(Today we continue our look back at 2014 with the third most viewed story on AsAmNews of the year)
The perpetual foreigner stereotyped reared its ugly head in Louisville, KY this year prompting a healthy debate on AsAmNews.
Valerie Chinn has worked as a news reporter and anchor at WDRB, the Fox affiliate in Louisville, since 2001. Her husband and three children have made Kentucky their home.
So when a local fire chief she confronted about questionable spending habits asked her if she understood English, she admittedly was taken aback.
“I was shocked the first time he asked me if I understood English, but was even more shocked when he kept asking it over and treating me disrespectfully,” Chinn said to AsAmNews via email.
Sometimes racism when its encountered by chance is something you can easily walk away from. If you receive rude treatment at a store, you can take your business elsewhere. Watch a show like 2 Broke Girls featuring a effeminate Asian American male speaking in broken English, you can change the channel. But when you encounter racism on the job, you have no choice but to deal with it.
Chinn’s reaction to Chief Julius Hatfield’s racially tinged barbed was priceless.
You can watch it in the link below. Chinn’s encounter with Hatfield was the third most viewed story on AsAmNews in 2014 and also one which received the most comments.
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