Because you never know when you're gonna need it. Protip: in case of sudden, unexpected racist public encounters, always keep your camera ready to catch that shit go down. A Southern California college professor was recently caught on camera telling an Asian American couple to "go back to your home country."
58-year-old Tarin Olson, a teacher and counselor at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, was filmed telling Tony Kao and his wife that they should "go back to your home country" while they were walking in Long Beach. They were apparently on a neighborhood stroll with their baby when Olson just "nonchalantly" offered them this unwelcome advice, without provocation, as she was passing them on the sidewalk.
Kao says this wasn't their first encounter with Olson, only this time they heard her clearly.
"A few weeks back we believed we walked past the same lady and also heard her mumble something to that effect but ignored it and thought we misheard," Kao shared in a March 1 Facebook post that has since gone viral. "But this time as she walked away, I yelled to her, 'WHAT YOU SAY?'
Kao's wife recorded part of their interaction. As you can see, once Olson realizes they've got a camera on her, she tries to get the fuck out of there. But not before telling them, again, where to go.
Once the internet got a hold of the video, it was on.
Olson was quickly identified as a teacher and counselor who has been teaching at Golden West College since 1991. She currently teaches four career planning classes. As you can guess, many are calling for her to be fired. Clearly, Olson has no problem being racist to a stranger on the street, all casual like, dropping "go back to your home country" like a hello. Is this the kind of person you want in the community serving as an educator?
Golden West College calls Olson's comments "hurtful" and "extremely disappointing." In several Facebook posts regarding the viral video, the school acknowledges that while Olson is a faculty member, her comments "do not reflect the values or mission of the College." I mean, really, what else are they going to say?
Administrators say Olson has been placed on leave for two weeks while the Coast Community College District performs an internal investigation into her remarks, and whether they violated her employer's code of conduct.
For what it's worth, Kao says he originally posted the video to expose the kind of everyday racism anyone can experience "in public and broad daylight," and to encourage other in similar situations to "speak up and speak out." It was never his intention to publicly shame Olson or get her fired.
"We have NO intention of seeking out or besmirching the offender’s personal life or career," Kao writes in an update to his original Facebook post. "It is our hope the offender is aware and apologetic for what she has said to us, but all we can do is hope."
But Kao and his family shouldn't have had to deal with any of this in the first place. Why can't folks just take a normal afternoon walk in their own neighborhood, in the country they call home, without being the recipient of unsolicited racist bullshit from complete strangers? And what makes people feel entitled to say shit like this?
Of course, this wouldn't be proper racist-caught-on-camera moment if said racist didn't take a stab at playing the victim. CBS2 spoke to Olson at her home, but she wouldn't agree to an on-camera interview. However, in a statement provided to the station, she claims that her comments in the video were skewed and taken out of context, and offers to discuss "the displacement of European-Americans."
"I feel my perspective will be twisted if discussing the skewed video which cut out part of the incident," Olson's statement reads. "If you would like to have a full normal interview about the displacement of European-Americans, then I gladly am available to enlighten the public."
Oh, no. No thank you, Tarin. Fuck your enlightenment.
More here: College Teacher Who Told Couple ‘Go Back To Your Home Country’ Placed On Leave
