Man Goes on Racist Rant About Chinese People and Coronavirus on LA Subway

The racist tirade, which occurred after 11 p.m. on Feb. 1, was filmed in part by a female Asian American commuter, who feared for her safety as the man became increasingly agitated.

The man, who was “a little bit intoxicated,” reportedly started talking about Chinese people and the coronavirus as soon he came on the train.

“For me, not being Chinese, I didn’t pick it up right away,” Tanny Jiraprapasuke, who is Thai American, told CNN. “Then my friend actually noticed that he was looking at me. At some point, I started noticing from my peripheral that he was gesturing towards me as he’s ranting on and on about Chinese and how dirty Chinese people are.”

In the video, the man can be heard claiming that every disease has come from China because “they’re f***ing disgusting.”

“I’m breathing this and I’m breathing everything that the f**k they bring to our country,” he said at one point.

Tanny began to record the scene about 10 minutes into the man’s rant when she started to feel seriously scared. Being the only Asian American, she tried to make eye contact with other commuters, but nobody tried to stop the man.

“It wasn’t safe enough for me to get up out of my seat and try to get off the train, and I felt trapped. So I thought, if he’s going to do anything, I want to make sure that I have this on tape,” Tanny told CNN.

She went on to say that she did not find any allies on the train to help her except for one person.

“Nobody on the train, except for one African American woman would look at me, would even acknowledge. And that’s when I decided to take my camera out because I didn’t really know where this was going to go,” Tanny added.

The man particularly criticized Chinese people’s hygiene.

“Chinese people are f***ing cool, but their f***ing hygiene? They have no hygiene. Their hygiene is f***ing disgusting, bro,” he said.

“I was really debating and wanted to say something,” Tanny told USA Today. “I wanted to stand up for myself, but on the other hand, I never felt safe enough.”

According to Tanny, the man’s tirade only ended when he finally arrived at his stop. His identity remains unknown as of this writing.

Another passenger managed to film part of the man’s rant, which shows him sitting on the same row as who appears to be Tanny.

“The moment really shifted the way I think about the larger Asian American community and this idea that we have to stand up for each other,” Tanny told USA Today.

Feature Image Screenshots via Tanny Jiraprapasuke