Main image via The Cut
Wearing a face mask is pretty much mandatory around the world to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but anti-maskers can bring a lot of trouble to others.
A ride-hailing driver recently went viral when one of the three passengers he picked up, refused to wear a mask and started coughing on him and even teared his face mask off.
The driver named Subhakar Khadka was then verbally assaulted with racist slurs and one woman can also be heard saying “I got corona”.
The passenger that coughed on him also snatched his phone from him and assaulted him. While they eventually left the car, one rider “reached into an open window and sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray into the vehicle and towards the driver.”
Subhakar too was forced to get out of his car because he was unable to breathe after they sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray into his car.
He said that be believed he was targeted because he was a South Asian immigrant and said that “I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way.”
“If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them,” he said. “The moment I opened my mouth to speak, they realised I’m not among one of them, so it’s easy for them to intimidate me.”
The video of the car’s dash cam went viral, and the San Francisco Police Department are currently running investigations.
The ride-hailing service has banned the woman in the video, with another ride-hailing company banning her too, saying that “the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider.”
The rider also posted videos from her own phone before the clip went viral and said in a live video that “all I did was take his mask off and cough a little bit” and that she’s planning to sue the ride-hailing company saying,” where my cheque at?”
She did however admit that what she did was disrespectful and that it could’ve been avoided before continuing to blame the driver for asking her group to leave his car and ending the ride.
Racist attacks and hate crimes against the Asian American community has been rising in America and spiked amidst the pandemic.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know what you would’ve done!
Info via The Cut , HuffPost , CBS SF BayArea
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