Last week, in a small Starbucks on North California Boulevard, two college students sat together studying.
One was Annie An of Pleasant Hill, currently a Diablo Valley College student, and the other was a Sean Lee of UC Berkeley. Both are Korean.
What happens next is, at best, a representation of how ignorance can affect our world.
As recorded by An, a middle-aged white woman sitting near them notices their speech. The woman begins by telling them that, "... especially Oriental, I hate it. I don't want to hear the language."
This nice old lady goes on to say that Barack Obama, our former president, called for people in the United States to speak English, adding that "If you want to sit and be quiet, fine, but I don't want to hear your language."
Overhearing, two baristas come over. They tell the woman that their store's patrons may speak whatever language they preferred, threatening to call the police.
Guess what happened?
The woman refuses to leave, not even getting up out of her seat. Holding true to statement, the baristas call the police and the woman is escorted out.
Sean Lee posted the video on his Facebook on Sunday.
Sean Lee, however, stated on Wednesday that "We shouldn't blindly hate on this woman, and understand that she grew up in an environment that perpetuates ignorance. Instead of spending our energy on name-calling, let's use it to push for more constructive dialogue and policies in our community, state and nation."
What do you think?
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