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6.28.2020

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.


6.26.2020

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.


6.25.2020

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.


6.24.2020

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.


6.23.2020

Trump Refers to Coronavirus as 'Kung Flu.' Again.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Trump again uses racially insensitive term to describe coronavirus
No doubt because it went over so well last time, Donald Trump again referred to the novel coronavirus as "kung flu," eliciting laughter and wild cheers from a young crowd in Arizona on Tuesday. Because fuck you. Trump was listing the different names he has heard for the virus -- which, by the way has killed at least 119,000 Americans -- during a speech for the student Republican group Turning Point Action. This is racist. He knows it's racist. He simply does not give a shit.

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Trump Suspends Visas Allowing Foreigners to Work in the U.S.
On Monday, Trump temporarily suspended new work visas and barred hundreds of thousands of foreigners from seeking employment in the United States, part of a broad effort to limit the entry of immigrants into the country.In a sweeping order, which will be in place at least until the end of the year, Mr. Trump blocked visas for a wide variety of jobs, including those for computer programmers and other skilled workers who enter the country under the H-1B visa, as well as those for seasonal workers in the hospitality industry, students on work-study summer programs and au pairs who arrive under other auspices. Nobody should be surprised by any of this; he's doing exactly what he's been promising forever: ridding the country of immigrants, one by one.

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From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry
Wow. Author Paula Yoo just unveiled the cover of her upcoming book for young readers, From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement The book is a groundbreaking portrait of Vincent Chin and the murder case that took America's Asian American community to the streets in protest of injustice. From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry is a searing examination of the killing and the trial and verdicts that followed. When killers Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz pled guilty to manslaughter and received only a $3,000 fine and three years' probation, the lenient sentence sparked outrage in the Asian American community. This outrage galvanized the Asian American movement and paved the way for a new federal civil rights trial of the case. Extensively researched from court transcripts and interviews with key case witnesses -- many speaking for the first time -- Yoo has crafted a suspenseful, nuanced, and authoritative portrait of a pivotal moment in civil rights history, and a man who became a symbol against hatred and racism. From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry will hit shelves on April 6, 2021.

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Amazon Sets Mystery-Comedy ‘Nancy Wu Done It’
Amazon has picked up a very different kind of young adult series that immerses you in a YA novel -- literally. The new comedy series titled Nancy Wu Done It comes from writers and executive producers Kai Yu Wu and Jessica Henwick, and is described as a mashup of Pleasantville and Nancy Drew. The story follows a frustrated Asian American female YA author who suddenly finds herself transported into one of her own books. As a result, she must work with the titular character she created -- who she now hates -- to solve an unfinished mystery. This sounds awesome.

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Over the Moon
Check out the trailer for Netflix and Pearl Studios’ upcoming animated fe ature Over the Moon. Slated to release this fall, Over the Moon follows the story of a young girl who builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. Directed by animation legend Glen Keane and produced by Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou, the musical adventure stars the voices of Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Sandra Oh, Robert G. Chiu, Margaret Cho, and Kimiko Glenn.


6.22.2020

Trump Calls the Coronavirus 'Kung Flu'

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Trump Calls the Coronavirus 'Kung Flu'
Donald Trump remains shamelessly steadfast in his quest to blame China for this country's troubles. Over the weekend at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he used racist language to describe the coronavirus pandemic by terming the virus as the "kung flu." Because fuck you, right? And the crowd ate it up. Racist, garbage human beings go together. Trump has repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as the "Chinese virus" or the "Wuhan virus," but this was a new one (though apparently not new within the walls of the White House.) As history -- hell, the very immediate present -- has shown, this aggressive scapegoating is dangerous news for Asian American, only throwing gas on the current shitfire state of the nation. Like Trump gives a shit.

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K-Pop Stans Successfully Sabotaged Trump's Tulsa Rally
Speaking of Trump's sad, so sad rally, you can thank K-pop fans (along with TikTok users) for apparently sabotaging the gathering at the BOK Center in Tulsa. The campaign originally projected that the rally would fill the 19,000-seat stadium, with Trump scheduled to make an address to the overflow crowd outside. Instead, the outdoor address was canceled, and the stadium was more than half empty. Political commentators deduced that K-pop fans as well as TikTok users had mobilized to reserve tickets to the rally -- with no intention of show up -- skewing the Trump campaign's projections and securing the empty seats. As I've said before, and will probably say many times again: don't fuck with K-pop fans.

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Kellie Chauvin and a History of Asian Women Being Judged for Whom They Marry
As more details around the death of George Floyd are revealed, other developments, including that the ex-officer charged with murder in the case was married to a Hmong American woman, have prompted discussion. It's also led to a spate of hateful online remarks in the Asian American community around interracial relationships.

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What It Means to Understand Bruce Lee
"Lee is the most influential martial artist in modern history, just one facet of the legend he became after his untimely death in 1973 at age 32. Nearly five decades later, the world is still reckoning with the momentum he generated in his brief life, and with the ways culture has reinvented him."

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The Baby-Sitters Club
Netflix just dropped the trailer for The Baby-Sitters Club, a new series based on the best-selling children's book series. The show follows the friendships and adventures of Kristy Thomas, Mary-Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill, and Dawn Schafer as they start their babysitting business and all while navigating middle school and growing up. Oh, and check out the shirt that Claudia, played by Momona Tamada, is rocking. The Baby-Sitters Club premieres July 3 on Netflix.


6.21.2020

Read These Blogs



'Auntie Sewing Squad' built a massive mask operation for people the 'government didn't care about'
The "Auntie Sewing Squad" is a national network of nearly 400 volunteers that sews cloth masks and distributes them to at-risk communities for free. So far, this online group of mostly women of color has made over 50,000 masks for protesters, shelters, First Nations, undocumented immigrants and more.

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'Normal' Was Actually Not Great for a Lot of People
"My hope for coming out of this pandemic is that we don’t return to the status quo. Many don't realize that 'normal' was actually not great for a lot of people." Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, on why we have to emerge from COVID-19 thinking about accessibility.

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In a pear orchard, reminders of Japanese Americans imprisoned at Manzanar
The trees planted in Manzanar have grown among and despite many challenges, serving as a reminder of the nation's most widely known incarceration camp.

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I Support #BlackLivesMatter And Was Threatened With A Lawsuit By A White Therapist For Speaking Up
Ivy Kwong is a first-generation psychotherapist who supports #BlackLivesMatter, a baseline issue that white therapists found "too political."

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My Two Marinades
Cornell sauce and soy sauce play similar roles in infusing chicken with flavor. But combine the two and something special will happen.

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Home Is Where Your Friends Are: An Interview with Frances Cha
An interview with Frances Cha, author of the novel If I Had Your Face.

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The Next Voice You'll Hear
Cartoonist and illustrator Adrian Tomine's attempt to not be weird while being interviewed by Terry Gross.

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Hasan Minhaj On Moving His Showrunner Into His House To Make 'Patriot Act' During Quarantine, Tackling The Police System & Plans To Cover Presidential Election
Hasan Minhaj talks about the timely topics his Netflix show, Patriot Act, covers and how it's been moving the show to his house since shelter-in-place.

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With a new series of her own, Padma Lakshmi is at the top of her game
Padma Lakshmi's Hulu series Taste the Nation highlights immigrant and Native American communities around the country, highlighting people and stories that are often ignored or demonized.

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The Social Codes of the Crazy Rich
How Kevin Kwan celebrates and skewers the ultrawealthy.


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6.19.2020

Sorry, She's Not Going to "Anglicize" a Damn Thing

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Professor Put on Leave After Demanding Student 'Anglicize' Her Name
Matthew Hubbard, a mathematics professor at Laney College in Oakland, has been placed on administrative leave after emailing a Vietnamese student and instructing her to "anglicize" her name against her wishes. A series of emails between the professor and student shared on social media reveals that Hubbard reached out to a student named Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, and wrote, "Could you Anglicize your name. Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English." In a response, Nguyen stated Hubbard's request "feels discriminatory" and warned the professor she would file a complaint if he refuses to refer to her by her given birth name. Hubbard doubled down and repeated the request. The email chain went viral, and Laney College announced Thursday that Hubbard has been placed on administrative leave while the school investigates the incident.

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Racist "Kill Chinese Virus" Flyers Found at University of Delaware
Last weekend at the University of Delaware, residents at several apartment complexes found flyers stating "Kill Chinese Virus" distributed on their doorsteps and vehicles. In a letter to the university community, officials said the apartment complexes targeted by the flyers are all home to Asian and Asian American students. While the incident is being investigated by Newark Police, a spokesman says it "doesn't appear they constitute terroristic threatening or a similar offense." So... what is the crie? Littering? Because this stinks and feels like a hate crime.

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Read an Exclusive Excerpt From Kevin Kwan's New Novel, Sex and Vanity
This deliciously modern update of A Room With a View features drama, diamonds, and satire galore.

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Pride Convos: The Movement Continues
Act to Change presents #PrideConvos, a chat about solidarity and the connection between Pride and #BlackLivesMatter, with panelists Angelica Ross, Esera Tuaolo, and Margaret Cho, and moderator Maulik Pancholy. Pride started with a revolution led by trans people of color. Today communities of color, transgender people and the #LGBTQ+ community are still under attack, and this conversation will address how all of us can support the movement for equality. It's happening Tuesday, June 23 at 10am / 1pm PT.

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I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee
The world of K-Pop has never met a star like this. The new young adult novel I'll Be the One is being touted as a "deliciously fun, thoughtful rom-com celebrating confidence and body positivity" from debut author Lyla Lee.

Here's the synopsis: "Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn't dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn't call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she's about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her. She'll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she'll do it better than anyone else.

When Skye nails her audition, she's immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn't count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho. But Skye has her sights on becoming the world's first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition—without losing herself."

Available from:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Apple Books | Google Play


Angry Reader of the Week: Peter Kim

"Honestly tried my best to be wealthy and heterosexual for the family, but neither's working out too well."



Hello, 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 Peter Kim.

6.18.2020

So They Found the Racist Torrance Park Lady. Now What?

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Detectives Interview Woman from Racist Rant Video
The "manhunt" is over. Police have located Lena Hernandez, the woman identified in connection with multiple racist incidents that were caught on camera and went viral. Hernandez was reportedly found by Torrance Police Department detectives and members of the Specialized Crisis Intervention Team in a park in San Pedro on Wednesday. Investigators interviewed Hernandez regarding the rants at the park, as well as a third incident last year at a local mall, in which Hernandez was accused of pushing and striking a woman. So they interviewed her... and that's it. Nothing else happened. "Based on the fact all three incidents are misdemeanor crimes and did not occur in the presence of an officer, Hernandez was not arrested at the time of the interview," according to the police's press release. Prosecutors apparently haven't made a decision to bring misdemeanor charges against her, because... well, I don't actually know. How about charging her because people need to know that shit isn't right?

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Megan Amram Apologizes for Resurfaced Offensive Tweets
Megan Amram, a co-producer and writer for NBC's The Good Place and star and creator of the web series An Emmy for Megan, has issued an apology for past tweets of hers that recently resurfaced from the early 2010s making offensive jokes about Asian Americans, Jewish people, as well as people with disabilities. After blocking critics left and right for months regarding these tweets, I guess she finally decided she couldn't pretend this shit never happened. The apology is long and isn't very good. Hell, even if it was awesome, none of it matters if she doesn't back it up with this "action and change" she promises. I won't hold my breath.

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‘Top Chef: All-Stars' champ’s secret ingredient: San Gabriel Valley flavors
Top Chef All-Stars: Los Angeles came to a dramatic conclusion on Thursday night as the remaining three chefs -- Bryan Voltaggio, Stephanie Cmar and Melissa King -- were tasked with serving a group of international culinary legends in Tuscany, Italy. On the menu? "The best progressive four-course meal of your life," said host, judge and executive producer Padma Lakshmi. The winner: Melissa King, who paired her Italian techniques and local ingredients with the Chinese flavors of her San Gabriel Valley childhood: char siu glazed octopus with fennel, squash agnolotti with Szechuan chili oil, grilled squab with persimmon, porcini and fermented black bean, and Hong Kong milk tea tiramisu.

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Nahnatchka Khan, Netflix Team for Romantic Comedy 'Dial A for Aunties'
Netflix and Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan have teamed up to adapt Dial A for Aunties, a highly sought-after upcoming book by Indonesia-based author Jesse Q. Sutanto. Described as Crazy Rich Asians meets Weekend at Bernie's, the story centers on a young wedding photographer who, along with her mother and aunts, tries to hide the body of her blind date while working the wedding day of a wealthy client. The book is tentatively set for release in April 2021.

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Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
In Hulu's Taste the Nation, Padma Lakshmi takes audiences on a journey across America, exploring the rich and diverse food culture of various immigrant groups, seeking out the people who have so heavily shaped what American food is today. From indigenous communities to recent immigrant arrivals, Padma breaks bread with Americans across the nation to uncover the roots and relationship between our food, our humanity and our history -- ultimately revealing stories that challenge notions of identity, belonging, and what it means to be American.


6.17.2020

"Go Back to Japan"

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.


Torrance Police Investigate Hate Crime After Store Finds Threatening Note
"Do not forget you are in America. We can do anything we want." In Torrance, California -- yes, friggin' Torrance again -- police are investigating this racist, threatening note that was found pinned to the front door of a Japanese cookware shop. Among many others things, the printed screed reads "go back to Japan" and threatens violence. "We are going to bomb your store if you don't listen and we know where you live." This is a hate crime. There's been some speculation on social media that the note, based on grammar and spelling, was not written by a native English speaker. Maybe. But also I have complete confidence that plenty of Americans, born and raised here, can't write for shit.

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New Jersey Chinese Restaurant Vandalized with Racist COVID-19 Graffiti
A Chinese restaurant in New Jersey was vandalized with hateful messages regarding the coronavirus overnight Wednesday. The owner of New Gourmet Garden in Wyckoff arrived in the morning to discover racist spray-painted graffiti on the restaurant's storefront, including "coronavirus" and "COVID-19" with an arrow pointing at the front door and "Go home to China." The incident -- the second time a business has been vandalized during the pandemic -- is being investigated as a hate crime.

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California Assemblyman Accused of Making Racist Remarks
A coalition of Silicon Valley civil rights leaders are calling for a California legislator to resign over "racist and bigoted" comments they say he made about African American and Latinx children's ability to learn and compete in school. Assemblyman Kansen Chu's alleged comments were printed in the Chinese language newspaper World Journal, in a June 11 article, in which Chu said many Hispanic Americans told him "they did not care about their children's education, they are busy with their livelihoods, and they did not intend to let their children attend college." Chu is also alleged to have said "many Hispanic and African ethnic groups are unable to compete or have the ability to continue their studies due to unresolved structural economic and educational problems." Chu claims the World Journal article "was written with the reporter's own opinion and not direct or literal quotes from me," and the translation was inaccurate.

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Constance Wu Joins Period Rom-Com 'Mr Malcolm’s List'
Constance Wu has joined the cast of the period romantic comedy Mr. Malcolm's List. Based on the novel of the same name, the film stars Sope Dirisu as the titular Mr. Malcolm, London's most eligible bachelor. Wu will play Julia, a society lady who is jilted by Mr. Malcolm when she fails to meet one of the items on his list of requirements for a bride. Feeling shunned and humiliated, she enlists her friend Selina (Freida Pinto) to help her take revenge on Mr. Malcolm by tricking him into thinking he has found his perfect match. Who says Asians can't star in western-set period stories? Bring it, I say.

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See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
"How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur -- renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer -- describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change: It is a practice that can transform a relationship, a community, a culture, even a nation."


6.16.2020

So Germans Are Totally Okay with This Racist Birthday Card?

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



"Ein altes chineseisches Sprichwort sagt..."
This greeting card, featuring a "Chinese" rat making a slant eye gesture, was recently spotted at a EDEKA supermarket in Germany. The casual give-no-fucks racism is kind of wild, but perhaps not particularly surprising. The Asian person who spotted it in the store tried to raise the issue with the store's management, who offered little more than a shrug. (By the way, whatever you do, don't look at the comments under this Facebook post.)

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Can't a guy just get a Slurpee in peace? Over the weekend, Facebook user Sungmin Kwon shared about a violent encounter he had with a racist asshole inside a 7-11 store in Queens. Sungmin said he was just getting some snacks when this guy went on a racist rant, claiming that Asians were "filthy," didn't belong in this country, and were responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. When Sungmin called him out on his bullshit, the man called him a "gook" and assaulted him. There was a scuffle, as you can see. Luckily, Sungmin wasn't hurt, but his attacker drove off and got away -- but not before Sungmin got a photo of his license plate. Anybody recognize this asshole? [UPDATE: The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is reportedly investigating this incident.]

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K-pop Fans Spam Tucker Carlson Hashtag with Fancams
As Tucker Carlson continues to face backlash for his views on Black Lives Matter, the Fox News host has been targeted by an unlikely online fandom -- K-pop fans. The hashtag #IStandWithTucker, started by his loyal fans, began trending on Twitter yesterday after a number of major advertisers deserted the Tucker Carlson Tonight show. However, the hashtag is now diluted with K-pop and other unrelated tweets intended to drown out the message of Carlson's supporters. Like I've said before, don't fuck with K-pop fans.

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Men Throw Explosives Inside Chinese Restaurant
In Philadelphia, several men threw explosives at two employees at a Chinese take-out restaurant and attempted to blow up an ATM early Sunday. The attack, which kind of sounds like an attempted robbery, happened at New Century restaurant. According to police, the men first threw an explosive at an ATM located inside the restaurant. They then reportedly threw a second explosive at two employees through a plexiglass opening at the counter. Nobody got hurt, and the suspects weren't able to retrieve any money from the ATM. This has to be the dumbest attempt to rob a Chinese restaurant.

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APIAVote's 2020 Presidential Town Hall
APIAVote has opened registration for its fourth Presidential Town Hall on June 27th. The event will feature the Biden and Trump campaigns and will center around how these candidates will address important issues such as healthcare, education, the economy, and gun control, to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community. This year, the event will be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. To register, visit apiavote.org/townhall.