About 20 years ago, a 70-year-old man was admitted as a Trauma Team to our hospital, after a brutal assault and robbery on the streets. The patient was a frail-looking Vietnamese man who was just collecting plastic bottles to help out his family. He tried to hold on to his money. His assailants pummeled him several times. They ran away with only $5.00 and left the man bruised with a leg fracture. He was forever traumatized.
According to some bystanders, two teenagers were calling him racial slurs which the old man did not understand. The family, through the interpreter, tried to get NYPD to arrest the teenagers, who were known to the community, but the police dismissed the case as a simple robbery, not a hate crime. Because they were juveniles, they got away scot-free.
Twenty years later, Asian hate still strikes fear amongst us. Microaggressions, outright harassment, and blatant racisms exist.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, Anti-Asian violence quadrupled last year. Assaults on Asians, especially the women and the elderly continue to rise. The deaths of Michelle Go, Christina Yuna Lee, Yao Pan Ma, and GuiYing Ma are senseless and horrifying.
How many more vulnerable individuals are harassed who look like me? How many times will NYPD refuse to consider or even quick to dismiss the assaults as hate crimes? How many murders have to happen before tougher measures are enforced, especially in keeping those perpetrators in jail where they belong and not released to be a menace to society again?
Many bystanders refuse to intervene for fear for their own lives. Last week, a Filipino man was assaulted in a McDonald's restaurant. The video showed another tall and burly customer just turning his back to the violence behind him.
And then there were heroes; good Samaritans. A selfless act of heroism that is commendable at this time when people choose not to defend a person in need.
Two weeks ago, the father-and-son duo of Cazim and Louie Suljovic dared to help out an Asian woman who was being assaulted and robbed outside of their pizza parlor (Louie's Pizzeria) in Elmhurst, Queens. Both men were stabbed several times but they managed to bring down two of the assailants until NYPD arrived. Both men were hospitalized at Elmhurst Hospital and fortunately, are recovering well.
The Go-Fund-Me page that was organized by a
friend has raised $696,610 (as of this writing). The money will pay for their
medical expenses and to support their workers while the restaurant is closed. The outpouring of support indicated the community's gratitude for the courage that almost cost them the Suljovics' lives.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/30/father-and-son-stabbed-outside-pizza-shop-slam-nyc-crime-surge/
It begs the question that many of us will probably be grappling with when faced with the same incident: what will we do? To be honest, I am not sure. If I am physically able, I know I will not be able to ignore a plea for help. I know I will call for assistance. I hope that I have a weapon with me, or maybe I can distract an assailant, and hopefully, some able-bodied men can step up and take our community back again and prevent evil-minded people from hurting innocent people whose only "mistake" is being somebody that does not look like them.
Racism, against anyone, whatever the color of their skin, is unconscionable and inhumane.
