Racism is harmful no matter who it comes from, but it can feel especially disheartening when it emerges from within communities that have themselves experienced discrimination. With this in mind, an Asian woman in California was caught on camera making a racist rant aimed at students from Nogales High School during a recent anti‑ICE walkout. The video is circulating online right now.
In the footage, which appears to have been recorded from the perspective of one of the high school students during the anti-ICE walkout, you can see an elderly Asian lady in a parking lot, and she appears to be carrying her shopping to her car. Before the camera has even started rolling, it’s implied that the Asian California woman has already said something xenophobic towards the protestors, as you can hear the pupil saying at the start of the video, “Say this loud and proud, lady. Say it loud.” as she shakes her umbrella threateningly at the him.
“Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Now you’re threatening me? Hey, that’s assault, lady.” exclaims the student, before explaining that what the pupils are doing is exercising their freedom of speech. As the woman is placing her shopping in the boot of her car, you can hear her yell, “You’re supposed to be in America. You’re not in Mexico, wake up.” before adding, “I love America.”
It’s worth noting that one of the pupils actually hurls a racist comment towards the Asian woman, which is totally unacceptable as well. You can hear a young girl say, “Go back to [expletive] China!” though the cameraman denounces this remark, saying, “You don’t need to tell her that.”
As the video gains traction online, reactions from netizens have been swift and plentiful. On Reddit, one user penned, “What a rude lady,” while another chimed in with, “Getting racist at a protest essentially against racism? It’s sad how quickly tribalism comes into play, no matter the circumstance. We always need to guard against that in ourselves.” Elsewhere, on Instagram, one user wrote, “She’s a Filipino MAGA.” while another added, “Sadly a lot of Filipinos got that I love the colonizer mindset.“
