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.
In this episode, we welcome design/technology writer Gregory Han, who has been participating in a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine. They discuss what it will take to end the pandemic, what the world might look like on the other side, and if karaoke will survive coronavirus.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
SU places professor on leave after syllabus calls COVID-19 'Wuhan flu'
At Syracuse University, a professor has been placed on leave or using derogatory racist language in a course syllabus. The announcement comes after social media posts circulated a course syllabus appearing to belong to chemistry professor Jon Zubieta that refers to the coronavirus as "Wuhan Flu" and "Chinese Communist Party Virus." I don't know why anyone would need to use those words a chemistry course syllabus, other than to be a racist asshole. The university agrees. "The derogatory language used by a professor on his course syllabus is damaging to the learning environment for our students and offensive to Chinese, international and Asian-Americans everywhere who have experienced hate speech, rhetoric and actions since the pandemic began," the school said in a statement. The professor has been removed while the administration investigates the incident according to university procedures. I don't really know what there is to investigate. But go on.
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"What are you doing in this country?"
In the Bay Area, a man was caught camera shouting racist remarks at an Asian American couple outside a supermarket. Junie and Minh got into an altercation with the man in the parking lot of a Safeway store in Milpitas last week. The man can be seen yelling from his SUV, "He's a fucking Asian. What are you doing in this country?... We have enough people." Of course, the video was shared on social media, where it received the attention of the local news, the mayor, the internet. Wouldn't it be great to go out for some groceries without fear of getting accosted by racist assholes?
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Dispute Over Alcohol, Face Masks Turns Violent at Chinese Restaurant
In Massachusetts, the owner of a Chinese restaurant was pushed and the protective plexiglass at the front counter was knocked down when a dispute over alcohol and wearing face masks turned violent. Surveillance video from inside The Ming Dynasty in Marshfield showed a 49-year-old woman pushing the plexiglass after she became enraged when the management asked her and the group she was with to put on face masks. "The woman pushed one of the owners, pushed another customer, and then began pushing things over inside the restaurant," according to police. Real classy. Can people just wear a damn mask?
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Teen Activist Receives $2500 Bill For Police Overtime
A New Jersey teen thought she was only exercising her First Amendment right when she organized a rally in support of Black Lives Matter. Not long after, she received a bill for thousands of dollars in the mail from the mayor. Emily Gil was inspired to hold a rally in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, this summer after watching thousands of Americans show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The protest went off without a hitch on July 25 and lasted about 90 minutes. A few days later, Gil received a letter from the mayor, billing her for $2,500 worth of police overtime used during the protest.
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BTS video 'Dynamite' breaks YouTube record for most views in 24 hours
Korean pop stars BTS have made history after the group's new single "Dynamite" became the best-ever 24-hour debut of a music video on YouTube with more than 100 million views. The world's biggest K-pop group released the highly anticipated visuals for the record last Friday. By the end of the first day, "Dynamite" had racked up 101.1 million views to become the most-viewed music video premiere on YouTube.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Baseball Bat Attacker First Accused Asian Muni Driver of Being COVID-19 Positive
Last week in San Francisco, when a bus operator asked three passengers to wear masks aboard the bus, one of the men spat at the driver -- who is Asian -- called him racial slurs and accused him of having coronavirus, before attacking him with a baseball bat. When the driver managed to grab hold of the bat, the man then punched the driver twice in the face. The driver suffered a fractured finger, bruises and pain where he was struck. While bus union insists this was a hate crime, San Francisco police are saying the incident did not appear to be racially motivated. What?
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Caught on Camera: Woman Calls Postal Worker a "Chink"
In Los Altos, California, a woman was caught on camera calling an Asian American postal employee a "chink." In the video, shot by another customer, the woman yells at the USPS worker, "Can you just do your job?! It's simple!" After some more shouting the woman can be heard saying "chink" under her breath. Bystanders in line quickly jump in to denounce the slur. A few seconds later, the woman looks directly into the phone camera and says "chink" again, much louder, and storms out. And now that it's blown up, be on the lookout for the inevitable tearful apology, in which the woman claims she was "having a bad day," and that's "not who she is."
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‘Daredevil’ Actor Peter Shinkoda Claims Jeph Loeb Made Anti-Asian Comments Daredevil actor Peter Shinkoda took a stand on Sunday during #SaveDaredevilCon as he claimed that former head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb said anti-Asian comments during the production of the series. Shinkoda, who played Nobu Yoshioka, talked about how a potential storyline delving into his character's relationship with Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho) got scrapped. "Jeph Loeb told the writers room not to write for Nobu and Gao," Shinkoda said. "He said, 'Nobody cares about Chinese people and Asian people. There were three previous Marvel movies, a trilogy called Blade that was made where Wesley Snipes killed 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a shit so don't write about Nobu and Gao.'" As a result, the storyline was dropped. From what I remember about Daredevil... yeah, all this sounds about right.
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SAG-AFTRA Asian American Anti-Hate PSA
In this new public service announcement, SAG-AFTRA members from the Asian American community raise their voices about the current social climate in the country and call for a change.
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The Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack is Now Streaming on Spotify
The entire series soundtrack of ShinichirÅ Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop, composed by Yoko Kanno, is now available on Spotify. Fans know what's up. (If you want to watch or re-watch the series, it's available on Hulu.)
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Alan Yang Teams With Ad Council To Racism Against Asians During COVID-19
As we all know, there's been a surge in racism against Asians Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. To combat the wave of harassment and discrimination Tigertail director and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang has partnered with the Ad Council's Emmy-winning "Love Has No Labels" for a new PSA titled "Fight the Virus. Fight the Bias," which looks to dispel racism against the Asian American community.
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Little noticed, Filipino Americans are dying of COVID-19 at an alarming rate
For a variety of reasons, Filipino Americans have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus. People with roots in the Philippines account for about one-quarter of the Asian Americans in California, yet data shows that Filipino Americans account for at least 35% of COVID-19 deaths in the state's Asian population.
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Man Arrested For Racist Attack on Calgary Woman
And up in Canada... Calgary police arrested a man on Sunday after a video surfaced of him spitting on an Asian woman and using a racial slur against her. The video shows the woman, who identified herself as Jessica Lau on Instagram, being filmed from behind while longboarding along a park path. Moments later, a cyclist coming from the opposite direction spits at Lau and calls her a "fucking chink." The cyclist was later identified as Justin Williams, who was reportedly arrested with charges pending. According to police, it's too soon to say whether the incident will be charged as a hate crime (really?) but it could also possibly be a case of aggravated assault due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey Canada, stop trying to top our American racism.
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Woks for Washington
"Woks for Washington aims to support the Asian restaurant community in the DC area during COVID-19 by purchasing and delivering meals from restaurants to essential workers. Preserving Asian cuisine serves as a major way for the Asian community to continue to share what makes us so diverse with the rest of the world, since it's often one of the easiest and most palatable ways (pun intended) in which people can experience our culture. This is an effort to help preserve Asian American culture and cuisine, while supporting the heroes keeping our families safe." Find out more at woksforwashington.com.
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HIFF @ Home Summer Fest
The Hawaii International Film Festival presents its first-ever HIFF@Home Summer Fest, a mini film festival available entirely online. Scheduled for August 7-14, they've got a killer lineup of the latest award-winning films fresh from the film festival circuit. Titles include Alice Gu's Donut King, Shiro Tokiwa The First Supper, Yi Chen's First Vote, Unjoo Moon's I Am Woman and Hong Khaou's Monsoon, among many others. A Summer Fest Pass is $40 and gets you online access to the full slate of films. For more information, go here.
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.
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."
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Their Minneapolis Restaurant Burned, but They Back the Protest
A restaurant caught in the crossfire of unrest in Minneapolis has sent a powerful message to its followers on social media. Gandhi Mahal, a family-owned Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant, was severely damaged by fire on Thursday night amidst protests over the arrest and killing of George Floyd. Hafsa Islam, whose father owns the restaurant, wrote a Facebook post sharing about the destruction, but then shared something she heard her father say over the phone: "...let my building burn. Justice needs to be served. Put those officers in jail."
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Can You Identify the Suspect Who Assaulted This Elderly Woman?
In Metro Vancouver, police are searching for a suspect who assaulted an elderly Asian woman last month. The RCMP released video of the incident, in which a woman walks toward an elderly woman using a walker, comes up from behind and trips her leg. The woman then quickly walks away as the 84-year-old victim falls to the ground. Fortunately, the victim wasn't seriously injured. It's unclear from the video, but police say it's "possible" the suspect, who has dark brown hair, could also be Asian. Whoever the hell it is... what kind of shitty person does this?
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Trump Courts Asian American Vote Amid Coronavirus
Hilarious. Donald Trump's re-election campaign is debuting its "Asian Americans for Trump" initiative in a virtual event tonight... as if his destructive, racist rhetoric hasn't had a major role in the rise of anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Americans for Trump? That's a no from me. That's a hell no.
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Couple Who Met in Japanese Incarceration Camp Die Within Days of Each Other at 90
Joseph Yamada and Elizabeth Kikuchi were born two days apart, but they didn’t meet until they were 11, when both were sent with their families to a World War II incarceration camp in Poston, Arizona. Then they became mostly inseparable. After the war, they went to San Diego High School together, then to UC Berkeley. They married, raised a family, and left their marks on San Diego in landscape architecture and community service. They both died this month just days apart. They had each recently turned 90.
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A Salute to Asian Pacific American Filmmakers
In celebration of Heritage Month, IMDb created this cool video montage taking a look back at cinematic history and celebrating Asian Pacific American filmmakers and their visionary work. Lots of great films in there.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
GOP Senators Introduce Bill to Deny Chinese Nationals Student Visas
What a great way to close out AAPI Heritage Month! On Wednesday, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) unveiled the Secure Campus Act, incredibly xenophobic, destructive legislation that would prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving visas to the United States for graduate or post-graduate studies in STEM fields. The bill would also place restrictions on participants in Chinese foreign talent-recruitment programs. Do I have remind folks that student visas are how so many Asian American families' immigration stories began?
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A YouTuber Placed Her Autistic Adopted Son From China With A New Family — After Making Content With Him For Years
This is beyond fucked. A YouTuber with hundreds of thousands of followers who has shared her family's experience of adopting a toddler from China recently announced that she and her husband had permanently placed their child with another family after unspecified behavioral issues. This kid, who had absolutely no say in being a prop in an "influencer's" content stream, has been re-homed like a difficult puppy.
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He was part of Amazon’s coronavirus hiring spree. Two weeks later he was dead.
"Thousands of businesses have had to close and more than 38 million Americans have lost their jobs since the lockdowns began. But Amazon is hiring. The company has put new measures in place to make its warehouses safer for employees, but the number of cases at its facilities keeps rising. As consumers continue to minimize their own risk by shopping from their couches, workers have to decide: Is working for Amazon a lifeline, or a life-threatening risk?"
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Be Water
Check it. Here's the official trailer for ESPN's Be Water, a 30 for 30 documentary that intimately chronicles Bruce Lee's life and complex journey, directed by Bao Nguyen. The film premieres June 7 on ESPN.
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Spelling the Dream
The new documentary Spelling the Dream explores Indian Americans' decades-long success at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, chronicling of the ups and downs of four students as they compete to realize their dream of winning the iconic tournament. The film premieres June 3 on Netflix.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Man Faces Hate Crime Charges for Harassing Asians at the Grocery Store
In Wisconsin, police are recommending hate crime charges against a man they say harassed Asian Americans for wearing masks in a grocery store. 57-year-old Robert Shrote admitted to verbally harassing Asian Americans at the Save A Lot store in Stevens Point. According to police, "customers were called names and harassed for wearing masks because of their race." Shrote faces a charge of disorderly conduct and a hate crime "enhancer," meaning the misdemeanor charge could carry up to 90 days in jail and a $10,000 fine.
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'American Idol' Crowns Season 3 Winner Virtually
The season 18 winner of American Idol was crowned last night -- from home -- and it's worth noting that the runner-up was Dibesh Pokharel (stage name: Arthur Gunn), a 22-year-old Nepalese singer-songwriter who, for had emerged as the front-runner of the competition. I'm told he was clearly the judges' favorite, and many watchers thought he'd end up winning it all. But alas, at the end of the night, amidst the televised confusion of the remote finale, the title awkwardly went to Just Sam, a 21-year-old subway singer from Harlem. Congratulations. And I wouldn't worry about Arthur Gunn -- just watch the video of him performing and you'll see. This guy is runner up to nobody.
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Remembering Our Co-Founder, Thomas Low
Thomas Low, co-founder and CEO of multicultural children's publishing house Lee & Low Books, has died of cancer at his home in Connecticut. He was 78. Low co-founded Lee & Low Books with Philip Lee in 1991. Though they had no previous publishing experience, both men had noticed, and been dismayed by, a dearth of contemporary diverse stories for children and believed there could be a business opportunity in pursuing their passion to fill that gap in the industry. Since then, Lee & Low has been a leader in supporting new voices in children's literature, particularly from authors of color.
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Far East Movement Debuts New Song for Heritage Month
"Identity: Project Blue Marble" is an eight-hour relief event happening March 20 on Twitch in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. To mark the occasion, hip hop group Far East Movement is debuting a new song, "We Are the Truth," which can be heard in the trailer for the event (watch video above).
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Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards
Remember when Parasite won all those Oscars? That was awesome. Now you can experience the movie in graphic novel form, sort of. With hundreds of mesmerizing illustrations, the new book Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards, is a fresh look at Bong Joon-Ho's award-winning, genre-defying masterpiece, featuring storyboards drawn by the director himself prior to the shooting of the film. The book also contains a foreword written by Bong that shares early concept drawings and photos from the set which take the reader even deeper into the creative process. If you enjoyed Parasite, the book is a fascinating glimpse at Bong's creative process.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Man says officer shrugged off racist incident at Home Depot
In Seattle, an Asian man says he was the target of racist remarks at a Home Depot store, but when he reported the incident to store management and police, nobody acted like they gave a shit. Kert Lin said he was on his way into the store when another driver cut him off. When the two arrived in the parking lot, the other driver called Lin and racial slur and told him "Open your eyes, go back to China." Lin informed store security, who did nothing. Lin told a police officer who arrived at scene, who did nothing. At the very least, the officer should have filed an incident report. Lin has since received an apology from the police chief, after sharing about the incident on social media. Whatever you do, don't let this shit slide, folks.
Indigenous woman says she was punched, told to 'go back to Asia'
So this is an anti-Asian hate crime in which the victim wasn't actually Asian. Last week, a 27-year-old Indigenous woman says she was repeatedly punched in the face, knocked down and told to "go back to Asia" while walking her dog in East Vancouver. She says she was walking through a park on Friday night when she sneezed. A man then walked up to her, began yelling racist Asian slurs, pushed her to the ground, then punched in her in the jaw and temple before walking away. The assailant is described as a white man in his mid-30s, heavyset, 5 foot 11, and wearing a hat and a navy blue or black sweater. So... yeah. Be on the lookout for that guy. Fuck racists.
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I lost both my parents in the COVID-19 era. How do I reopen my own life?
"I don’t know what’s going to happen next. No one does. We make our choices and we live with them. I do know that I can’t imagine not having made the trip to see my siblings, bury our father, and grieve together. Whatever happens with the pandemic, we all need each other; we need to work hard and ask the right questions; we need to be honest and not afraid."
Research Survey: Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health for Asian/Asian Americans
Lydia Ahn and Mira An, researchers at University of Maryland, College Park, are conducting a study on the impact of COVID-19 and racism on mental health for East Asian/Asian Americans, and are looking for folks to take part. Participation will require completing a confidential online self-report survey (approximately 20 minutes) at your convenience. If you are East Asian/Asian American, age 18 and older, and would like to help out with this research, complete the survey here.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Colorado Man Wears KKK Mask Inside Grocery Store
In Colorado, police are asking for community help in identifying a man who wore a Ku Klux Klan mask inside a local grocery store Thursday. Shoppers at the Dillon City Market were treated to the sight of a dude wearing a Klan-style pointed hood picking up some 2% in the dairy aisle. When store employees asked him to leave, he apparently refused. Police were called to the scene, but pointy reportedly left the area before they arrived. So is this becoming a thing? For the record, this is an entirely different incident from that other guy who wore a Klan hood in a San Diego area supermarket.
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Koreatown Company Accused of Touting Radish Paste as Coronavirus Deterrent
In Los Angeles, the city attorney announced a lawsuit against a local company for allegedly selling a radish paste as a way to prevent people from contracting COVID-19. According to the lawsuit, filed against Koreatown-based Insan Healing, the radish paste product had not been tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or state agencies as a way to protect people against the virus, and advertising it as such is against California's laws of unfair competition.
Seadrift
In 1979, a Vietnamese refugee shot and killed a white crab fisherman at the public town docks in Seadrift, Texas. What began as a dispute over fishing territory erupts into violence and ignites a maelstrom of boat burnings, KKK intimidation, and other hostilities against Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast. Set during the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival in the U.S., Tim Tsai's feature documentary Seadrift examines the circumstances that led up to the shooting and its dramatic aftermath, and reveals the unexpected consequences that continue to reverberate today. The film is currently streaming on PBS.org.
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Online Class: Facing AAPI Race-Based Harassment
We all know the coronavirus pandemic has given rise to anti-Asian harassment and even violence. But will you know what to do if you are personally targeted or witness anti-Asian harassment? IMPACT Bay Area is offering free online classes to empower the community during the pandemic. From using your voice to expanding your self-care toolkit, they're here to help you and your loved ones grow your safety and confidence while remaining safe at home in support of public health. Find out more and register here.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Trump Claims Asian Americans Are Angry at 'What China Has Done' to U.S.
Having somehow spoken to every Asian person in the United States of America, Donald Trump claims that Asian Americans are angry at China for its handling of the pandemic. "Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don't blame them!" No, we blame you. I can barely form words to express how angry this tweet makes me. I can say that, yes, Asian Americans are angry. We are angry at the steady stream of bullshit and incompetence coming from Trump and the White House and we've had enough.
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Singer Bryan Adams Blames 'Bat Eating' People for Coronavirus
In other social media nonsense, singer Bryan Adams is under fire for posting a bizarre rant in which he blamed "bat eating" people for the coronavirus. "Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus," Adams wrote on Instagram and Twitter Tuesday, alongside a video of him performing his song "Cuts Like a Knife." He has since deleted the posts. But we will remember this, Bryan, like the summer of '69.
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Small Plane Pulling Banner with "Chinese Virus" Flies Over San Antonio
Some people take their racism to new heights. On Monday, a small plane pulling a banner that read "Say Chinese Virus.com" was seen flying over the skies of San Antonio. Good ol' San Antonio, where a group gathered to protest a resolution unanimously approved by the San Antonio City Council last week condemning racism and hate speech and the use of words like "Chinese virus" to describe COVID-19. Because some people thinking aggressively calling it the "Chinese virus" is really going to stick it to China.
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Kung Fu Reboot Moves Forward with Series Order at The CW
The CW has given a series order to the modern day, gender-swapped reboot of Kung Fu, starring Olivia Liang. "A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman (Liang) to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice...all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her."
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2nd Annual AAPI Day Against Bullying + Hate, May 18
Act To Change is rallying the nation around the 2nd annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Day Against Bullying + Hate. It's more important now than ever that we stand up to xenophobia and racism. Act 2 Change's virtual program, UNITED WE STAND, will commemorate this day with special guests and performances. It's happening Monday, May 18 at 1-2:30PM PT / 4-5:30PM ET. For more information, go here
