How Was Your 4th of July? Racism Didn't Take The Day Off.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.


"Trump is going to fuck you. You fuckers need to leave. Fucking Asian piece of shit."
Jordan Chan was at a restaurant in Carmel Valley, California celebrating her aunt's birthday when they encountered this piece of shit, who started making racist remarks at them. The man, who social media is identifying as Michael Lofthouse, was caught on camera telling them, "Trump is going to fuck you. You fuckers need to leave. Fucking Asian piece of shit." Chan posted the video on Instagram and the internet took it from there. May you suffer the consequences of your actions. Happy 4th of July. Fuck Trump and fuck this guy.

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"You guys can't be in this country."
Meanwhile, in Marin County, an Asian American family was out enjoying a hike in the woods when they encountered a woman who stopped them and told them they "can't be in this country" after scolding them for having a dog on the trail. (There were apparently several other hikers with dogs on the trail. I highly doubt she confronted all those folks.) She told them they were breaking the law and -- classic move, true to form! -- pulled out her phone to call the police, aka The Manager. Then she scurried away when she realized she was being filmed. Meet the internet, lady.

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Woman who went on anti-Asian tirades arrested on separate battery charge
Remember that racist lady in Torrance? You know who I'm talking about. The woman whose racist anti-Asian tirades went viral last month has a warrant out for her arrest -- but not for those incidents. She's wanted in connection with a separate confrontation from last year. 54-year-old Lena Hernandez was charged Thursday in an alleged case of battery stemming from an incident at a local mall on October 14, 2019, in which she verbally assaulted a custodian and struck another person who tried to intervene. According to the city attorney, there is "insufficient evidence" to support filing criminal charges regarding the incidents at the park. Folks calling for her head will have to settle for the battery charge, and hope you don't run into Lena on the street.

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ICE: Foreign Students Must Leave The U.S. If Their Colleges Go Online-Only This Fall
Foreign students attending U.S. colleges that will operate entirely online this fall semester cannot remain in the country to do so, according to new regulations released Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So these have a choice, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: risk your life going to class in-person or get deported. Another cruel, garbage move by the White House and its ongoing campaign of to rid the nation of immigrants, one xenophobic step at a time.

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The F*CK Racism Collection
A shirt design for our times. A collaboration between People Anyday and ZeebLabs, the limited edition shirt has a fun message when you fold it up. All proceeds from sales of the shirt will go to the Equal Justice Initiative.

They Call Us Bruce 101: They Call Us Adoptees

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

1On this episode, we welcome Asian American adoptees Dan Matthews and Grace Newton to share their stories, discuss recent adoption-related controversies in the news, and complicate the narrative around issues of international and transracial adoption.

Angry Reader of the Week: Kulap Vilaysack

"Fuck raisins."


Photo: Andrew Max Levy
Greetings, good people of the internet. It is time, once again, to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Kulap Vilaysack.

Read These Blogs

Asian Americans Are Still Caught in the Trap of the 'Model Minority' Stereotype
Viet Thanh Nguyen reflects on the Hmong American officer who stood watch while his colleague murdered George Floyd and the limitations of the "model minority" stereotype.

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With 'kung flu,' Trump sparks backlash over racist language - and a rallying cry for supporters
President Trump’s first use of the phrase "kung flu" -- during a campaign rally in Tulsa last weekend -- drew broad political backlash as a racist slur against Asian Americans. Within three days, however, it was also something else: a rallying cry for his supporters.

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'I Will Not Stand Silent.' 10 Asian Americans Reflect on Racism During the Pandemic
Photographer Haruka Sakaguchi has been photographing individuals in New York City who have faced pandemic-fueled harassment or violence. The resulting portraits, which were taken over FaceTime, have been lain atop the sites, also photographed by Sakaguchi, where the individuals were harassed or assaulted.

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The Asian American Response to Black Lives Matter Is Part of a Long, Complicated History
Overlapping histories of empowerment and marginalization contextualizes the various ways Asian Americans are responding to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Americanizing Asians: The mental toll of being asked to change your name
Experts criticize a professor recently alleged to have demanded that a Vietnamese student "anglicize" her name.

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Op-Ed: Why California needs affirmative action more than ever
In November, a new generation of California voters will have the opportunity to restore affirmative action in the state. Professor Jennifer Lee says reversing Prop 209 will help, not harm, Asian Americans.

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Bay Area creator of ‘We Bare Bears’ marks end of series with new movie
We Bare Bears: The Movie concludes the beloved animated series' four-season run. Creator Daniel Chong says the movie's narrative -- and the broader themes of the show -- are a response to what's happening in the world.

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Hasan Minhaj Discusses The Sixth Season Of 'Patriot Act'
NPR talks to comedian Hasan Minhaj about the latest season of his show Patriot Act.

When Asians Get 'Splained by a White Guy with an Asian Wife

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.


"Alright, let's talk about Frank."

Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen -- ahem, I mean Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen -- has some pretty good notions of what it means to be Vietnamese American. I think you can trust those notions. But enter Frank, a white man who thinks otherwise. He recently left a comment was so good, Viet had to highlight and share it. Yes, Viet Thanh Nguyen got whitemansplained by a guy with a Vietnamese wife. That's basically a rite of passage. And then Viet took him to school.

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400 Hours. $500.
When cartoonist and illustrator Laura Park learned about the death of Latasha Harlins, the Black teen who was fatally shot by a Korean store owner in Los Angeles in 1991, she decided to make an appointment with herself. An appointment to address her own privilege and divest in systemic racism.

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Guide to Difficult Conversations About Anti-Blackness
"Real change begins with us. It requires us to first confront the ways that we ourselves have been complicit in anti-Blackness, and also have difficult conversations with our immigrant families about ways that it is pervasive in our own cultures and homes. We cannot afford to tiptoe around this issue in the name of respect or deference. It is not possible to avoid conflict and be anti-racist. We have to make a choice. This moment requires courage. It requires us to take a stand for what is right."

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Asian Art Museum to Remove Bust of Patron. That's Just a Start.
The Asian Art Museum plans to remove a bust of Avery Brundage, its founding patron, who was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and a racist. The museum will also hold public programs to examine Avery Brundage’s legacy, as well as questions around restitution, and work on "decolonizing" the museum.

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House of Hummingbird
The critically-acclaimed South Korean film House of Hummingbird, directed by Bora Kim, is now playing in virtual theaters. The film follows 14-year-old Eun-hee, who moves through life like a hummingbird searching for a taste of sweetness wherever she may find it. Ignored by her parents and abused by her brother, she finds her escape by roaming the neighborhood with her best friend, going on adventures, exploring young love and experiencing everything that comes with growing up in a country on the brink of enormous change.

White Chef Can't Handle Getting Corrected About a Typo

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



White Chef Who Cooks Vietnamese Food Accused of Harassing Asian Americans
Imagine whiteness so fragile, you lose your shit over being corrected about a typo. Peja Krstic, the (white) chef-owner of Dallas Vietnamese restaurant Mot Hai Ba, wrote an Instagram post in which he misspelled "bánh mì." But then three Vietnamese American women replied to correct the typo and Krstic lashed out, sending the women a series of angry messages in public and private, accusing them of "racial profiling," threatening legal action and calling one woman's boyfriend. And then it all came tumbling out..

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California voters will be asked to restore affirmative action in November
In November, California voters will decide whether governments and public colleges and universities can consider race in their hiring, contracting and admissions decisions. The state has banned affirmative action policies since 1996, when 55% of voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned "preferential treatment”=: based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The state Senate voted 30-10 on Wednesday to repeal that amendment. But voters must approve it in November before it can become law.

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COVID-19 Multilingual Resource Hub
The UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health have teamed up for the COVID-19 Multilingual Resource Hub, available at translatecovid.org. The site is a growing collection of resources, including videos, about COVID-19 and health and safety practices in different languages. The site aims to equip our diverse communities with helpful information as we continue to navigate living in a world with COVID-19, and as we examine its current and long-term impact. Visitors can use the site to share information with everyone, from their elders to their neighbors, or even with social service clients, who could use resources in languages other than English.

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Sharon Choi Interviews Sandra Oh
This is delightful. Sharon Choi, who became one of the unexpected emergent stars of this past awards season as Bong Joon Ho's interpreter -- remember when Parasite won all those Oscars? -- chats with Sandra Oh about season three of Killing Eve, Korean culture, and Asian representation in Hollywood.

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Joy Luck Club Reunion
Joy Luck Club reunion! For the first time in decades, author Amy Tan and the "daughters" of film adaptation -- Lauren Tom, Ming-Na Wen, Rosalind Chao, and Tamlyn Tomita -- reunited for a conversation with executive producer Janet Yang and super-investor Aileen Lee on the iconic novel, groundbreaking movie, personal passage reading, personal stories, and the progress of Asian women over the last three decades.

Santa Fe Indian Restaurant Vandalized in Racist Attack

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Indian Restaurant Vandalized with White Supremacist Messages
In Santa Fe, an Indian restaurant was ransacked and vandalized with white supremacist obscenities and hate speech. The unknown vandal or vandals caused an estimated $100,000, damaging the restaurant's kitchen, dining room and storage area. They destroyed bottles of wine, broke tables, and shattered glasses and dishes. They also spray-painted walls and artwork with racist remarks directed at the restaurant's Sikh owners. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Oh, the cherry on top: amid the racial slurs, the words "Trump 2020" were spray-painted around the restaurant.

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Why Tina Fey Is in Hot Water With the Asian Community, Too
Tina Fey appears to be taking some responsibility for racially insensitive material in her comedy, but some people online are saying that the multi-Emmy winner still has plenty to answer for. Namely, her shitty track record when it comes to jokes targeting the Asian community. From Mean Girls to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, folks have not forgotten... and now it's apparently time for a reckoning.

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THE COVID-19 ADULT RESILIENCE EXPERIENCES STUDY (CARES)
Researchers at Boston University are conducting a study of how young people, ages 18-30, are coping with the COVID-19 crisis and the current climate regarding racism and the protests against police brutality. They're recruiting participants to talk about their personal experiences, physical health, and mental well being following the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will be asked to complete a 30-45 minute online survey. Take part and help an all-Asian team of researchers doing important work. Find out more here.

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Sandra Oh layers in her ethnicity on ‘Killing Eve’ because white Hollywood does not
Sandra Oh on how an Asian character subtly affects sound design: "I remember talking to the sound people, it's like, 'Hey guys, you are layering in the sound of me wearing shoes in the house. I don't wear shoes. My character doesn't wear shoes. I know you don't see the feet. But don't layer in the sound of shoes in the house, because that doesn't happen,'" she adds. "But maybe these people, mostly white English dudes, don't know that. It's something that you might not even think is important, but it is because that's how we start building the nuance of a character."

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'Claudia Kishi Club' to Premiere on Netflix
Just in time for Netflix's adaptation of hit book series The Baby-Sitters Club, they'll also premiere the short documentary The Claudia Kishi Club next month. Directed by Sue Ding, the 16-minute film features interviews with Asian American creatives about the influence Claudia Kishi -- the Japanese American member of The Baby-Sitters Club -- had on their lives and work. The short drops on Netflix on July 10.