The most recent incident has left a 23-year-old fisherman in a coma, with damage to his ribs, lungs, limbs and brain, when he was thrown from a car during a pursuit.
The local youth apparently call it "nippertipping," when they drive around in the middle of the night looking for cars parked near the water, then creep up behind fishermen and shove them into the lake. Here's an account of what's been happening in the area lately:
That was until two Sundays ago. Late that night, a few local 20-somethings approached a group of Toronto friends fishing near Mossington Bridge.Believe it or not, the police are saying that the assaults are not racially motivated. You've got to be kidding me. They insist that the attacks are random, and could happen to anybody. Give me a break. It's called "nippertipping." You think that's a freaking coincidence? The word indeed is derived from the derogatory word for Japanese, used in this context for anyone of Asian descent (because, you know, we all look alike).
There are two versions of what happened next. One is that the 20-somethings pushed one of the fishermen--of Asian descent--into the water. A white fisherman was shoved in as well.
The other is that the fishermen started the fight, leaving one of the town kids bloodied and bruised.
Whichever happened, police say a bigger confrontation then broke out between the two groups.
Four of the fishermen sped from the scene in their Honda Civic. One of the town kids got in his truck and pursued the Civic, police say. The pursuit continued for two kilometres along narrow, winding lakefront roads, until the truck driver drove the car off the road, according to police. Two of the fishermen, including Berwick, were thrown from the car and taken to hospital.
The truck driver was jailed. Trevor Middleton of Sutton was released on $20,000 bail last Thursday, charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Since then, talk of the assaults is running through the town of 5,000. Three incidents reported this year involved people of Asian descent:
On April 27, a 13-year-old white boy was thrown in the lake late at night. He had been near a 72-year-old Asian-Canadian, whose fishing gear was damaged. It's not known whether they knew each other.
On July 22, a middle-aged couple of Asian descent suffered a minor assault; their car windshield was smashed and a baseball cap stolen.
On Aug. 6, an adult male was pushed in the water. No one was hurt. Scott MacEachern, 19, of Sutton, was charged after the Asian-Canadian held him at the scene.
And it's apparently been happening for a long time. In the story, one 20-year-old local man admits that there is an anti-foreigner sentiment amongst people in the area. "Everybody talks about doing it --'Oh, I went down to the docks the other night and roughed up some Asians.' I guess they think it sounds cool. But it doesn't happen often at all." But it does happen, is happening more frequently and is a fueled by real sentiment. That's racist! Fishermen, watch your backs, stay alert, and be prepared. They're out there.
