"What does it say there? Do you understand English?"
An elderly Asian man who was seen demanding that a woman give up her seat on an NYC bus has been described as “racist”.
A video of an elderly Asian man on a New York City bus yelling at a woman of colour to give up her ‘priority seat’ has been shared on social media.
Chelsea Soriano shared the video on Facebook with a caption written by Cris Soriano. In the clip, the man is angered by the woman sitting in the ‘priority seat’. Pointing at the sign above the woman that says ‘priority seat’, the man yells, “what does it say there? Do you understand English? Too bad for you, go back to your country.”
Soriano describes how her family were on the Q32 to Manhattan when the incident occurred.
“Everything was fine until this old Asian man got on and started hassling the woman sitting down to give up her seat,” Soriano wrote.
According to Soriano the woman also required the seat as she had difficulty walking. “This man did not ask nicely he straight up yelled at her asking her if she can read,” Soriano continued. “This woman was old and had trouble walking, only difference is this old man used a walker.”
The man then allegedly began using his walker to hit the woman. “On top of yelling at this woman… he started ramming his walker on to this poor woman’s legs,” Soriano continued. “He then told her to get out and go back to her country. Mind you this woman spoke clearer English than he did.”
Soriano added that the man said Asians were better. “He called us spicks and told us all to go back to where we came from,” Soriano said. “He also went on a rant about how Asians are better because they pay taxes and they never go to jail. Unlike us brown people.”
The Daily Mail described the man’s actions as “launching a racist attack”.
Soriano asked for users to make the video viral.
Some commenters shared Soriano’s hatred for the man. “I’m just Done!” wrote Karolina K Valentina. “The nerve of this man!! Telling an elderly woman to give up her seat and then make racial comments! Man all imma say … I would had definitely knock his wanna be disable racial ass down!!!”
One Asian commenter said he was probably a scammer. “I’m Asian and even I don’t wanna help him,” said Meina Huang. “I swear to god. Some of these Asian people probably does worse than the ones who tries to make an honest living. He probably did some scamming shit on their income to con the government. He’s fucking full of shit. Fuck his man pride.”
Others were more sympathetic towards the man.
“Even though she’s an elderly too the man needed the seat more than she does since he had a walker with him,” said Omar Feaky’Don. “Where she is sitting that seat is for those with wheelchairs so it made sense to sit there with his walker to have room for ppl to walk by.”
Savannah Marie Rodriguez commented, “I’m just curious. I’m not trying to come out wrong. He’s old and probably going to go soon and to make it viral so other people could harass a old person doesn’t justify it. Don’t get me wrong he’s fucked up for saying what he said but to try to make it viral is weird. I could be looking at the situation wrong though 
♀️”