I have a story to tell you on this first day of April:

A 65-year-old Asian American woman fell on Monday, March 29, 2021, near Times Square in New York City because a man passed by in a hurry and accidentally knocked her over.

At least a few bystanders happened to witness her fall in the Heaven’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, according to police, who released the video in an appeal for help identifying the careless man.

The woman was headed to church when the man knocked her down. The witnesses – lobby staffers at the apartment building where the incident occurred outside its doors – stopped being bystanders and rushed out to help the woman. They sat her down in the lobby of the apartment building she was in front of, offered her tea. One even ran down the street to bring her flowers. They didn’t let her leave until they felt she was calm and well enough to walk on her on.

Ain’t that sweet of them?!

The Asian American woman went on her way to church and only suffered minor bruises and bumps.

The. End.

If you believe that story, then you’ve been living under a rock.

That was my brief fantasy version of an event this past Monday, March 29th.

No, the real story is that the 65-year-old Asian American woman, identified by police as Vilma Kari, was violently attacked in broad daylight near Times Square on Monday by a man who knocked her to the ground and started furiously kicking her head, allegedly shouting, “Fuck you, you don’t belong here” at her.

According to video released by the NYPD that showed the horrific attack, there were at least three bystanders in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Who did NOTHING. Nada. Just stood around. The video showed a few passing cars as well that did not stop. Two of those bystanders were building security personnel of the apartment building where Ms. Kari was attacked outside its doors.

So much for security, eh?

Three men versus one attacker…surely they had a chance to stop him? At least scare him away? But who wants to get involved in helping an Asian woman being brutally attacked?

Apparently, no one.

She could have been my mother, auntie, sister, or a friend.

Or yours.

Now the public finds out that the suspect, identified by police as Brandon Elliot, served 17 years in state prison for stabbing his mother to death in 2002 and that he was released on lifetime parole in November 2019. He’s been charged with “two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count each of attempted assault as a hate crime, assault and attempted assault,” according to local news.

Mr. Elliot looks to be a BIG man in the video. He. Kicked. Her. Head. Furiously and repeatedly.

Are there any words for this?! Yet another attack on the Asian American community.

And the “security” personnel didn’t do a damn thing. Just stood by and watched. Didn’t even try to help her, let alone call 911 for help. Did they enjoy watching Mr. Elliot viciously kick Ms. Kari in the head? Were they scared he’d beat the shit out of them if they got involved? What sticks out is that they made no effort whatsoever to intervene.

Cowards.

Ms. Kari was taken to the hospital, where doctors found she had a fractured pelvis and contusions to the head, according to WABC TV.

“The victim sustained a serious physical injury and was removed by EMS to NYU Langone Hospital,” and is stable, the police said.

I feel so bad for Ms. Kari and her family. I hope she will recover — physically and emotionally — and not suffer too badly from this horrible crime. She was attacked for being who she was. She did absolutely nothing wrong.

When will this anti-Asian hatred end?

I don’t know. But I say to the bullies like Mr. Elliot who scream “You don’t belong here”: take your poison to the nearest toxic waste dump where it belongs, please. Go to your local public library and read a history book about Asian Americans. Turn your brain back on instead of being a radioactive asshole. A fucking pariah to your community. To America.

Peace.

Sources

The Post Millennial
The New York Post
CNN
MSN
Independent
CBS