Bus Driver Assaulted After Asking Passengers to Wear Masks

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 Shinichirō 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.)

Find This Guy Who Sucker Punched a Woman in the Face

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian (North) America.


Asian Woman Punched in Face at Vancouver Bus Stop
In Vancouver, police are asking for the public's help identifying a man who punched a young Asian woman in the face in an unprovoked attack last month. Surveillance footage shows the victim was standing at a bus stop when the suspect approached her and punched her in the face. And that's it. They apparently didn't know each other, and nobody said a word. He sucker punched her and then ran away. What the fuck.

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Annual TV Report Card Shows Asian American Representation At Standstill
The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition released their annual TV report card, grading the top four television networks for the 2018-2019 season assessing their progress toward diversity and inclusion of Asian Pacific Americans onscreen and behind the camera and although there was some progress, it wasn't enough to make the needle move dramatically. In fact, it barely moved at all.

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Sewing in the Time of Coronavirus
The Asian American Documentary Network just launched a new series of short clips as part of its Storytelling Initiative, with the documentary short Sewing In The Time of Coronavirus, directed by Valerie Soe, highlighted as its first featured microdoc. This piece explains how Soe has been spending her time since the shelter-in-place order in California took place almost two months ago. "Sewing masks pushes back against the Trump administration's cynical manipulation of the COVID-19 crisis," Soe says, ."I reject the idea that humans are expendable cogs in capitalism's machine. We all deserve a chance to live and to be healthy. This is to ensure that more of us have that chance."

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CM's 30th Anniversary Issue: COVID-19 and the AAPI Community (FREE)
Character Media (formerly KoreAm Journal, Audrey Magazine and Kore Asian Media) is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special edition print issue covering what's been happening in our country, specifically within our Asian American community, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For a limited time, they're mailing out complimentary copies of the print edition, free of charge. All you have to do is fill out the form here. (You can also read the digital version here.)

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Lucky Grandma Trailer
Check out the trailer for crime comedy Lucky Grandma, starring the legendary Tsai Chin. In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ornery, chain-smoking, newly widowed 80-year-old Grandma is eager to live life as an independent woman, despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck... suddenly attracting the attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, Grandma employs the services of a bodyguard from a rival gang and soon finds herself right in the middle of a Chinatown gang war. Lucky Grandma, directed by Sasie Sealy, will be released in virtual theaters on May 22.

Trump is Suspending Immigration to the U.S.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Trump Plans to Suspend Immigration to U.S.
Donald Trump said on Monday evening that he intended to close the United States to people trying to immigrate into the country to live and work, claiming that the drastic move would protect American workers from foreign competition once the nation's economy began to recover from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. A pandemic is a perfect excuse for this administration to double down on its aggressive immigration restrictions. Can't let the wrong people in. Because of the "Invisible Enemy." And jobs!

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"IT'S AN HONOR JUST TO BE ASIAN" Masks
You've seen the shirt. The iconic quote from Sandra Oh is now available on a face mask! Just in time for AAPI Heritage Month. Each order includes a 3-pack of limited use masks. All proceeds from sales will go to East West Players, the nation's oldest Asian American theater company. Show your pride in a time when anti-Asian bigotry and violence is becoming more and more common -- and help a crucial Asian American performing arts nonprofit survive the COVID shutdown of all live gatherings and performances.

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Feed the Frontliners Project
The Park's Finest in Los Angeles serves up some damn fine Filipino-flavored barbecue. While the pandemic has forced the restaurant to shut down its physical dining room, they've been keeping busy with the Feed the Frontliners Project, an effort made possible through community members and angel sponsors buying plates for healthcare workers (nurses, doctors, clerical, custodial, etc.) and emergency responders to be fed during shifts. While it originally started as a way for frontliners to pick up plates at the shop, the approach has shifted where they can now arrange for delivery to hospitals or fire stations. Wanna help feed some frontliners? Donate here.

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Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In
With a cover like that, how can I not read this new memoir by Phuc Tran? But if you need more convincing, here's the official description off the book jacket: "In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion, all while attempting to meet the rigid expectations set by his immigrant parents.

Appealing to fans of coming-of-age memoirs such as Fresh Off the Boat, Running with Scissors, or tales of assimilation like Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Displaced and The Refugees, Sigh, Gone explores one man's bewildering experiences of abuse, racism, and tragedy and reveals redemption and connection in books and punk rock. Against the hairspray-and-synthesizer backdrop of the '80s, he finds solace and kinship in the wisdom of classic literature, and in the subculture of punk rock, he finds affirmation and echoes of his disaffection. In his journey for self-discovery Tran ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes -- and ultimately saves -- him."

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Digital Town Hall - Asian Americans in the Time of COVID-19
The Center for Asian American Media, along with WETA, the flagship public media station in the nation's capital, and Asian American community leaders will host a digital town hall exploring how lessons from Asian American history can help us understand the experience of Asian Americans in the time of Covid-19. Panelists will discuss what can be learned from the history of Asian Americans, and how we can move forward together as Americans in this particularly challenging moment. Panelists include: Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, Journalist Amna Nawaz, Filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pena, Journalist and Activist Helen Zia, and Comedian Hari Kondabolu. It's happening Thursday, April 30 at 5pm PST / 8pm EST.