Stop discriminASIAN

WHAT HAPPENED?

On my (unknowingly) last day of class on campus, I had to stop at Walmart before class to pick up some supplies for me and my classmates. I was afraid to go alone, so I brought my fiancé with me but we ended up getting separated amongst the crowd of panicked shoppers. As I made my way to the crafts section, a black man stopped in front of me, pointed and screamed "YOU STARTED IT ALL!" I was so shocked all I could respond with was a DISGUSTED look at this man--to which he responded with, "Nah, just joking" and patted my shoulder. No one was laughing. Right as I started walking away, I heard him shout again through the aisles, "YOU STARTED THIS. You look like you have some Chinese in you." I couldn't see him at this point but he did this without anyone stopping him for a good 2-3 times after me to other individuals who appeared of Asian descent. ...WHY ARE YOU POINTING OUT THAT HE IS BLACK??? YOU ARE JUST AS RACIST!!! SO, NOW YOU KNOW HOW RACISM FEELS! GOOD LUCK!!

WHAT DID YOU DO / HOW DID YOU RESPOND?

I was absolutely speechless. All I could do was react with a nasty GLARE. Kinda glad I didn't feed into his behavior or else it could've escalated into something more dangerous

WHEN?

March 12, 2020

WERE THERE WITNESSES?

Possibly, none that I could see though.

DID YOU REPORT IT?

Yes, Staff apologized for the incident and said they would handle it.

WHERE?

Trenton, NJ

GENDER OF THOSE TARGETED

all

NAME

Megan Mattino-Levine

RESOURCES >>

HARASSMENT CAN ESCALATE INTO PHYSICAL VIOLENCE.

Learn ways to speak up, intervene as a bystander, report harassment and violence. Find out about other tools and resources.

a woman said "get away from me you guys all carry diseases"

When the white woman was around 6 feet in front of her, she screamed, "Get away from me! Walk on the other side of the road!"

She asked an employee where the baby wipes were, and the employee responded loudly, "NOPE!" and walked away.

s I made my way to the crafts section, a black man stopped in front of me, pointed and screamed "YOU STARTED IT ALL!"

I was approached by an angry man who yelled at me "Go back to China and tell your government to take back whatever you brought here".

She was on the phone waiting for the train at the East broadway subway platform when a man came up to her, spat his gum at her and yelled Stay Away.

She started by saying how she liked my shoes, but then immediately started explaining to me, and only me, how I really should be wearing a mask and gloves. This lecture continued for 4-5 stops until they got off. I don't think they spoke to anyone else.

Approached by a white male in his fifties who said "six feet, OK?" His wife (white) was tremendously emabarrased and told him that it was rude

I took a seat on the subway and the woman sitting next to me took a double take to then quickly move across to the other side of the train.

A seemingly mentally unstable man stood next to me on the platform and yelled "YOU PEOPLE BROUGHT THIS VIRUS HERE -GO BACK TO CHINA" in my face

A seemingly mentally unstable man sat down across from me on the subway and yelled "YOU PEOPLE BROUGHT THIS VIRUS HERE" before lurching over to another part of the car.

Was asked to stop touching broccoli while grocery shopping by a nervous hypochondriac white lady

I was called "corona" by a group of teenagers. A man on the sidewalk told me "Why don't you go to another neighborhood?"

I told him I was not lying, and that I was as scared as anyone else of the virus. I got out of the car.