A racially insensitive Starbucks barista in Georgia is the latest offender in what is starting to become a nationwide trend of casual racism towards Asian Americans.
In late January, two Korean American men were enjoying a day out at a mall in Alpharetta, an upscale suburb of Atlanta, and decided to order some drinks from the coffee megachain. But instead of asking for their names the Starbucks employee merely drew two slanty lines on the cups where their names should have been.
After discovering the racist caricatures, the two men complained to the store manager who apologized and offered the customers a gift card. But Helen Kim Ho of the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center of Georgia says community leaders believe the gift to be a “slap in the face.”
“Employers should be responsible for their employees,” Ho told iamKoreAm.com. “I think that the store should have issued an official apology.”
Ho noted, however, that she was told that the Starbucks employee in question has been fired but more should be done.
The incident comes on the heels of similar occurrences in California and New York. In Irvine, Calif., two college students were issued receipts that said “Ching” and “Chong” where their names should have been. In upper Manhattan, a Korean American woman was issued a “Lady Chinky Eyes” receipt. In both cases the employee was fired for their behavior.
As the Asian American population in the Atlanta area, as well as the greater South, continues to grow rapidly, Ho says that these types of incidents are occurring more often.
“This happens all the time and more and more frequently,” she said. “The [population] growth has been exponential and that has led to racist and derogatory incidents.”
(HT: angryasianman)
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Can we accept what he/she did as a funny expression to identify? Be generous ! I like those who have Chinky Eyes.
BTW dince not many people seem to know, these two customers contacted guts with high ranks working for starbucks, but they were just laid off.
So it’s not just a single employee’s problem, it’s Starbucks’ as well.
This (some people just dont seem to ubderstand) is racial didcrimination. I’m white but i wont feel too good if someone drew chinky eyes instead of writing my name, in the case I’m asian. Won’t you?
I hope Starbucks is legally tried at court for this. Not that i have anything personal against Starbucks, but a racial insult is not something to just go over.