The level of discrimination across the country keeps getting more and more alarming. Nothing screams irony more than a California woman with a heavy Filipino accent confronting a mother and her daughter and calling them illegal simply because they were speaking Spanish.
The exchange was posted on TikTok with a text overlay that read, “Racist lady calling my daughter and me illegal & telling us not to speak Spanish.” In the clip, the Filipina woman stood by her shopping cart, unloading groceries, while going on about how the Spanish-speaking woman needed to speak only English. The daughter then calmly explained that her mother did not speak English, but that did not deter the woman; instead, she doubled down.
“Okay, okay. You’re not speaking English because you’re not English-speaking. You’re illegal,” the woman declared. The daughter then pushed back, pointing out that speaking another language did not automatically make them criminals. “It’s not illegal to speak another language in another country,” she replied.
In response to the daughter’s defence, the racist woman spat, “As long as you don’t have to get my tax. I’m a taxpayer.” The daughter reminded her that she and her mother were also taxpayers. “You speak English. No other language here, only English,” the Filipino woman concluded, maintaining her stance. As expected, netizens stormed the comments, frustrated, embarrassed, and even exhausted, especially seeing the discrimination among minorities.
“The minority on minority hate is rising… The world is so crazy right now,” one lamented, while another chimed in with political frustration, “Can’t wait for this administration to be over. Trump brought division.”
Many were stuck on the fact that the person insisting the Spanish-speaking woman should speak English was barely coherent. “Are you kidding? Haha, with a very strong Filipino accent!” a TikToker wrote, while another added, “With the accent and everything.” Someone else wrote, “I would be saying ‘What?? Can you say that in English, please?’ I would repeat it over and over.” A TikToker wrote, “I can’t even understand what that lady is saying.” Sharing the sentiment, another user echoed, “Ma’am, I can barely understand what you are saying.”
Enjoying the irony, one user joked, “Well, if that’s not the kettle calling the pot what it is.” Another jested, “Oh my god… that’s like asking the Chinese nail ladies not to speak Chinese.” One last user pointed out a major issue, “Oh my god. We are all foreigners in this country. Don’t forget this.”
