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1. The beating of Marie Stefanie Martinez « Vox ex Machina on 24 Mar 2007 at 2:54 pm

   […] 24th, 2007 by Vox Via Zuky, Angry Asian Man and Racialicious: A Catholic-high-school student said she was brutally punched, kicked and teased for looking […]

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1. Ananse wrote:

   The GOP student group at issue is hosting a speech by former Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vazquez, who’s running for US Senate in 2008 after losing his bid in 2006.

   He’s been quoted as finding nothing wrong with the promotion of his speech, and that those who fail to appreciate the provocative humor tend to find racism in everything.

   Vazquez, grandson of a Mexican immigrant, in the past also sent a bill to the Mexican government for $2 million for the cost of illegal residents use of social services and rise of disease and violent crime: “It’s not racist to defend one’s country. It’s not discriminating to demand that people in this country enter legally, be healthy and not be criminals.”

   He also famously moved to sue companies using undocumented immigrants under federal racketeering laws: “Some people say I’m a racist, that I’m a traitor to my heritage. There is nothing racial about this. The only color involved is green– for money.”

   Many Idaho GOPers are split on this and ticked off at him as are for his positions. Hispanics make up 8% of the state population but only 4% of active voters last cycle.

   Posted 22 Mar 2007 at 8:20 am ¶

2. Jun Zuniga wrote:

   In regards to the news item about the Asian-American student assaulted on an MTA bus in New York.

   Please sign and disseminate to your networks. Act against anti-Asian hate crime!

   http://www.petitiononline.com/mtahate1/petition.html

   Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!

   On March 16, 2007 the New York Post reported that 17 year old Asian high school student, Marie Stefanie Martinez was assaulted in New York by a group of teenagers on a MTA B82 bus due to their perception that she looked “Chinese” even though she is of Filipino descent. Ms. Martinez was punched, kicked, and subjected to slurs in what can be categorized as a hate crime based on her attackers animus towards her perceived ethnicity.

   Reportedly, the MTA bus operator who witnessed the assault did nothing to intervene during the course of the assault on Ms. Martinez and neglected his moral and ethical duty to ensure the safety of MTA riders and punctuated his negligent conduct by allegedly advising Ms. Martinez, who was still wearing her Catholic school uniform, to “go talk to a priest” after the assault.

   This petition seeks the following:

   1) The MTA and NYPD conduct a vigorous full and complete investigation into the incident ensuring that any violations found of any applicable hate crimes statutes are fully applied.

   2) The bus operator be subjected to discipline commensurate to the action of permitting riders to commit a hate crime on a MTA rider. If the bus operator is found to have permitted the assault to have taken place and informed Ms. Martinez to “go talk to a priest”, MTA should subject the bus operator to termination from his position.

   By signing this petition, you state that you agree with the aforementioned two points.

   Let this serve as notice that the Asian American community remembers the hate crimes perpetrated on Fermin Tobera, Vincent Chin, Thong H. Huynh, An Pech, Ly Yung Cheung, Navroze Mody, Raphanor Or, Ram Chun, Sokhim An, Thuy Tran, Oeun Lim, Ming Hai “Jim” Loo, Heng Lim, Hung Truong, the Nakashima Family, Luyen Phan Nguyen, Sam Nhang Nhem, Thanh Mai, Eddy Wu, Thien Minh Ly, Kanu Patel, Mukesh Patek, Naoki Kamijima, Won-Joon Yoon, Joseph Ileto, Sandip Patel, Theo Pham, Ji-ye Sun, Anil Thakur, Thung Phetakoune, Kenny Chiu, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Waqar Hasan, Mijanaur Rahman, Mohammed Sakawat, Vasudev Patel, Lili Wang, Bang Mai, Charlotte Colton, Ze Fairchild, Maleka Higgins, Nicola Grant, Guadalupe Swartz, Dexter Shannon, Beverly Graham, Song Sun Lee, Stephen Kam Yan Li, and the countless other Asians and Asian Americans who have suffered the ultimate price due to racial hatred aimed at the Asian/Asian American community. We will not tolerate hate crimes and will vigorously act to ensure justice in our communities.

   http://www.nypost.com/seven/03182007/news/regionalnews/girls_bloody_beating_regionalnews_dan_mangan________and_leela_de_kretser.htm

   http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212007/news/regionalnews/girl__14__nabbed_in_student_bus_beating_regionalnews_erika_martinez_and_leela_de_kretser.htm

   Posted 22 Mar 2007 at 9:27 am ¶

3. Brad wrote:

   The young woman who was beaten on the should sue for emotional distress. This driver should be fired on the spot with no questions asked. I hope these dirtbags who carried out the assualt are hunted down and charged. I get so aggrivated when the discussion on racism and crime ALWAYS turns into a discussion on how ignorant everyone is. When are we going to hold people accountable for their ACTIONS? This was an act of EVIL. These were not naive ingnorant school-children. These are thugs and degenirates who deserve a stiff punishment. How far were they going to go? I shudder to think.

   Posted 22 Mar 2007 at 10:12 pm ¶

4. Andres Bonifacio wrote:

   http://pacificcitizen.org/content/2007/national/apr6-stom-mta.htm

   AA Community Rallies Around 17-Year-Old Teen Beaten on New York MTA Bus

   By Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, Executive Editor
   Published April 6, 2007

   Members of the New York Asian American community are rallying behind a Filipino American teen who was attacked by a group of youths for looking “Chinese” while riding an MTA bus on her way home from school, all while the bus driver allegedly stood by doing nothing.

   Local AA groups are demanding that the New York Police Department look into the beating of Marie Stefanie Martinez, 17, on March 16 as a possible hate crime and are seeking accountability from the MTA, especially since the victim claims the driver did not come to her aid.

   “Ms. Martinez could be your mother, your daughter, your sister, your cousin. If Asians or Asian Americans are being assaulted on the basis of someone’s perception that we ‘look Chinese’ then racism and hatred isn’t making the distinction between whether or not someone is Filipino American, Hmong American, Chinese American, Vietnamese American,” said Jun Zuniga, a Filipino American, who has started an online petition condemning the recent assault on Martinez.

   “Our political leaders need to be held accountable when hate crimes against our community occur. We have to help steer public policy.”

   On March 20 two teens - a 14-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy - were arrested for the beating of Martinez by the NYPD’s hate crime task force and taken into custody. The girl is currently being detained in juvenile detention while the investigation continues. The 17-year-old boy allegedly hit Martinez in the face.

   Martinez was riding the MTA B82 bus after finishing school and was heading to her Brooklyn home on March 16 when the beating occurred. According to local media reports, Martinez was confronted by a group of about nine to ten hostile teens who taunted her for looking “Chinese” even though she is of Filipino descent.

   Suffering cuts and bruises from the assault, Martinez was finally rescued by a good Samaritan. As she got off the bus, Martinez says the driver told her to “go talk to a priest” likely because she was wearing her Catholic school uniform at the time.

   Martinez has now filed a civil lawsuit against the MTA seeking monetary damages and changes to the current MTA policies.

   Charles Seaton, a spokesperson for the MTA, said he could not comment on any pending lawsuits but said the incident is “under investigation.”

   “Marie is devastated. She is afraid to ride the bus and she wants to go back to the Philippines,” said Martinez’ attorney Rosemarie Arnold, who noted that volunteers are driving the teen to and from school since she no longer feels safe riding the MTA bus.

   Arnold says she has received a letter from the MTA admitting fault in the incident and promising to “investigate the incident.” She also noted the police have been “helpful” in investigating the attack on her client.

   The beating of Martinez has rallied members of the New York AA community and they are demanding accountability from the MTA and that the NYPD look into the incident as a hate crime.

   “We want to let [Marie Martinez] know she’s not alone,” said Jian Feng Xu, board member of the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, who noted the group is currently working on a press conference with the student and her attorney. “We want to publicize this to motivate the MTA and the police to do the right thing. We want to let other people out there know that we won’t tolerate this.”

   So far the “Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!” petition started by Zuniga has already garnered more than 2,400 signatures of support.

   “I want to encourage Asian Americans to report when these bias crimes occur so that American society at large starts to realize that Asians or Asian Americans will not sit idly by and tolerate hate crimes committed against us on the basis of our race and or ethnicity,” said Zuniga.

   Posted 09 Apr 2007 at 11:04 am ¶

5. Jun Zuniga wrote:

   http://www.falloutcentral.com/news/2007/04/17/podcast-episode-interview-with-john-leo-directory-of-community-relations-for-the-chinatown-partnership-new-york-city/

   On this week’s show, Fallout Central discusses:

   *The future of New York City’s Chinatown with John K. Leo, Director of Outreach and Community Relations for the Chinatown Partnership.

   *A recent racist skit (”Are You Smarter than an Asian?”) that aired on New York radio station Power 105.1 with Vicki Shu Smolin. President of the Organization of Chinese Americans - New York,

   *An update on the the bias attack of Marie Martinez from Jun Zuniga dialing in from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

   *A protest against racist Chinese restaurant ads in Tucson, AZ with Victor Wong of the TCA dialing in from Tucson, Arizona
   Denny’s Incident: 10 Years Later with Jennifer Zhao, Education Chair of the Syracuse “Denny’s 10 Year Remembrance Committee,” dialing in from Syracuse, New York.

   Posted 30 Apr 2007 at 12:45 pm ¶

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