We open today’s stories with an infamous photo of Vice President JD Vance with his wife’s Indian American relatives, back in circulation amid the H-1B debate. Then, newly naturalized citizens may be among the roughly one-third of Georgia’s Asian early voters with no record of voting in the state’s 2022 midterm.
Meanwhile on social media, people misidentifying Asian men have reportedly threatened namesakes of a Cornell 7 defendant. Others are calling Filipino American journalist Pablo Torre Chinese in a racist post.
In Leeds, England, the alleged racist abuse of an Asian man happened face to face, and police arrested three men. In Berkeley, a judge dismissed a poisoning conviction caught on camera. We close on a more positive note with Seattle, which celebrated Bruce Lee with two street signs.
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Vance’s photo with wife’s Indian American relatives resurfaces in H-1B debate
Vice President JD Vance called H-1B hires “foreign indentured servants” earlier this month. A naturalized citizen who voted for him later pressed him at a CBS News town hall.
His response mentioned his own family, and a 2024 photo with his wife Usha’s Indian American relatives is circulating again. Critics have used it against him before.
What else we’re tracking
A third of Georgia’s AAPI early voters didn’t vote in the last midterm
More than 8,000 of Georgia’s Asian early voters have no record of voting in the state’s 2022 midterm, tracker data shows. As we previously reported, the community’s turnout is expected to be pivotal this election.
Asian men mistaken for a Cornell 7 defendant face death threats online
Because of his name, one student has endured weeks of hostile messages from strangers. Other Asian men who share the name report similar abuse. Worse, the misidentification in this high-profile case extends beyond them.
Nets owner Joe Tsai blasts racist attack on Pablo Torre over LeBron James reporting
Filipino American journalist Pablo Torre’s reporting on LeBron James’ helicopter arrangement drew a racist post misstating his ethnicity. Torre answered in two words. The NBA commissioner has also addressed the arrangement.
3 arrested after Asian man allegedly surrounded, racially abused in UK
A witness reportedly saw three men surround an Asian man in Leeds, England, and shout racist insults. Shortly before, they had reportedly been removed from a nearby pub. A far-right party convened in Leeds that weekend.
Berkeley engineer demands justice after judge dismisses co-worker’s poisoning conviction
Rong Yuan’s hidden camera caught a co-worker adding a substance to her water bottle. But that coworker’s conviction has now been dismissed, and she believes the justice system failed her family.
Seattle gives Bruce Lee his own street in the neighborhood where his martial arts journey began
Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee helped unveil two “Bruce Lee Way” signs in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Meanwhile, a finished statue is still looking for its home.
Why read Issue #274?
Once again, this issue exposes someone else deciding most of what happens to Asians. A sitting vice president and social media users chose how to characterize them, though it brings some relief that the people described often spoke up for themselves.
Still, justice systems could do better. In this issue, we see courts in the country and police in England offer some protection, but the law still has limits that victims could not override.
The ballot box is the clearest exception, and that makes the Nov. 3 midterms one of the few outcomes in this issue that Asian Americans help decide directly.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.