A disturbingly racist and hateful anonymous letter from San Bernardino directed toward the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) business community has circulated to a local Healdsburg nail salon and now Healdsburg Police are advising any other businesses who may have received the letter to contact the police department.
Healdsburg Vice Mayor Ozzy Jimenez and Councilmember Ariel Kelley addressed the alarming letter in separate social media posts on March 24 and said that several local Asian-American owned businesses received a letter “riddled with racist remarks and threats.”
Healdsburg Police Chief Kevin Burke said so far only one business confirmed to have received the letter.
Among the myriad racial epithets, the abhorrent letter repeatedly tells folks in the AAPI community to leave the country.
News of the letter, which was addressed to All Polish Nails in Healdsburg, and its contents was first disseminated on the Facebook group, “What’s Happening Healdsburg.”
Healdsburg Police Sgt. Will Van Vleck said so far the department hasn’t directly received any complaints regarding the letter and they spoke with the owner of the one mentioned business to have received it.
“That’s the only business we identified so far (to have received it),” Van Vleck said.
Van Vleck said the incident is being documented as a hate incident rather than a hate crime.
He explained that a hate incident is one that doesn’t rise to a criminal level because it doesn’t meet certain elements. Incidents such as this are documented so that they may be used for prosecution in the future if an individual is identified and if that person commits a crime against a person.
For instance, if more businesses were to receive the letter and if someone were identified in the incident and if that person committed a crime against a person then the previously documented hate incident could be used as evidence to prosecute a suspect in a hate crime.
“The Healdsburg Police Department is thoroughly investigating and documenting the circumstances under which this despicable hate speech was sent to a member of our business community,” Burke said.
Van Vleck said his guess up to this point is that the incident stems from some person somewhere in Southern California who’s doing mass mailings to what they perceive to be AAPI owned businesses.
“We’ve gotten some callers who've given us their opinions on who the suspects are and those have been based without any merit,” Van Vleck said.
In a Facebook post, Jimenez said Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay and Healdsburg Police Chief Burke are contacting the mentioned business directly in order to get more information.
“The letter being circulated amounts to a ‘Hate Incident’ under California Law and will be documented/investigated by our police department. Any other businesses who received this letter should contact Sgt. Van Vleck direct at Healdsburg Police Department at, (707) 431-3377,” Jimenez wrote.
Jimenez also said there’s no room for such racist language in Healdsburg.
“Healdsburg stands on its values of being a welcoming community to all,” he said.
Kelley shared Jimenez’s sentiments and also said that there’s no room for such hate and racism in Healdsburg.
“Let me be absolutely clear. There is no room for hate, bigotry,or white supremacy in our town. Healdsburg is beautiful because of its diversity, and anything that suggests otherwise is a lie. Our Asian American-owned businesses are as foundational to our local economy and culture as any other establishments. So, while this racism is nothing new, the recent uptick in violence is a stark reminder that we cannot stay silent in the face of oppression,” Kelley wrote.
To that end, Kelley shared resources for taking action in support of the AAPI community.
“It is important to remember that combatting this starts at home. Being actively anti-racist, and calling out racism when you see it is the first step. You should also take the time to patronize our local Asian American-owned businesses. We’re not going to solve this overnight, but it’s on all of us to start. Silence is complicity,” Kelley wrote.
Additionally, the Love and Light group of Healdsburg from the local AAPI collective is holding an AAPI solidarity demonstration and protest on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. in the Healdsburg Plaza.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own signs and COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place.
“We will not tolerate the harassment and hate. Enough is enough… Take a stand against racial injustice. We stand for safe spaces, representation and inclusion,” the group wrote in a social media post.
"local" - Google News
March 25, 2021 at 06:48AM
https://ift.tt/3tRXe2i
Local business targeted with racist letter attacking Asian American community, Healdsburg Police investigating incident - Sonoma West
"local" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WoMCc3
https://ift.tt/2KVQLik
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Local business targeted with racist letter attacking Asian American community, Healdsburg Police investigating incident - Sonoma West"
Post a Comment