A Vietnamese-American family in Fort Worth, Texas has been one of the latest victims of a hate crime targeting Asian Americans.
On Thursday night, Lilian, who declined to give her last name for safety reasons, returned home from grocery shopping with her husband and two children and parked their car in front of their house. At approximately 5:00 a.m., she went to her car and saw the swastika drawn on the driver side of the window.
“It was still dark so my husband thought I was seeing things. When we turned the light on, we were both shocked,” she told NextShark.
The pair then drove around to check other cars on the street to see if they were vandalized, but couldn’t find any.
“I may have jumped to conclusions, but I believe we were targeted because our car was the only car that was vandalized and it still has a California license plate,” she said.
Lilian’s husband, who’s is a former police officer, went through all the necessary protocols which included checking the surroundings, taking photos, and filing a police report.
The family moved into the neighborhood from California back in 2016, but they haven’t had any issues in the neighborhood until this incident.
“I am shaken and feel like my personal safe space has has been invaded. I feel hurt, angry and I worry for my babies.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Lilian has experienced racism since moving to Texas.
“There was another incident at a restaurant in Texas when I first moved here. It was a self serve BBQ pit. I put my drink on the side and proceeded to get beans. Then, this old White man walked up and took my drinks and the beans I had gotten.
“When I confronted him, he then looked at me up and down said, ‘I thought you worked here and you people need to serve me.’
“I told him he needed to apologize. He just laughed and walked away to sit down with his group. I didn’t do anything then, I was just really mad and angry that I couldn’t eat so I left the restaurant.”
Now that this incident has happened, Lilian in concerned for her kids and safety.
“I’m still shaking thinking about it, let’s say this was a prank by some kids or some copycat — who’s to say they won’t do something else more damaging? I worry about my baby girls at home. They might be targeted for playing in the front yard. I don’t know.
“Now I have to learn how to protect my self and my family if this happens again, and make sure my kids understand that it’s not OK.”
