[KUED.org]
If you don’t know who Vincent Chin is, then you’ve probably never taken an Asian Am or ethnic studies course. No worries, that’s what Wikipedia is for. Click here to find out who Vincent Chin is – how his murderers got away with beating an unarmed man to death with a baseball bat and how this injustice sparked the first Asian American civil rights movement.
Last week was the 28th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s murder. To commemorate, Director Tony Lam released a special edition DVD of his 2009 documentary, “Vincent Who?” – if you’re interested, click here to buy a copy.
If you’re not sure, here’s the trailer:
I don’t know about you, but the opening sequence of the trailer made me really sad. Really? Have Asian Americans really forgotten about the Vincent Chin case?
Filed under: Film
Yes Daisy it is sad to say I think many of us have. I was an Asian American studies minor in college and I even had to think hard to try and place the name. It wasn’t until reading your article that I was reminded of the circumstances his death.
I am going to take a guess that personally it is so out of mind because society’s tolerance for those hate crimes has changed so much since then. A lot of us don’t see something like this being repeated to Asians and hopefully not to other minority groups. Something like that just doesn’t seem possible. Not just the killing, but the handling of it by the justice system. Of course the Rodney King beating comes to mind, but that too shows how times have changed as more than just the African American pop. were outraged about it and the case polarized a new issue of police brutality.
For example if a person of middle eastern descent was beaten to death after 9/11′s events I don’t think they would have gotten a plea bargain or any sort of leniency. They would have gone to jail for life or died in a chair.
You got me to write more than your original post. So at least you reminded one person and hopefully I won’t forget this time. Check back with me in another 5-10 years.