Police Brutality on Unarmed Student.
This is a disturbing piece of news, San Jose police officers had brutally beaten a San Jose State University student Phuong Ho. Officers used batons to strike Ho at least 10 times, and also tasered the unarmed student. The incident began when Ho’s roomate Jeremy Suftin slopped soap on Phuong’s steak dinner. The two scuffled afterwards, at which point, Phuong grabbed a knife and said “In my country, I would kill you for this”. Suftin then called the police, and soon after, the beating ensued on the unarmed student. All this was captured on a video camera phone here.
Phuong Ho had no criminal record and was not resisting arrest, this beating was completely unnecessary and dehumanizing. A lot has progressed since the days of Rodney King’s incident, but I guess police brutality involving minorities is still here.
There’s more than one way to look at everything, and taking a stance isn’t necessarily a disgusting thing.
Was it intentionally a racist? Who knows? Probably not. Was it some form of action that’s based on presumptions? Probably. That statement “back in my country…” indicates that there is a cultural difference. That difference and misunderstanding can lead to friction and tension. The lack of understanding each other and difficulties in communication does not necessarily mean that either side were at fault or not at fault. It is a personal opinion as to who was right and who was wrong.
As for the police brutality, again my opinion is that they did not fully understand this cultural difference and presumed that he was actually dangerous. Was he? I personally can’t say, but I would think that he was agitated enough before he got to the point of frustration.
You are only doing yourself a disservice by being ashamed of your own ethnicity over a blog post or over people who have a differing view from you. It only shows that you are also naive enough to think that it’s just so simple to disdain a group of people of whom you are connected to, without understanding that everyone has a different background and life experiences that affects how they interact with others. Then when something big and unordinary happens, it is highlighted for the world to see and judge.
I am not trying to incriminate you Sophia, but I do hope you will accept yourself wholly and not let others (even others of your own race) to not be proud of who you are.
Sincerely,
C-Lam
Sophia,
Thank you for your response. I can tell that you’re quite passionate about how you feel. While I understand your point of view and do believe that we are often faced with the decision of whether or not it is of racial justifications, I also want to assert that we don’t intend on fixating upon the fact that he’s Asian and that this had to happen to him. I believe that it is moreso on the general view of the situation and that we personally feel it was of unjustifiable terms that he was beaten even though he did not resist police forces. He was not in possession of a knife at the time of arrest. He dropped his glasses when the police had him put his arms behind his back and when he attempted to retrieve them, the officer hit him from the back, dropped him to the ground and then continued hitting him with the baton. I personally feel that if this had happen to a person of any other race, it would still be significant in the news.
Whether this issue is racially motivated, we don’t know. But the fact remains that he was Asian American and he was brutally assaulted, and this issue affects the Asian American community. It is significant to NGV because we want to speak out against injustice.
I regret to hear that you’re not proud of being an Asian American. From my understanding, you are not proud of being an Asian American because we speak out against injustice? Or because you feel that our definition of injustice is exaggerated and skewed?
Best,
Anh Thu
That kid deserved it! That kid pulled a knife on someone else and he doesn’t expect the cops to show up at his door. And since he did pull a knife he is now considered armed and dangerous!
Additionally, he was resisting arrest. He was not resisting the police officers orders when ordered to put his hands behind his back. Officer’s are trained to use such force against any individual who disobeys any order (even the simplest of putting your arms behind your back) against any individual that resists! White, Black, Asian, Yellow, Gay, Straight, whatever. The same tactics used in the video would be applied!
This is why I’m not proud to be an Asian American! This type of naivety and one-sidedness just sickens me! If the person in the video being shocked was white, this would not have even been an issue! This just disgusts me!
Regards,
Sophia Kim
Miss Another Asian,
Ironic, I too, am… another Asian. =P
I respect what you have to say, and might I say, that I an extreme sense of pity for you if you are not proud of what you identify with. I’ve personally dealt with, and come across a great amount of people who weren’t proud of their Asian heritage. Hopefully, you are able to get in touch with that side and build a sense of pride for who you are before this lifetime is over. Pride towards your identity is something that can fulfill a lifetime of happiness…
It was actually kinda’ funny cause I had totally forgotten that the video was of an Asian American being beaten. The point here is, that from watching the video, it doesn’t matter what the guy did to provoke the police. Unless he raped and murdered, I don’t really believe anyone deserves a beating to while you’re at an inferior state to the point where you’re yelling and crying. This grown man, was crying. Imagine how bad the beating must have been.
NextGenVoices is here to spread awareness of current events in Asian America today, not to yell at police, not to say that this is a hate crime, and not to say that there shall be consequences. You are to take from this article whatever you like.
However, this issue has to deal with an Asian American, and in turn, has some relation to you, whether you choose to deny it or not. If it were your brother, or your dad, who was beaten to the point of tears, you’d be asking to be heard too…
Regards,
Kenneth Phi
I’ve learned to be proud of my Asian American heritage throughout the years, it’ll help fill that hole in your life that occurs when you ask if you know who you are.