Orange County resident Catt Phan experienced an incident of anti-Asian hate while at a Halsey concert at the Irvine FivePoint Amphitheatre on July 9.
In a piece she wrote and published on Medium, Phan claimed that a group of people sitting behind her and her friend became “more drunk and belligerent as the concert went on,” and one of the group members dumped his drink on Phan’s friend. When Phan confronted him, he “tried to use his fingers to stop [Phan’s] mouth from moving” and “laughed in [their] faces.”
Later, a different member of the group allegedly said twice, “F**k those Asian b*****s. Don’t let them ruin our night — they don’t belong here anyway.” As Phan attempted to leave after the encore, the same individual poured alcohol on her jacket.
The New University spoke with Phan about this incident and her speaking out.
“I had shared what had happened with someone close in my life, and I was told that this was not rooted in hate and that [it] is just something people of color have to endure in their lives. That I should look on the bright side and that other people have it much worse,” Phan said. “I was shocked because they were also a person of color and it baffled me that it was so normal to minimize the damage of racism.”
Phan reflected on the prevalence of intergenerational trauma in Asian American communities and, consequently, the importance of amplifying her story.
“My mom and people like her never were given a platform to reclaim their dignity, and while I worry about her fears, it would be a disservice to her sacrifices if I didn’t make the most of the choices and opportunities she so desperately wanted me to have,” Phan said. “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t speak up when I expect that out of anyone who calls themselves an advocate or believes in social change.”
She explained that she spoke out and wrote the Medium piece as closure for herself.
“If a hate incident can happen in Irvine, voted as America’s #1 Safest City [of its size] for more than 15 years with a population of almost 50% AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] folks […] then it can and does happen anywhere. When racism happens, it doesn’t happen to statistics but [to] real people,” Phan said.
Several Irvine council members have since shown support for Phan. Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, Irvine Councilmember Tammy Kim and State Senator Dave Min have contacted Phan to ensure that the City implements policies that focus on topics such as bystander intervention, conflict de-escalation and cultural competency training.
Phan has also received apologies from senior leaders at Live Nation, the entertainment company responsible for the concert tickets. She expressed that she is surprised by and grateful for the response she has received.
“I never expected to get this much attention or any media coverage. It breaks my heart to see so many people share that they’ve gone through something similar, but our collective voice is stronger when we all speak out,” Phan said.
She now calls upon all individuals to speak out against and refuse to tolerate microaggressions, verbal abuse and other casual forms of racism.
“There have been numerous Blockbuster films about multiverses where a single decision can create a whole new universe. It is not difficult to imagine a world that is different, to imagine one that is better and more equitable,” Phan said. “We just need to choose to create it.”
Phan’s full Medium piece can be read here.
Chrissy Park is a 2022–2023 Campus News Editor. She can be reached at campusnews@newuniversity.org.