A man in California is facing criticism online after making an anti-Asian gesture toward a driver stopped at a traffic light.
The driver shared footage of the incident on Reddit, captured by his car’s cameras, under the title “Random Racism.” He also described what happened and identified where it took place. “Lol this guy just starts doing the eye slant gesture. Whos grandpa is this? By the post office on Del Mar and Las Tunas,” he wrote.
The video showed the man walking alongside the car, looking at the driver, then using his fingers to pull the corners of his eyes to make them appear smaller. He initially walked away, then stopped and repeated the gesture for longer before finally leaving. The driver then drove away as well.
The eye-slant gesture is considered racist because it mocks physical features commonly associated with people of East Asian descent. Pulling the corners of the eyes to make them appear smaller has long been used as an offensive racial taunt to ridicule Asian people based on their appearance. The gesture reinforces harmful stereotypes and contributes to the discrimination and harassment experienced by Asian communities. In this case, the man’s repeated use of the gesture toward the driver was viewed as racist because it mocked physical features associated with the driver’s perceived ethnicity.
The driver also provided more details about the man, writing, “He looked like an older Filipino dude.” He explained how the encounter began, adding, “The Tesla has 9 cameras filming at all times. I was waiting at the stoplight and he walked by and just started doing that.” It remains unclear what prompted the man to make the gesture.
Viewers Slam California Man Over Racist Gesture
Many viewers condemned the California man for making the racist gesture toward the Asian driver, calling his behavior unacceptable. “Disgusting,” one person wrote. Another commenter pointed out the man’s appearance, saying, “And he also looks Asian.”
Other viewers continued discussing the racist incident. One person wrote, “Being racist toward Asians in SGV is like being racist toward white people in Boise, Idaho.” Another commenter pushed back against focusing on the man’s perceived ethnicity, saying, “Maybe. I don’t think it matters, this is clearly racist and he’s doing it towards a stranger… when we say ‘he looks Asian though’ it seems to add fuel to the bigotry…”
Whatever prompted the bizarre encounter remains unclear. The driver said he was simply waiting at a stoplight when the man walked past and began making the gesture, leaving viewers just as confused about why he decided to target a complete stranger.
