now we can preserve kung fu history for all time noice

17

More SF action

There’s a newscast vid behind the link.

San Francisco martial arts demonstration aims to take a stand against Asian hate
By Greg Liggins Published 4 hours ago San Francisco

A different kind of demonstration against Asian hate took place Sunday afternoon in downtown San Francisco. Over the last several weeks, there have been all kinds of rallies and marches denouncing Asian hate, but this event had a twist, and some punches, and kicks. Greg Liggins reports

SAN FRANCISCO - A different kind of demonstration against Asian hate took place Sunday afternoon in downtown San Francisco.

Over the last several weeks, there have been all kinds of rallies and marches denouncing Asian hate, but this event had a twist, and some punches, and kicks.

Martial artists from nine different schools, representing various disciplines performed combat drills and gave demonstrations outside City Hall.

Krav Maga, Wing Chung, Muy Thai, Jujitsu, Judo and MMA, were some of the disciplines on display.

The Asia Strong event was the brainchild of Hudson Liao and friends after the group had a discussion about the deadly Atlanta area killings and local attacks on Asians.

“Realizing how ****ed off we were about the situation and instead of talking about it we were convicted to do something,” said Liao.

Liao, a long-time student and self-described martial arts fanatic, came up with the idea of an event to help the community realize its collective strength, and empower people to learn to literally combat violence themselves.

“A lot of things are happening. People are getting attacked. People don’t even want to go outside of their house. This hurts our community,” said one speaker at the event.

There were speakers from the podium meant to motivate and show compassion, but the demonstrations were there to show people there are resources to help learn to be less fearful and more confident if self-protection becomes necessary.

One of the more than 200 attendees said she liked the idea of making such a variety of martial arts demos easily accessible to the public.

“I think it lets everybody for like 30 seconds or one or two-minute demonstrations on like, is this good for them, if this is something they want to learn,” said Cheyenne Fong.

Martial artists say they feel confident knowing they can protect themselves and their loved ones if necessary.

They’re hoping the demonstrations show others being physically empowered also leads to mental empowerment, something they say their community needs more of right now.

“We want people to walk away from today just feeling empowered that they can do something,” said Liao. “And that there is an abundance of resources if they want it.”

Since the increase in violence against Asians, Liao says more people have expressed an interest in learning some form of self-defense.

[QUOTE=rett2;1320589]Over 100 guests on the website right now… all seeing ads for the martial arts gear store. That’s low cost advertising with reach

just guessing but seems like the reason[/QUOTE]
Right you are, rett2. As long as all of you good people support MartialArtSmart.com, I can keep the lights on around here. Tell your friends. :wink:

18

Steph & Bruce

Steph Curry Wears Shoes Made With Bruce Lee Foundation in Solidarity with Asian Community
BY GRACE KIM
APRIL 5, 2021
2 MINUTE READ

Steph Curry recently wore shoes created with the Bruce Lee Foundation to stand in solidarity with the Asian community in Atlanta.

On Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, Curry wore a special set of Curry 8s that were hand-painted yellow and black. These shoes featured an image of Bruce Lee as well as one of his famous quotes: “Under the heavens, there is but one family.”

[QUOTE]Nick DePaula
@NickDePaula
·
Apr 4
Curry’s shoes feature a
@BruceLee
quote: “Under the heavens, there is but one family.”

“We are all different & unique. On purpose. But, we are all human beings on a quest to fulfill our purpose and that energy should be used to uplift & love each other to the fullest,” he said.


Stephen Curry and Bruce Lee

[QUOTE]Quote Tweet
Nick DePaula
@NickDePaula
· Apr 4
EXCLUSIVE: @StephenCurry30 plans to show solidarity with Asian community in Atlanta today with custom sneakers.

In tandem with the @BruceLee Foundation, Curry will auction off his shoes to aid families of recent Atlanta shooting tragedy.
[/QUOTE]

The shoes will be auctioned off within the next few weeks, and the profits will be divided among the families of the victims of last month’s mass shooting in Atlanta that took the lives of eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent.

The Golden State Warriors guard told The Undefeated that Curry was outraged by the tragedy and immediately wanted to help out.

“Disgust, horror and outright anger at why any violence keeps happening in our country,” Curry said. “After all we have been through this past year, let alone in the history of our country, people still deal with unnecessary tragedy and are afraid for their lives. We have to do better.”

Curry reached out to members of the Bruce Lee Foundation to find a way to support the victims’ families. He has been a lifelong fan of Lee and what he stood for, according to Yahoo Sports.

“He lived what he spoke and meant every word,” Curry said when describing Lee. “He pushed himself to be greater than he knew he could and to impact people along the way.”

Curry hoped that wearing the hand-painted Curry 8s would not only help out the victims’ families, but also remind everyone of Lee’s philosophies, NBC reported.

“We have so many faithful Asian American fans that have supported me along this amazing journey,” Curry said. “We represent them on the court and I feel the love no matter where I go.”

Shannon Lee — the president of the Bruce Lee Foundation and Lee’s only daughter — spoke to The Undefeated and referred to Curry’s gesture as a “beautiful example of allyship and solidarity in action.”

“I am honored he would choose my father and my family as the symbol for the idea that we are all one family, as my father said, and therefore must all stand for one another,” she said.

Feature Image via Getty[/QUOTE]

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19

Sakura Kokumai

There’s a vid behind the link

Woman Training for Olympics Becomes Target of Anti-Asian Rant at Orange County Park
Sakura Kokumai, 28, is the first American to qualify for the Olympics in karate, and is training for the summer games in Tokyo.
By Angie Crouch • Published 3 hours ago • Updated 3 hours ago

An Olympic hopeful from SoCal — the first American to qualify for the Olympics in karate — posted a video of the man shouting at her as she trained in a park. Angie Crouch reports April 8, 2021.

An Asian American woman training for the Olympics’ karate competition says she was threatened by a man yelling racial slurs at an Orange County Park, and is sharing the recorded video of the incident in order to spread awareness about growing harassment against Asian Americans.

Sakura Kokumai, 28, is the first American to qualify for the Olympics in karate, and is training for the summer games in Tokyo.

She said she’s still in shock over what happened at Grijalva Park in the city of Orange last week.

“Nobody likes to be yelled at by a complete stranger," she said.

In a video she shared on Instagram, you can see a stranger berating her and threatening her as she worked out.

“Go home, stupid,” can be heard. “I’ll (bleep) you up - I’ll (bleep) your husband up or boyfriend or whoever you’re talking to on the phone."

She responds with, "I haven’t done anything.”

“When somebody is just yelling at you that aggressively you do get your guard up a little bit - you do get worried,” Kokumai said.

Kokumai is Japanese American, but she says the man yelled something about her being Chinese as he drove away.

“The only two words I picked up were ‘Chinese’ and ‘sashimi’ which have no connection at all,” she said.

In an online summit with other Olympic athletes, U.S. gymnast Yul Moldauer revealed he too has been the victim of racial harassment.

“Last month I was driving and a lady cut me off. She yelled at me, ‘go back to China.’ For me my job is to represent this country so I take a lot of pride into it," Moldauer said.

The man in the Instagram video has not been identified and Kokumai wasn’t hurt.

She says while it’s heartbreaking to see a rise in attacks on Asian Americans, she hopes sharing her story will bring awareness.

“We all belong here and we don’t have to be afraid when we go out. But I encourage people to look out for one another," she said.

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20

Michael Vivona busted for elder abuse

More on Sakura Kokumai

Police Arrest Man Accused of Berating Team USA Karate Athlete Training at Park for Olympics
Sakura Kokumai, who qualified for this summer’s Olympics in karate, was training at an Orange County park when a stranger began yelling at her and making threats.
By Staff Reports • Published April 19, 2021 • Updated 6 hours ago

An Olympic hopeful from SoCal — the first American to qualify for the Olympics in karate — posted a video of the man shouting at her as she trained in a park. Angie Crouch reports April 8, 2021.

A man accused of assaulting a Southern California Asian couple and threatening a U.S. Olympian who was training at an Orange County park has been arrested.

Michael Vivona, 25, of Corona was arrested Sunday on suspicion of elder abuse and committing a hate crime in connection with an assault on a Korean American couple. He also was arrested in the April 1 encounter with 28-year-old Sakura Kokumai, who qualified for this summer’s Olympics in karate.

Details about the arrest were not immediately available. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect has an attorney.

Kokumai, a seven-time national champion, shared video of the encounter with a man who yelled at her in Grijalva Park in the city of Orange. In video shared on Instagram, the man can be seen berating her as she works out at the public park.

[QUOTE]It makes me emotional just to think about it because at the time I did feel that I was alone.

Sakura Kokumai

“Go home stupid,” the man can be heard saying. “I’ll f— you up. I’ll f— your husband up or boyfriend or whoever you’re talking to on the phone.”

Kokumai is Japanese American, but she said the man yelled something about her being Chinese as he drove away.

“The only two words I picked up were ‘Chinese’ and ’sashimi,’ which have no connection at all,” Kokumai told NBCLA. “Nobody likes to be yelled at by a complete stranger.”

Kokumai was at the park to go for a jog as she prepares to represent the United States in front of the world at the Olympics in Tokyo.

Kokumai said she shared the video to spread awareness about harassment against Asian Americans.

“I want everybody to know, especially in the AAPI community, that you’re not alone,” Kokumai told NBC News. “I think it’s really important to have compassion, share love and look out for one another.

“It makes me emotional just to think about it because at the time I did feel that I was alone."

In the aftermath, Kokumai said she received heartwarming messages of support.

“They made me feel that I do belong here,” Kokumai said.

Details about the other crime for which the suspect was arrested were not immediately available. [/QUOTE]

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