A few years ago an Asian-American friend of the family was hit by a car driven by an older white man that the judge would later describe as nice and relatable while she was out for a jog in her suburban Portland neighborhood. She hasn’t shared her story publicly until today, not for lack of trying mind you, but because back in 2015 when this happened she couldn’t find anyone interest in covering the story. Thankfully awareness of hate crimes against Asian-Americans has increased and she has now been able to find some outlets that are willing to cover her story, and rather than reading my interpretation of her experiences I encourage you to listen to her describe them in her own words
One thing that’s striking, though sadly not surprising is how dehumanizing the system is to the victim of the crime.
When she asked the police told her to “stay off the streets”
When she asked the DA why the charges had been reduced from “intentional” assault to “reckless” assault, she was told that he (the DA) didn’t want to put him (the attacker) through that
When she asked the judge, why he got less than the mandatory minimum sentence she was told that he found thought the attacker was a good guy who deserved to be spared
Its as though she has been written out of the story where she is the victim, even though she is the one that has to live with this neighbor who has at least twice attacked Asian women with his car. I guess they expect her to move or just “stay off the streets.”