An unidentified man on a Times Square subway was caught hurling anti-Asian remarks at an Asian-American woman.
Kat Yena New York City based theater director and an MFA candidate at the Yale School of Drama, was on the Times Square subway when a man in a gray sweater and black backpack began hurling anti-Asian remarks at her.
Yen posted the incident on her Instagram account in three separate, minute-long messages. In the first videoshe wrote: “The first day back in NYC and I am already a victim of a hate crime. It happened at the 42nd subway station, the same station where Michelle Alyssa Go was killed earlier this year.”
The man can be seen inches away from Yen’s camera as he says, “I believe they should all die. I have the right to say that. I think all Asians should die.”
He then made xenophobic, racist remarks against Chinese people in America, questioning why they migrate to the United States. When asked the same question by Yen, he said, “I was born in this country,” to which Yen replied, “Me too. I was born in Saint Vincent’s down the street.”
in the second video posted by Yen, the man is seen expressing concern for other passengers close to him before turning back to the camera and saying, “I’m a racist. I’m proud of what I say, but I’m only racist to Asians because they’re the worst. Why can’t you live freely in your own country and say what you want to say?”
He then argues with another Asian passenger on the subway, calling him “stupid” for claiming, “I’m Asian, but I’m not from Asia,” to which Yen replies that he’s of Irish descent.
in the third videosome passengers can be seen around Yen as the bully continues to talk about China before being dragged to a subway station.
“This isn’t the first time this guy has targeted Asians while I was on the train,” Yen wrote in her statement. subtitles† “I recognize him and I’m sure others do too. However, this is the most interaction I’ve had with him and the first time other people came to defend me when I was threatened or harassed on the train for racist reasons. Which I think is worth mentioning, despite all the good and bad implications associated with it.”
“It’s also worth noting that I told the arresting officers that this was a hate crime and I had footage of the incident and they brushed me off and walked away,” she said. added† “I wonder how many obvious hate crimes have not been identified as such as a result of similar actions?”
At the time of writing, no details about the unidentified man have been made available. NextShark has reached out to Yen for comment.
Featured images via @katkoral
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