"They came out like ants!" Some years ago, William T. Vollmann wrote this headline in Harper's, adding
the subtitle "Searching for the Chinese tunnels of Mexicali." Tomorrow (Saturday, February 20),
"they"—the Chinese Americans—might again come out "like
ants" in more than 40 cities, this time not from the mysterious tunnels of
Mexicali, but from a cellphone-based
social media network called WeChat.
(Before anyone attempts to protest the
use of "ants" as a metaphor for people, let me say up front that it reminds
me of a childhood song "Little ants, love to work" or "小蚂蚁,爱劳动". It was a song adored by my grandmother, a
poor peasant who worked nonstop her every waking hour. The metaphor also has an
ironic connotation in the sense that ants work but don't speak. Have you ever heard ants make a sound? But
who knows, that might change.)
Ever since former NYPD policeman Peter Liang's guilty verdict last Thursday, plans for rallies all over the nation
have been developed through grassroots campaigns on WeChat. Watching the efforts
in full swing on a cellphone is no less breath-taking than an action movie. All
kinds of voices, rational and irrational, calm and angry, fair-minded and
extreme, can be "heard" on the palm-size screen. What a mass movement!
As someone who grew up during the
Cultural Revolution, I am always wary of mass movements. Even with well-meaning
participants, they have the intrinsic tendency to let people get carried away. I prefer to stay out, and I don't plan to
participate in Boston's rally tomorrow.
What made me write this piece,
however, is that my fellow Chinese Americans surprised me with their earnest
efforts in educating each other on public affairs, on how American democracy
works. Exactly because this movement is
a grassroots action, many of the participants are lay people who have been busy
feeding a family and not paying attention to the English media. As all sorts of slogans were suggested for
the rallies, many, including “All Lives Matter” were introduced at face value
into the mix. Quickly—and on WeChat
everything happens quickly—others with the knowledge of the line's racist
connotation spoke out, and it was dropped.
In a sense, this movement has become a "teachable moment." But
because so many people are involved, it is still possible that the slogan will show
up somewhere tomorrow. Let's hope it doesn't, but in case it unfortunately does,
let’s hope the onlookers don’t compound the mistake by attributing racist
intent.
Speaking of presumptions, I've
heard that some thought Peter Liang showed no remorse after accidentally taking
Akai Gurley's life. I have been
following media reports closely about the trial, and I had a rather different
impression. If anyone interpreted Peter Liang's sobs during his testimony as
acting rather than true regrets and remorse, then let me share with you some
further information. Peter Liang's
mother, Fenny, said that Peter Liang was repeatedly banging his head against
the wall at home, and he was so grief stricken about the tragedy that he kept saying
he'd rather be the one who was shot.
Fenny did not sleep for 24 hours because she felt the need to watch her
son so he wouldn't do something stupid to himself.
From all I can tell by reading
Chinese information on the internet and WeChat, Peter Liang has a working class
family, and his parents did not receive much education. Neither Peter nor his
father are good with words. Here's a
small but telling detail: after the verdict, when a tearful Fenny Liang phoned
her husband about the bad news, the old man said no words; all she could hear
was his heavy breathing.
Cultural misunderstanding might
have caused some to believe that Peter Liang did not have remorse. I know way too many Chinese who don't express
emotion through words, and that does not mean they don't have the emotion.
In fact, another thing that touched
my heart as I watched the movement on WeChat this week is how much sympathy and
compassion my fellow Chinese Americans showed toward Akai Gurley and his family. Just two days ago, a fund was announced on
WeChat for the purpose of helping both Akai Gurley's and Peter Liang's
families, and another similar fund is in the process of being set up. Rally organizers and participants are
planning to have a one-minute silence to mourn Akai Gurley and express
condolences to his family. Slogans with
the message of condolences are also being made.
One of the proposed slogans is
"One Tragedy, Two Victims." I feel this is so true. I feel for Akai
Gurley's family. I feel for Peter
Liang's family. Peter Liang should take responsibility
for Akai Gurley's death, and he is being punished morally for that. But as Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson—the prosecutor—said in an interview today, "This is a tragedy, and there is no winner
here." He also stated, "I do not believe that Peter Liang
intentionally killed Akai Gurley. We have never said that."
So, what is the point of seeking the maximum sentence for a young man who made a grave mistake without
intent?
14 comments:
Let's take into account of what we see, he was happy when he got out the Police Academy, he was happy when he took in the paychecks, you get some when you give some, I am sorry to say, you got pay your dues, professionalism is in the equation
I am a Chinese too, don't give me a bad name
Well said !!!
Liang made NO attempt to save Gurley's life. He got on his phone and called his union rep. He showed no concern for a man he'd just shot. All he could think about was making sure the NYPD covered him. That's depraved indifference. And the people calling themselves rallying for him, they better remember this the next time a cop kills and Asian person and doesn't get so much as charged.
I know way too many Chinese who don't express emotion through words, and that does not mean they don't have the emotion.
You make a very good point. I agree completely.
The victim did not need words, he needed action. After the officer accidentally shot the man, he took no ACTION to save his life. He didn't even call the shooting in. The dead man's girlfriend had to call for an ambulance.
Blogger Unknown said...
"...the office ... didn't even call the shooting in." Another lie. You people get away with a lot of lies, and you purposely lie because you know you can get your way, even when your lies become apparent, but your deceit will backfire on you.
The point is.....as a police officer, he did Not offer ANY assistance to the man that HE shot. Freak accident or not. Stop blaming the victims and get educated about the"Black Lives Matter" movement.
Seriously, why do people comment here without any empathy whatsoever for this scared young, inexperienced police officer who made a horrible mistake. Is it just because of the change in perspective? (I am Chinese). If the person accidentally shot dead in the stairwell was an Asian-American, and the shooter was African-American, I would STILL say something is wrong with this conviction. Should he have been convicted? Yes, because he did commit manslaughter. That's an objective truth. But should he have gotten the harshest sentence when for the past how many years OTHER NYPD officers got away with manslaughter??? Hello? No matter how I look at it, this is a scapegoat case for sure. The biggest blame is not Peter Liang for this tragedy but the system and the city. This was a tragedy for both the officer and the victim shot dead. Just a little respect from people for Officer Liang and his family too, please.
And you people refuse to face the truth, nothing that you have said addresses the fact that He shot an innocent man, And as a police officer he offered no assistance to the victim. He testified to this at the trial. Stop being racist and stick to the facts. Freak accident or not.
"Sometime gun fire without a trigger pull", are you serious? Are you saying that the police are walking around with government approved weapons and that the guns are firing at random? Have you ever operated a gun?
I wonder if you would be talking the same garbage, if it had been a member of your family that had been shot and killed. The officer can still interact with his family, the victim can Not!
Administrative note:
Please leave rational comments. Insulting comments and anything intentionally hurtful will be deleted.
As another Chinese Boston, I would like to ask you this question: if Officer Liang is Officer Tran, Officer Park, or Officer Yamamoto, would you write a similar moving article, and emphasize the empathy on him? I guess the answer is no. And, the saddest truth is, even with this low standard, you are still way better than most Chinese Bostonians. Appreciate that you didn't join the "protest".
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