Despite global protests against racism, shocking incidents continue to make the headlines where people of colour and different race are being traumatised by some racists. Social media is full of such incidents and the sheer volume of it shows the everyday struggle of minorities. One such incident from California has made the headlines, involving an immigrant Caucasian and an Asian family.
The shocking incident took place at a restaurant in California and a video showing the man hurl racist abuse at an Asian family has gone viral. Jordan Chan shared the video on her Instagram handle on Monday, which has garnered thousands of views and sparked an outrage on social media.
Tech CEO's racist remarks draw ire
Chan started video recording the incident after her family was "relentlessly harassed" while celebrating her aunt's birthday at Lucia restaurant in Carmel Vally on the Fourth of July. Chan can be heard asking the man to repeat what he said, to which he starts off by flipping the finger and saying: "Trump's gonna f*** you! You f***ers need to leave... f***ing Asian piece of s**t."
"This is the face of the man who relentlessly harassed my family and I completely UNPROVOKED, UNWARRANTED, and UNCONSCIONABLE. We were celebrating my tita's birthday, literally just singing happy birthday to her and taking pictures, when this white supremacist starts yelling disgusting racist remarks at us. ("F*** you Asians" "Go back to whatever f***ing Asian country you're from" "You don't belong here")," Chan wrote on Instagram.
The video goes on to show a restaurant staff step in and stand up to the Caucasian man. While he was hurling racial abuses at the Asian family, he gets kicked out by the staff and banned from returning again.
"You do not talk to our guests like that. Get out now. They are valued guests. You are not allowed here ever again." The man in the video can be seen talking back at the waitress before walking out.
Watch the video below:
Founder and CEO of Solid8
As the video went viral on social media, it was only a matter of time before the identity of the man came to light. Chan, along with other social media users, identified the man in the video as Michael Lofthouse, the founder and CEO of a San Francisco-based IT company Solid8.
Ironically, Lofthouse is an immigrant, who had moved to California from the UK. In fact, he also has an Asian sister-in-law and a half-Asian niece.
Chan pointed out another shocking remark made by Lofthouse, who had called him out for his racist behaviour.
"This man is sickening... there are truly no words..... Michael Lofthouse threatened the life of Ahmed Omer," she wrote. "Know this man's name. Michael Lofthouse is an evil racist."
Chan had also criticised Trump for giving racists a platform.
"White supremacy has a notorious habit of masquerading as patriotism! The fact that Donald Trump is our president (i.e. THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD) gives racists a platform and amplifies voices of hate. The surfacing of racists is so prevalent right now, even in such an ethnically/culturally diverse and liberal state like California, because Trump HIMSELF uses his position to incite racial tension and to promote aggression towards POC, foreigners, and immigrants," Chan wrote.
Recently, Reddit updated its rules that resulted in taking down one of the most active political communities on the platform, r/The_Donald. The forum run by Pro-Trump supporters were promoting hate and violence and it was finally stopped. Twitter has also started labelling Trump's tweets that incite hate or violence.
