Asian Chamber of Commerce demands apology from Denver newspaper over April Fools prank they say is racist



The Asian Chamber of Commerce in Denver demanded that a local newspaper apologize over an April Fools prank column that they said was racist and could fuel anti-Asian hate crimes.

The column in the Greenwood Villager newspaper jokingly suggested that a theme park was being planned in the area but it made references to Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated.

"America's Largest Amusement Park Heads to Greenwood Village," read the headline.

"The astonishing announcement of a new 13-acre amusement park coming to the vacant land adjacent to the Landmark towers is now revealed to the public," it read.

"Because if the recent Asian alleged hate crimes, the planning commission and council have moved quietly through confidential Zoom meetings with Chinese officials to complete the contract," the article continued. "Several city planners traveled to Wuhan, China to work out the details that include bringing over 1000 Chinese workers and their families to the area for the two-year construction period."

In a later part of the article, the newspaper said that hotels were preparing for the Asian workers.

"Area hotels are being contracted for lower rates for the Chinese families and adding more rice, vegetables and chopsticks to their morning breakfasts," it read.

Board member Clarence Low told KMGH-TV that the satirical article was offensive to Asians.

"Calling out Asians and calling out any race or ethnic group in in the interest of a comedy or satire is wholly inappropriate. It just continues to elevate this fear mongering and anti-Asian-phobia," said Low.

"We are not a punchline. No ethnic group should be a punchline to any satirical article," he added.

The Villager released a statement on Friday explaining that the article "was by no means intended to insult or offend anyone, especially the Asian community."

The statement added, "In light of recent events and attacks on Asians, the paper sincerely regrets any insensitivities in the April Fools spoof."

Here's more about the incident in Denver:

Asian Chamber of Commerce denounces 'dehumanizing' satire news articlewww.youtube.com

NYPD arrests man for three separate alleged hate crime attacks on Asians, and he has a lengthy criminal history



The New York Police Department arrested a man they said was responsible for three separate attacks on Asian Americans in Brooklyn, and they are charging him with hate crimes.

Police arrested Joseph Russo, 27, for an attack on a 32-year-old Asian female on March 22.

She said she was walking down a sidewalk when a man grabbed her and wrenched her by the hair. Some of the assault was caught on surveillance video. She said the assault caused her neck and head pain but she didn't seek medical help. She told police that the man said nothing to her before or during the attack, nor did he rob her, but just walked away afterward.

Russo was charged with assault as a hate crime and harassment as a hate crime.

Police believe that the man is responsible for two other attacks on Asian New Yorkers.

On Monday, a man fitting Russo's description was caught on surveillance video before allegedly knocking down a 77-year-old Asian man and walking away without saying anything. The victim suffered a bruise on his arm.

Russo was charged with aggravated harassment and assault as a hate crime in that case.

Police alleged that Russo also committed a hate crime against a 64-year-old Asian woman on March 5. That woman was shoved to the ground. He is charged with harassment and assault as a hate crime in that case.

Russo has a lengthy criminal record, according to police, with 14 prior arrests including charges of burglary, assault, public lewdness, drug possession, and criminal trespass.

Some cities are reporting a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. New York City officials said 33 hate crimes against Asians took place through the month of March, a figure that's threefold from last year.

Many Asian Americans have responded by turning to the Second Amendment for protection against racist attacks.

Here's a local news report about the arrest:

Suspect Facing Hate Crime Charges In 3 Anti-Asian Attacks In Brooklyn, NYPD Sayswww.youtube.com

San Francisco school board members move to oust vice president for past racist tweets against Asian Americans



Members of San Francisco's school board are moving to oust its vice president in a special meeting later this week over her past racist tweets, KRON-TV reported.

What's the background?

Alison Collins came under increasing fire last week after 2016 social media posts of hers containing racist comments against Asian Americans surfaced as part of a campaign to recall school board members.

She said many Asian Americans use "white supremacist thinking" to "get ahead" and called Asian Americans who did not speak out against then-President Donald Trump "house" N-words.

"I grew up in mostly Asian [American] schools and know this experience all to [sic] well. Many Asian Am. believe they benefit from the 'model minority' BS," she wrote. "In fact many Asian Americans [Teachers], [Students], and [Parents] actively promote these myths. They use white supremacist thinking to assimilate and 'get ahead.'"

30 REASONS TO RECALL THE SF SCHOOL BOARD19. Commissioner Collins appears biased against Asian Americans… https://t.co/vv1wMsl0WD
— Recall SF School Board (@Recall SF School Board)1616124944.0

Now what?

Collins offered no indication she will resign even though other board members have called on her to do so. She has, however, apologized.

"For the pain my words may have caused I am sorry, and I apologize unreservedly," she wrote on Medium a few days ago, adding that "as a Black woman, a mother, an educator and a fierce advocate of equity in our schools I utilize my social media platforms to speak out on race and racism."

Collins also apologized during the board's regular meeting Tuesday night, KRON reported.

"I'd like to reemphasize my sincere and heartfelt apologies, and I'm currently engaging with my colleagues and working with the community for the good of all children in our district," she said.

But two other school board members — Faauuga Moligaplan and Jenny Lam — plan to introduce a resolution at Thursday's special meeting calling for Collins to be stripped of her titles, the station said.

"I am not alone when I say I don't have confidence in Commissioner Collins' ability to fairly govern a school district that is almost half [Asian Pacific Islander] with no bias," Lam said. "Restorative justice begins by acknowledging the harm and making the intentional effort to connect with those in the community that has been harmed."

Lam added, "Commissioner Collins' words undermine the labor of communities and our students to dismantle it and it is especially harmful. Words matter."

KRON said 1,000 people signed up to speak about Collins' tweets at the virtual school board meeting, but not everyone was able to speak — and many parents and community members felt silenced by board President Gabriela Lopez for limited time and not splitting up the comments by who supports and doesn't support Collins.

Meghan McCain blames Trump's rhetoric for racist attacks on Asians — and apologizes for her own comments



"The View" co-host Meghan McCain blamed former President Donald Trump for a surge in racist attacks on Asian Americans and apologized or her own comments that might have aided that agenda.

McCain made the comments in a tweet Monday after she was criticized by John Oliver on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver."

"I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trump's racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda," McCain tweeted.

I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There… https://t.co/85WQykTBLR
— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain)1616434468.0

McCain's admission followed a mainstream media narrative that Trump's rhetoric blaming China for the coronavirus contributed to racist attacks on Asian Americans.

She had posted a meme decrying "Asian Hate" in a tweet after a lethal attack at three massage parlors in Atlanta that took the lives of six Asian women. Police have said that the suspect in the attack blamed his actions on a "sex addiction."

Oliver pounced on the meme to attack McCain and make the same charges against her as many had made against Trump.

"I think if the left wants to focus on P.C. labeling this virus, it is a great way to get Trump re-elected," said McCain in the video from March 2020. "I don't have a problem with people calling it whatever they want. It's a deadly virus that did originate in Wuhan."

"Oh good!" Oliver responded sarcastically.

"Meghan McCain doesn't have a problem with it," he continued. "Listen not to the scores of Asian Americans telling everyone that the term is dangerous and offensive. Instead, gather around and take the word of a wealthy white woman who's dressed like she's about to lay off 47 people over Zoom."

Here's the video of Oliver's critique of McCain:

John Oliver Slams Meghan McCain For Using 'China Virus' Labelwww.youtube.com

Attacker yelled 'you motherf***ing Asian' at 68-year-old man before punching him in face, witness says



An attacker yelled "you motherf***ing Asian" at a 68-year-old man before punching him in the face on a New York City subway train, according to witness who spoke to the New York Daily News.

What are the details?

The victim was minding his own business when the attacker boarded the Tribeca train about 2:40 p.m. Friday, the paper said, citing sources.

Witness George Okrepkie told the Daily News the attacker yelled "you motherf***ing Asian" at the victim. The attacker threw what appeared to be a balled-up newspaper before punching the man, Okrepkie added to the paper. The Daily News said the 6-foot, 2-inch attacker's punch left the victim covered in blood that dripped down his jacket.

"I was in a state of shock," Okrepkie, the 55-year-old CEO of AX Trading, who was sitting across from the victim, told the paper. "It's an incredibly disgusting attack on an Asian American."

George OkrepkieImage source: WNBC-TV video screenshot

Okrepie added to the Daily News that he "tried to go after the assailant, but he took off," after which he "went back to the elderly gentleman, took off my scarf and wrapped it around him, waiting for the EMT and NYPD to show up."

Medics rushed the victim to a hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, police told the paper.

"I took photos of the incident to show that crimes keep happening in NYC subways week after week," Okrepkie added to the Daily News. "I just had lunch with a friend of mine who is Asian American, and it's brutal to see the rise in crimes against Asian Americans."

Family members of victim Narayange Bodhi told WNBC-TV that the Sri Lanka native suffered facial bruises and had no memory of the attack.

Caught!

Surveillance cameras captured images of the alleged attacker walking through the subway station looking at his cellphone:

WANTED for AN Assault inside of the Franklin and Varick Street Subway Station  . #manhattan@NYPD1pct@NYPDTD2 on 3/1… https://t.co/aj9lsrh3Hf
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPD Crime Stoppers)1616297587.0

Police found 36-year-old Marc Mathieu, a Bronx resident, as he rode a Manhattan-bound Staten Island Ferry and arrested him on assault charges Sunday, the paper said, adding that police said he wasn't immediately charged with a hate crime, although the investigation was continuing.

⚠️ARRESTED⚠️Thanks to an exhaustive video canvass by @NYPDTransit Detectives, cops recognized this man from his i… https://t.co/X5fg4OMNdB
— Commissioner Shea (@Commissioner Shea)1616373346.0

Anything else?

Okrepkie also spoke to WNBC, noting that he's "a 9/11 survivor, I've got stage-4 cancer because of my exposure to toxic dust at 9/11, I've been riding the subways for 30 years — I've never seen anything like [the attack.] I felt safer on 9/11 than I did at that moment."

The Daily News said this latest attack comes as subway violence has increased despite a roughly 75% drop in ridership since the pandemic — and all while crimes and attacks against Asian Americans have increased.

Here's the WNBC report about the attack which aired prior to the suspect's arrest:

Jake Tapper says national media hasn't talked about anti-Asian racism at all and gushes over Biden's 'empathy'



CNN's Jake Tapper gushed over the "empathy" of President Joe Biden in addressing anti-Asian racism and then claimed that it had not been discussed by the national media at all.

Tapper made the comments while reporting Friday on his show about a scheduled speech that Biden was to give addressing anti-Asian racism.

"At any moment we're expecting President Biden to speak," said Tapper, "after meeting with Asian-American leaders in Atlanta following the shootings that left eight people, including six women of Asian descent, dead."

Tapper was referring to a trio of shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday where the suspect claimed, according to police, that he had lashed out because of his frustration with a sex addiction.

"Biden is known for his empathy for being a good consoler in chief," Tapper continued, "this is obviously a big issue though, the pain in the Asian American community, not just from this incident, not just from the last year, but for racism that really hasn't been discussed much on national media at all!"

"That's exactly right," agreed Dana Bash. "Just by the fact that the president of the United States is going down and is shining a light on something that we've been talking a lot about, certainly this week, but as you said, Jake, has been going on to a lesser degree over the past year, is something."

Bash went on to blame anti-Asian racism on former President Donald Trump for using phrases in referring to the coronavirus that emphasized Wuhan, China, as its origin.

"And the fact that the other side of this, that culturally Asian Americans feel more emboldened to speak out about the horrible hate that they have been dealing with," said Bash, "particularly since people like President Trump have been using racial slurs to describe the COVID virus, and making people believe that people of Asian descent are somehow responsible for this, it's just, it's ridiculous."

Recent incidents of violence and hatred against Asian Americans have been frequently highlighted in the national media, especially by those trying to tie the attacks to rhetoric used by the former president.

Here's the video of Tapper's comments:

Add New Yorker’s report of Cuomo’s taxpayer-funded smear of accuser to growing list of scandals @DanaBashCNN… https://t.co/1G8PREyVD8
— The Lead CNN (@The Lead CNN)1616189559.0

Female Japanese-American teacher suffers broken teeth, fractured face during vicious street attack



A male suspect reportedly struck a Japanese-American woman in the face last week, rendering her unconscious and ultimately leaving her with broken teeth and fractures to her face. The victim said she believed that the suspect hit her with a sock stuffed with a rock or another hard object.

At the time of this reporting, the woman — a longtime Japanese teacher at a Seattle-area high school — has trouble speaking as a result of the attack.

What are the details?

According to reports, surveillance footage captured the moment when Noriko Nasu and her boyfriend, Michael Poffenbarger, were walking in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.

Poffenbarger, according to KOMO-TV, was also struck in the head, and required eight stitches at a nearby hospital.

He said that the attacker was "very deliberate" and "very focused" on attacking Nasu, and is convinced the suspect targeted her for her race.

"I truly believe he was trying to kill us," he told the station. "He definitely targeted her (and) hit her first. She got the most injury out of it. It was a pointed attack on her.

"She has three fractures in her nose right here. Her cheek and her mouth are super bruised. She's got two black eyes and several teeth in the bottom are broken," he added.

Poffenbarger, a registered nurse, said that the suspect only stopped attacking them when he began screaming for help, alerting nearby good Samaritans.

"If those people didn't come out of the restaurant, if he didn't feel the pressure of me calling for help, I don't think he would have given up until we were dead," he admitted.

Northshore School District Superintendent Michelle Reid told KIRO-TV that colleagues believe she was targeted for being Asian.

"In this case, it's gotten very close to home," Reid said. "It's one of our staff."

What else?

Seattle police announced Thursday that 41-year-old Sean Jeremy Holdip was arrested in connection with the assault.

Authorities have not released any further details on the attack nor did they announce what charges they planned to file in the attack. The suspect was being held Thursday at the King County Jail.

The station reported that the police are continuing to investigate the incident.

"While police have not yet found evidence indicating the February attack was racially motivated, the Seattle Police Department Bias Crimes Unit is investigating the incident," the department said in a statement.