A South Korean professional video game player described the “indescribable” racism he has suffered since moving to Texas in a clip that has gone viral on social networks and elicited numerous judgmental reactions.
Violence against Asians has escalated in the United States since last year, something activists link to former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, especially his repeated labeling of the coronavirus as the ‘virus of China’.
Lee Eui-seok, who plays the video game Overwatch for the Dallas Fuel team under the name Fearless, said during a round of questions on the Twitch platform that this is the first time he has suffered from this kind of racism.
“Being Asian here is scary,” said the 22-year-old.
“People try to argue with us … There are even people who cough on us. They deliberately cough at us. They (insult us) while laughing.”
“The racism here is no joke,” he added.
A clip of the broadcast was posted on Twitter Tuesday, with English subtitles, by Jade “swing chip” Kim, a Korean player and manager of the Florida Mayhem team, who said she was also the target of racism.
Kim told The Washington Post that Lee’s comments were like “whiplash.”
“With everything that’s been happening in America lately, I couldn’t let this go either, so I translated and posted the clip,” he explained.
The clip with subtitles was viewed more than 326,000 times on Thursday.
Hate crimes against Asians practically tripled last year, from 49 to 122, in the 16 largest cities in the United States, while this type of crime dropped a total of 7%, according to a recent report from the Center for the Study. Of Hate and Extremism.
According to Lee, the racist attacks he endured in Dallas were “almost daily” and “terrifying” and “serious.”
People came up to him on the streets shouting racist insults at him, he said, adding that three years ago when he was based in Los Angeles, he could “live peacefully in the United States.”
“I don’t think we had any problems there.”
Lee’s team is owned by Envy Gaming, whose founder Mark Rufail condemned the attacks and “unfounded hatred” and pledged to ensure the safety of his players.