Seattle museum targeted by man with a sledgehammer who said "the Chinese ruined my life."
Seattle's Wing Luke Museum was targeted in a hate crime last week when a man smashed the outside windows of the museum with a sledgehammer. The suspect later apparently told police, "the Chinese ruined my life."
According to the police report, 76-year-old Craig Milne used a sledgehammer to break the windows of the museum along Canton Alley South on Thursday evening, as dozens of patrons were inside touring an exhibit.
After the attack, Milne apparently remained outside the building, and was heard saying he had come to the Chinatown International District to cause damage because, ahem, "the Chinese ruined my life."
You fucking fool, you ruined your own life. And the good people at this museum didn't do shit to you.
Police Arrest Man Accused Of Spray-Painting Hate Speech On Restaurant
In the Sacramento area, authorities arrested a man accused of spray-painting hate speech on the front of a restaurant. 43-year-old Lahn Hansen faces various charges including committing a hate crime. The incident happened early Thursday at Umai Bar and Grill in Elk Grove. Hansen was reportedly caught on surveillance footage and identified. Evidence linking him to the vandalism was located inside of his vehicle, where police also located narcotics, burglary tools and items related to a previously reported church burglary.
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Rock Thrown Through Window Of Foster City Vice Mayor's Home
In the Bay Area, police are investigating after a rock was thrown through a window of the home of Richa Awasthi, Vice Mayor of Foster City. The incident occurred on Tuesday night. In a letter distributed by the city, Awasthi said the large rock broke the glass and blinds and nearly hit her husband in the head. Her two children were also in the home when it happened. Police are investigating the incident as felony vandalism though there are no suspects or motive identified. This is actually the second time an incident like this has occurred against a local elected official this year. In June, San Mateo Councilwoman Amourence Lee also had a rock thrown through her window. It's worth noting that Lee and Awasthi are Asian American councilwomen and the only sitting women of color on their respective councils. Doesn't sound like a coincidence to me.
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Bong Joon Ho and Lee Isaac Chung Talk 'Minari' Variety hosted a conversation between Bong Joon Ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite, and Lee Isaac Chung, writer/director of the critically-acclaimed Minari. The two filmmakers discussed creating on-screen families, telling personal stories and their work with actor Steven Yeun.
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Ted Chiang's "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" is Being Developed for TV
Acclaimed science fiction writer Ted Chiang's short story "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" is being developed as an hour-long TV drama. Set against the backdrop of technology that grants users exact recall of their past, the series combines a kidnapping with a messy adult love story in a cautionary tale about privacy in the modern world. The short story was originally published in 2013 by Subterranean Press, was a Hugo Award finalist and later became part of Chiang's collection Exhalation.
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Tamlyn Tomita Returns as Kumiko in a Clip from Cobra Kai
As the latest trailer for season three of Cobra Kai revealed, Tamlyn Tomita and Yuji Okumoto will reprise their roles as Kumiko and Chozen, repsectively, from The Karate Kid Part II. In this advance clip, we get a glimpse of Kumiko and Daniel's reunion. Cobra Kai season three premieres January 8 on Netflix.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
"I wear my mask if I want F**KING ASIAN you create the virus"
In San Francisco, police are investigating a hate crime in the city's Sunset District, where a man vandalized an Asian American woman's home and left a letter saying, "I wear my mask if I want FUCKING ASIAN you create the virus." The hate incidents were apparent set off by an altercation in which the woman, who was outside her home with her infant twins, asked a passing man to wear a mask. The man later returned multiple times to throw a water bottle, then an egg and then to leave not only the letter but a mask with writing on it, which said "keep America without Asian." Police are investigating the incident as "racially motivated." Ya think?
Woman Pushed Off Vancouver Bus After Spitting on Man
Metro Vancouver Transit Police are investigating after a video was posted on TikTok showing a woman who appears to have been pushed off a bus after she spit on another passenger. In the video, the bus is stopped when a woman, who is standing in the aisle and not wearing a face mask, appears to spit on a man. The man, who is wearing a face mask, appears shocked and disgusted, gets up from his seat and appears to push the woman twice. After the second push, the woman can be seen falling onto a sidewalk. I can't say I condone physical violence, but hell, I'm not gonna fault this guy for losing his cool in the moment.
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Steven Yeun Could Become the First Asian American Best Actor Nominee
With Hollywood's upcoming awards season starting to take shape, A24 has confirmed that Steven Yeun will campaign as a lead actor for his performance in Minari. Co-star Yeri Han will also campaign for best actress, while his cast mates Alan S. Kim, Will Patton and Yuh-Jung Youn will look for consideration in the supporting categories. If nominated for best actor, Yeun would be the first Asian American to ever be recognized in the category. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari tells the story of a Korean American family who searches for a better life when they move to a small farm in 1980s Arkansas. The film is scheduled for release sometime by the end of this year.
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.
Racist Graffiti Scrawled on Michelin-Starred West Village Korean Restaurant
Last week in New York, racist graffiti was found scrawled on the window of a West Village Korean restaurant. Somebody wrote "Stop eating dogs" in black marker on the outside glass at Jeju Noodle Bar, which has been closed since March 16. Chef and owner Douglas Kim is calling it a hate crime. You're damn right it is.
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Vietnamese Nail Salons Donate Thousands of Masks, Gloves to Hospitals
"Fighting this virus is a responsibility for every one of us. We don't work in the medical field, so we cannot fight the virus directly but we want to share our responsibility and share what we have with the community."
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Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits
Hell yes! This one's for the serious Bruce fans. Criterion Collection has announced a comprehensive Blu-ray box set collection that define Bruce Lee's monumental legacy. Available July 14, Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits includes The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, and a seven-disc truckload of special edition features.
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Jeff Chan to Direct New Line's Asian-Centered Rom-Com 'Singles Day'
Jeff Chan will direct New Line's romantic comedy Singles Day, with his filmmaker partner Andrew Rhymer producing. Lillian Yu's spec script centers on the Chinese anti-Valentine's Day holiday that takes place on November 11. The interconnected ensemble of romantic partners, friends and family will be predominantly of Asian descent.
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Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal
Comedian Jimmy O. Yang's new one-hour standup special Good Deal will premiere on May 8, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Performed live at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Good Deal covers Jimmy's hilarious interactions with immigrant parents, his thoughts on Matt Damon, and whether ghosts will haunt one-bedroom apartments.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Asian Woman Suffers Burns in Acid Attack
In Brooklyn, an Asian woman suffered severe burns across her body when someone sneaked up on her outside her home and splashed her with a caustic substance. The attack took place on Sunday night in the Sunset Park neighborhood. Surveillance video shows the 39-year-old victim taking out the trash when the man, who is sitting on the stoop, stands up and approaches her from behind with a bottle in his hand. The woman suffered chemical burns to her face, neck, and back. The NYPD is asking for the public's help to identify the man, whose ethnicity is unknown. He was wearing a face mask, gloves, and a black hoodie.
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"When I go out, I'm afraid of people attacking me."
Anna Ng, a 51-year-old Chinese American woman who was the victim of a coronavirus-related hate crime last month, speaks out. A group of teenage girls attacked her on a Bronx bus, calling her "coronavirus" and hitting her over the head with an umbrella. Three of the attackers were arrested and charged hate crime assaults, menacing and harassment. A fourth attacker remains at large.
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Fort Smith Buddhist Temple Vandalized
In Fort Smith, Texas, a man was caught vandalizing several statues inside a Buddhist temple. Police found 21-year-old Shawn Michael Israel holding a hammer, smashing a statue. When asked if he was on something, Israel reportedly replied, "Nothing, I'm sober. Look sir, I'm not trying to be disrespectful, thou shall not lie. It's a false idol, it's a false monument." Three statues of Buddha were destroyed, with damage estimates in the thousands of dollars. Israel was charged with felony criminal mischief.
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Chinese-Americans, Facing Abuse, Unite to Aid Hospitals
"Throughout New York and New Jersey, small groups from the Chinese-American community are uniting to fight the pandemic in this country even as they face racist remarks and some physical attacks. Using mostly WeChat, they are creating vast networks and rallying their contacts here and in China to procure supplies for doctors and nurses in need."
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Andrew Yang Sets Launch of Issues-Oriented Podcast 'Yang Speaks'
Former U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang plans to launch a new podcast, "Yang Speaks." Slated for May 2020, the weekly show will broadly cover the future of the U.S. economy and society. It will feature in-depth discussions with "thought-leaders" on a range of topics including tech, public policy, sports, entertainment and pop culture.
Vandals spray-painted "CHINKS" on the garage door.
There's nothing quite like someone asshole spray-painting "CHINKS" in giant letters across the front of your house to make you feel welcome in the neighborhood. Over the weekend in Minnesota, a Hmong family's home was targeted by vandals who defaced their garage door and car with hate graffiti.
The incident occurred early Sunday morning at a home in Oakdale, a Twin Cities suburb. The vandals spray-painted the racial slur on the garage door, and "Lick my bulls" [sic] across the side of a car. Really?
TL Xiong, who lives at the home with this parents, posted photos of the vandalism on Facebook. He noted that his family moved in to the house only two months ago and warned the vandals that "karma will get you."
About 50 flyers with hate messages were posted all over the property.
In Colorado, federal authorities are searching for suspects who vandalized the home of an Indian American family with eggs, toilet paper, dog feces and flyers with hate messages and racial slurs.
On Sunday morning, a couple in Peyton discovered that vandals had targeted their home, throwing dozens of eggs, smearing dog feces across their garage, and posting about fifty flyers with hate messages all over their property. The FBI is investigating the incident as a hate crime.
What is it with racist vandals who can't leave a clean surface alone? Congratulations, asshole. It's like you took a public shit with a Sharpie pen. This particular idiotic little act of handwritten hate was spotted over the weekend at Chinese Garden Park in Oakland's Chinatown. As you can see, someone scrawled the words "CHINAMAN" "CANTON" "INDIANS" "BITCH" and "CHINK" on the park sign. I guess the author is suggesting "Chinaman" as a replacement for "Chinese." And the rest are... alternatives? In order of preference?
The Sikh Society of Calgary was found defaced with spray-painted hate symbols.
This one comes to us from Canada... but I'm okay with blaming Trump for this too. In Calgary, police are investigating a possible hate crime after someone vandalized a Sikh gurdwara with hate graffiti.
On Thursday morning, the grounds of the Sikh Society of Calgary were found defaced with graffiti depicting a swastika and profanity. The six affected areas included several exterior building walls, doors and a sign.
"I don't think it's a joke, I think we were sent a CLEAR message."
So this keeps happening. Over the weekend, a youth support center serving the Southeast Asian community in Providence, Rhode Island was broken into and vandalized, with a noose hung from the ceiling.
Sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, someone broke into the offices of Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM). According to Executive Director Sarath Suong, chairs were found stacked on top of each other, scissors and rulers arranged weirdly, all the drawers opened, two knives stabbed into a table, and a rope fashioned into a noose hanging from the ceiling.
Police are investigating the graffiti as a possible hate crime.
In Orange County, police are investigating a possible hate crime after a Korean American church was vandalized with swastikas, German writing and other graffiti early Sunday morning.
Members of the True Light Christian Church in Buena Park found the church's outside walls tagged in red spray paint with the phrase "mein Ehrenheit" ("my honor"), a broken heart with the words "toxic love," as well as several swastikas. Because your racist scrawling just isn't complete without a fucking swastika.
39-year-old Bernard Shifman was arrested after shattering the windows of two restaurants in Eugene.
Over the weekend, police in Eugene, Oregon arrested a man in connection with the vandalism of several Asian businesses after he was caught throwing rocks through the windows of two restaurants.
39-year-old Bernard Shifman was charged with two counts of felony first-degree criminal mischief and one count of disorderly conduct for throwing rocks through the windows of Lotus Garden and Jade Palace.
According to the Eugene Police Department, officers were dispatched to Lotus Garden after receiving reports that a man threw a rock through the front window of the restaurant. While investigating the incident, another caller reported a similar event at Jade Palace. Shifman was arrested in connection with both incidents.
Yi Shen Market & Restaurant in Eugene, Oregon has been hit seven times in the last six months.
In Oregon, an Asian supermarket has been targeted multiple times by vandals on a monthly basis -- seven times in the last six months, and three times within the last week -- and dammit, the owner has had it.
The Yi Shen Market & Restaurant in Eugene has been vandalized seven times since October. Each time, at least one of the store's windows was broken, but nothing was stolen, leading owner Phung Hsieh to suspect these acts might be hate crimes. The most recent incident occurred last Monday.
The phrase "South Viet Whores" has been found tagged in multiple locations around the area.
Straight outta Orange County... this photo was submitted by a reader who says they spotted this racist graffiti on Newland Street near Trask Avenue in Garden Grove. It seems that the author feels a certain way about "South Viet Whores" and "Chinese Fuckes" and decided to publicly express that sentiment with spray paint.
This photo was taken on Monday, but evidence suggests that the graffiti has perhaps been there for at least a month. Several Twitter mentions indicate that the "South Viet Whores" tag has been spotted elsewhere in the vicinity, including on Bolsa Avenue and at the H Mart on Garden Grove Blvd, at least as early as last August.
Jeffrey Pittman believed The Sikh Temple of Spokane was a mosque connected to terrorism.
The temple's Sikh holy book was defaced and pages were ripped from it.
Yet again, hate and ignorance targets a Sikh community. In Spokane, Washington, a Sikh temple was vandalized by a man who mistakenly thought the temple was a mosque and was somehow affiliated with the Islamic State group terror organization. Yeah, dude. Like terrorists are hanging out in Spokane.
On Thursday, 44-year-old Jeffrey C. Pittman was arrested after breaking in and vandalizing the Sikh Temple of Spokane. According to temple leaders, an estimated $30,000 in damage was done to the interior of the temple, including defacement of an altar, the temple's Sikh holy book, and bedding.
62-year-old John Schenone was found guilty of misdemeanor vandalism and hate crime charges.
Gotcha, sucka. On Thursday, the man arrested for spray-painting anti-Chinese graffiti -- "NO MORE CHINESE" -- around southeast San Francisco was found guilty of hate crime vandalism.
62-year-old John Schenone was convicted of seven misdemeanors counts vandalism and six misdemeanor counts of a hate crime by way of defacing property in connection to the racist graffiti discovered last fall.
16-year-old JiaJia Liang, slashed in the face and neck, was apparently not the intended target.
What the freaking hell? In Queens, a note found on a vandalized car this week apologizes for the slashing attack on a teenage girl last month and admits that the victim was not the intended target.
16-year-old JiaJia Liang was slashed in the face while she was on her way to school last month in Whitestone. Surveillance video showed the 11th grader, who is an exchange student from China, approached from behind and attacked by a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves. He had apparently been following her.
But a letter from the supposed attacker, left in the windshield of a vandalized car on Monday night, says that the "wrong" person was attacked, and promised that the correct teen would soon lose her "beautiful face." The intended target was apparently another 16-year-old girl who lived in the same house as Liang.
20-year-old Brodie Durazo was arrested for spray-painting anti-Muslim graffiti at Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
In Buena Park, California, a 20-year-old man has been arrested for the vandalism of a Sikh temple that was spray-painted with anti-Muslim profanity. Police had been investigating the incident as a hate crime.
On Wednesday, police questioned Brodie Durazo, who admitted to committing the vandalism at Gurdwara Singh Sabha last week. Community members discovered graffiti on the exterior of the temple, as well as "FUCK ISIS" and gang references spray-painted on a tractor-trailer in the temple's parking lot.
A truck parked at an Orange County Sikh temple was tagged with "Fuck ISIS."
In Buena Park, California, a Sikh temple was vandalized with anti-Muslim profanity just days after the mass shooting in San Bernadino. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
On Sunday morning, community members discovered graffiti on the exterior of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha. Someone had also spray-painted gang tags and "FUCK ISIS" on a tractor-trailer in the temple's parking lot.
