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‘Language from [Trump’s] presidency trickles down, gives permission to hate’

A Chinese-American professor at Ohio State University claims in an op-ed he was the target of three bigoted incident during the last 4-5 years … and blames Donald Trump and his fellow Ohioans for them.

Joe Tien says that on January 6 he was “confronted […] with malice” by a “middle-aged white man” who had asked “Where you from, buddy?”

Tien, taken aback, alleged the man “stepped out of his way to pose his question,” one “that Asians and Asian Americans hear far too often.”

“I’m from here [Ohio]. Where you from?” Tien (pictured) replied.

The man walked away, Tien says, but turned around to utter “No way. Get out of my country.”

This incident reminded the math professor of a 2020 encounter while out for a run. He claims he was confronted by “a car of young college-aged white men” yelling “Corona! Corona!” (presumably referencing the virus, not the beer).

The third incident (which is hard to ascertain if it actually happened or is a hypothetical) was when he was walking his son to school — and a young black child rolled down the window of a school bus to speak mock Chinese at them.

In each of the (alleged) incidents, Tien pondered physical action.

“What I should have done was run in front of the bus, stopped it, no matter the scene or backed-up traffic and honking horns,” he writes of the black youngster. “I should have talked to the bus driver.”

After being yelled at during his run five years ago, Tien says “I shook my fist and accelerated, but the car was gone.”

MORE: Paper finds ‘anti-Asian xenophobia’ in red states, but scholars question design

And after the guy asked him where he “was from,” he says “I am 5’7″, 140 pounds, bespectacled and no wrestler, but contemplate tackling him, nonetheless.”

As noted, the most recent incident happened on January 6, a “fraught day” according to Tien. And “the last time Trump was in the Oval Office, white supremacists marched with torches in Charlottesville, the Muslim ban was enacted and anti-Asian American hate spiked. The language from his presidency trickles down, gives permission to hate.”

What’s more, he says the incident “says a lot about Ohio.”

Since this seems a bit of a … convenient set up for his narrative, not to mention the dialogue (a white guy comes out of nowhere, asks Tien where “he’s from,” then walks away saying “No way. Get out of my country”?), I asked the professor a few questions via email.

Given it’s now 2025 and everyone has a smartphone at the ready, why didn’t he at least snap a photo of this xenophobic troglodyte after his initial question?

Also, how does this encounter “say a lot” about Ohio? (Imagine if a white professor said the fact there are Chinese spies in American higher education “says a lot” about Asians.)

Tien did not respond.

I’d certainly be inclined to take his stor[ies] at face value if he didn’t make bogus statements like “Muslim ban” and that Trump is “a man who denigrates immigrants at every turn.” Not to mention the fact that Ohio’s state government is overwhelmingly GOP.

Assigning blame to anyone but the actual idiots who (allegedly) perpetrated these acts comes straight from critical theory. “Institutional racism,” etc. etc. etc. Which in Tien’s case is a bit weird as he’s a math professor.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised, however, if he hasn’t been required to sit through myriad university staff anti-racism/diversity trainings.

MORE: Indiana U. gender studies professor blames university, town for anti-Asian attack

IMAGE: Ohio State U.

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