That viral video
About 97% of the U.S. population who aren’t indigenous to this country are either first-generation immigrants themselves or have families that were once immigrants to this country.
Issue #43
Hi all —
By now, many of you have probably seen the video of a woman’s racist attack on several Indian American women in a Plano, Texas, parking lot on Aug. 24. It’s been making the rounds on WhatsApp and media outlets everywhere.
(If you haven’t seen it, here’s the full video — CONTENT WARNING: Video contains expletives and may be upsetting to some viewers.)
The rant was full of classic racist rhetoric: [BROAD ETHNICITY TERM] is ruining everything. Go back to [INSERT COUNTRY].
The perpetrator, identified as Esmeralda Upton, identifies as second-generation Mexican American. Police in Plano — a Dallas suburb where more than 27% were born outside the U.S. — are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
So while a lot has been said about this video in the last week, I have nothing substantive to add, except this fact I often repeat like a broken record:
About 97% of the United States population who aren’t indigenous (namely Native Americans and Alaska Natives) to this country are either first-generation immigrants themselves or have families that were once immigrants to this country.
We were all immigrants at some point — including Upton’s family. It’s the American story.
Thanks for joining the conversation,
Vignesh Ramachandran (@VigneshR)
Co-founder of Red, White and Brown Media
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