A man on a New York City subway told an Asian woman that he thinks “all Asians should die.”
Kat Yen, a theater director, was riding the 42nd street subway on March 5. It was her first day back in New York City, and she had just gone to see a play.
On the ride back, Yen noticed a man yelling and making racist comments about Chinese people. According to an Instagram post from Yen, the man began directing his harassment at two Asian women. Yen and her partner stood in front of the two women to protect them.
Yen says she began recording when the man began harassing another Asian man who got on at the next stop. She posted the videos to Instagram.
In the video, the man defends his racist comments saying he has a right to freedom of speech.
“I have the right to say that,” the man says. “I think all Asians should die.”
In the second video, the man says he is “proud to be racist,” but that he is only racist against Asians.
Several people came to Yen’s aid as the man continued to harass her.
In her Instagram post explaining the situation, Yen says a few passengers pulled the man off the train by his backpack. She said she was “really touched that this diverse group of passengers” worked together to help her “take a stand against Asian hate.”
Police arrested the man shortly after he was pulled off the subway. Yen says she told the police she had video evidence showing the incident was a hate crime. She claims they ignored her.
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I think everyone knows what the solution is. But there are many legal roadblocks to implementing it.