A Montreal woman's racist rant blaming a Chinese couple for the spread of global pandemic Covid-19 has surfaced on social media. The incident took place inside the IGA on Nun's Island.
Ever since coronavirus broke out from the Wuhan province of China in December 2019, there has been an increase in the number of hate-incidents against Asians.
Racist Woman Breaks Her Phone Screen During the Rant
Speaking to CTV News, the victim, Ken Mak, a resident of Nuns' Island, said that he was out shopping with his girlfriend when the incident took place at the checkout counter of the store.
The video shown the woman asking the victim if he was a Chinese. On getting a positive answer, the woman begins her racist rant blaming the couple for the spread of Covid-19. "All of these 21 months of bullshit. All of these fucking epidemic that became a pandemic, it's because of you Chinese people!" the woman shouts at the couple while giving the couple the middle finger.
After a while she takes out her phone and starts recording an onlooker who objected to her rant. Then she goes on to bang the phone on the counter, resulting in damage.
When one of the store employees asks her to leave the store, she responds by saying, "My family is one of the best lawyers in Montreal. Who are you?"
The woman was eventually removed from the store by the Montreal police. "It's unfortunate that the Asian community has to put up with this," Mak who is staying in Canada from last 20 years said. "This pandemic has caused chaos in all our lives, and it is not acceptable to assault a specific minority for it. We all have been through the lockdowns, the curfews and the hardships in Quebec together just like everyone else," Mak wrote in the social media post.
Social Media Condemns the Incident
Soon after the video surfaced on social media, several people slammed the racist woman and condemned the incident. In a tweet, Mayor Valérie Plante wrote, "I denounce this lady's racist remarks, which are shocking and unacceptable. Anti-Asian racism has no place in Montreal, and this type of aggression should never be tolerated."
Later, in a statement, IGA too condemned the incident saying they are 'incredibly disheartened and upset' over the unnamed woman's racist behavior. "In such circumstances, we ask the customer to leave our store, as our team did in this instance. Local authorities were contacted to assist in this matter. At IGA, we denounce all forms of hate. This is never acceptable," the statement read.
"#Montreal what are your citizens doing?! #racists in grocery stores #IGA partying on planes during #COVID bc they think they're the shit Are these your true colours? Get a grip I love #Montreal & #Québec but you have issues Speaking French isn't the be all get over yourselves," tweeted a user.
"So... apparently according to her - if your family is one of the "best lawyers in Montreal", you can be a racist jerk. Maybe I'm a simpleton because still not quite correlating how that's relevant to human decency and social cohesion?" wrote another user.
