At a House hearing Thursday about the rise of violence and discrimination towards Asian-Americans, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) criticized the Chinese government and extolled the virtues of lynchings.
“There’s old sayings in Texas about, you know, ‘find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree.’ You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that — round up all the bad guys,” Roy, who was born in Maryland, said. He also grumbled about the Chinese Communist Party “running the country of China” and expressed his concern about the hearing and how “it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society, free speech, and away from the rule of law and taking out bad guys.” Again, the hearing was about discrimination and violence targeting the Asian-American community, two days after a white gunmen killed six Asian women in Atlanta-area spas.
Later on, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) offered a strong rebuke to Roy’s remarks.
“I want to go back to something that Mr. Roy said earlier,” the congresswoman, who is of Taiwanese descent, began. “Your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you don’t have to do it by putting a bullseye on the back of Asian-Americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids.” Meng added that this hearing was meant to “address the hurt and pain of our community and to find solutions, and we will not let you take our voice away from us.”
Rep. Grace Meng on surge of anti-Asian violence: "Our community is bleeding. We are in pain. And for the last year, we've been screaming out for help." https://t.co/iJkXE1Vxp6 pic.twitter.com/8lNOM8n6bf
— ABC News (@ABC) March 18, 2021
Meng also appeared on CNN’s New Day, where she discussed the racist voice messages she received after the House passed legislation condemning the wave of anti-Asian racism last year. “Look, I have pretty thick skin,” she said, so “my heart goes out to so many families who are afraid to let their elderly parents and grandparents go outside to the supermarket for fear of being harassed. For the parents, some of who have been texting me saying they’re not going to let their kids play outside anymore because they don’t want them to get bullied. I just feel so sorry for the Asian-American community.”
You can watch her New Day appearance below.
(Via the New York Times)