Even metropolitan cities like New York are not immune to racially-motivated incidences of harassment happening all across the country.
Seulji Lee and a friend were riding the subway to Coney Island on July 7 around 3:40 PM when a white male passenger verbally assaulted her for no reason other than the fact that her non-whiteness really irked him.
The confrontation ended with him spitting on her.
Lee shared her disturbing story and posted a video of the racist man shoving her after debarking the train. People disgusted by the video were unsure of the events prompting him to act out physically since the posted video footage picked up toward the end of the altercation.
(Seulji Lee/Facebook)
But here's what we know so far based on her account of the incident as posted on Facebook.
I'm sharing this video, pic and the story since I hope this kind of racism or hate crime are never going to happen to anyone again.
A guy was sitting right next to me on the N train. He said "Fake", "Get the fuck out of my country". But I couldn't make sure he did it to me since I was talking to a friend of mine.
Lee and her friend got up and tried moving to another train, but when they saw the man exit the car, they sat back down. However, the man was clearly stalking her as he reentered the train through the next car.
By the time the train reached the next station, the man had returned to the car where he first saw Lee and her friend. But the harassment turned physical once the train reached Coney Island.
At the Coney island station, After we got off the train, he spat on my head behind my back.
- I tried to catch him. He shook my hand off, then shoved me toward the train and ran away.
The photograph accompanying her post was taken by another passenger who thought the man looked suspicious.
After that, a woman who was there has sent the picture of him to me. According to her saying, he was acting strange to her and her mother as well. That's the reason why she has taken a picture just in case.
It's a good thing Lee had someone looking out for her. Now the internet knows what he looks like.
When it comes to racial abuse, the diverse city of New York is a "zero tolerance" zone. This person can run up the stairs like a coward, but New Yorkers and––the internet––have their eyes out for him.
In case you wanted a better look at the man in question, here's a cropped photo, courtesy of the internet that is hellbent on bringing him to justice.
The incident serves as a reminder that racial discrimination is not just limited to "black and white" issues, as heated as those are. If anything else, it's also encouraged people, no matter their race, color, or creed, to stand up to bigotry.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram