KEY POINTS

  • Police had to be called to escort the unnamed woman out the cafe.
  • She became enraged because two people were speaking Korean on a table next to her.
  • Victim Annie An says it is not the first time she has experienced racism in the US.

An American woman berated two Korean speakers for daring to use a language other than English in a California Walmart.

The woman was in such a rage that police officers were forced to remove her from the Walnut Creek establishment.

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Sean Lee was tutoring community college student Annie An when the unnamed woman took issue with their using Korean.

Lee was talking to Annie about essay writing in his native tongue when the woman said: "Don't you ever say that again."

Annie took out her phone and began filming the incident before uploading the video to social media. It has since gone viral.

An told the Korea Herald: "Some specific words she mentioned made me so mad: 'Especially Korean,' 'disgusting,' 'Be quiet and sit down,' 'English only,' and 'immigrants.'"

"I have experienced racism on multiple counts during my stay in the US," said Annie. "For instance, the waitress would refuse to serve me at a restaurant in a white neighborhood, or a white man would yell at me from a passing car, calling me 'Ching Ching.'"

"But this is my first time to encounter someone who exhibited such outright sarcasm in a nonchalant, uncaring manner," the 21-year-old said.

"We should never brush off racist remarks and actions. The more we stay quiet, the more history will ignore us. I wish more people would realize the power of immigrants, as the nation of US was built by immigrant hands."

Annie An racism starbucks
Annie An says she has experienced racism in the US on multiple ocassions Facebook/Annie An

An claimed she had received further racist abuse on Facebook after posting the video, saying: "Some left aggressive comments on the video thread. Two people sent direct messages. One read, 'You should have talked quietly. Your language sounds kinda annoying,' and another read 'F**k off Asian.'"

Her tutor, Sean Lee, told KRON 4: "This was actually my very first time interacting with someone like this, and that's why I was even more surprised. I mean, I see videos like this online, you know, I see it on the news, but it's not something I would ever imagine happening to me or anyone I know."

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