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Asian man beaten brutally on NYC subway, Internet says he called attacker N-word and 'got rightly put to sleep'

While some are outraged at how none of the fellow passsengers stepped in to help, others believe this was not 'racial targetting'

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: In light of crimes against Asians surging in the US, New York police is now investigating two separate brutal attacks from March 29, one of which entailed an Asian man who was beaten and choked until he fell unconscious inside a subway. Captured in a video, the attacker is revealed to be a Black man, who can be throwing a barrage of punches before he puts his victim in a chokehold until the man passes out. While there was an outcry on social media about how none of the passengers inside the subway car stepped forward to help, several have also tweeted in response to the video that the Asian man had called the attacker the N-word first and was 'rightly put to sleep' in retaliation.

The unidentified Asian-American man was aboard a Brooklyn subway train when he was captured in the video, receiving a hurl of punches and beating from another unidentified Black male. According to NBC, the attack happened in a Manhattan-bound J train and ended with the Asian-American passenger passing out while his attacker got out at the Kosciuszko Street Station. 

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The video was posted on TikTok as most media outlets circulating it carries a Tiktok watermark, but the inscription isn't legible on the video. The video was shared by the NYPD crimes unit along with the caption: "We need the public's help. The NYPD is aware of this video and is investigating. Anyone that has information regarding this incident is urged to call or DM @NYPDTips 1-800-577-TIPS and provide additional details including the date and time of occurrence. @NYPDTransit @NYPDnews." The video had also been shared on the Chinese state-affiliated outlet People's Daily's official account, where the video has drawn 300 replies, some 200 retweets, and also 400 likes.

People's Daily wrote along with the video: "Video shows a man beating an Asian man relentlessly aboard a subway car in #NYC before choking him until he appears to be unconscious and falls on the ground; the police are investigating the case. (Video may cause discomfort!)" A lot of people have rushed to the reply underneath the video, expressing shock and outrage over how nobody is helping the victim. "And NO ONE is even trying to help? !," wrote a user under People's Daily's post.

Others also referred to conspiracies such as "Why mostly African American are fighting with Asians in USA ? or only the selected videos are coming out?" Another even claimed: "In the US they constantly play one group vs another to distract from the elites robbing everyone else blind. All media driven."

There was also a set of people who claimed the attack on the Asian-American man was called for. "He called him the n-word. Then he got rightly put to sleep. Also, I thought you people could all fight," reads the first reply under People Daily's tweet of the video. Another mocked the incident referring to the recent Asian massage parlor shooter Aaron Long, tweeting "Maybe "he just had a bad day" and wanted to beat up an innocent asian guy to cool his anger and satisfy his "white power" sentiment."

Another also explained the reason why nobody was stepping in, noting: "He called him the N word. There were other Asians on that train. There's a reason why they didn't step in. What should the verbally abused man have done? Stand there and be disrespected?" When asked by fellow users how these people have the information, they responded "Watch the full video."

Some however do not believe this was a racially charged hate crime. "You have no idea what took place before the fight. It looks like the Asian man went toe to toe with the other man. He just lost the fight. There’s racially targeted attacks and then there’s fights. This does not appear to be racial targeting," wrote a user dismissing the racist implications of the video.

Rep Grace Meng, who represents parts of Queens, called the attack sickening. "The victim is beaten and choked so brutally that he appears to become unconscious. As I have said, the rise in violence against Asian Americans is disgusting and unconscionable," Meng said on March 29. Gov Andrew Cuomo directed the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to provide assistance to the ongoing investigation. "The misguided rhetoric which has vilified Asian Americans throughout this pandemic is highly dangerous, and now we are seeing more and more painful real-life consequences. It is sickening and I want every New Yorker who identifies as part of the Asian American community to know this: in this state we not only condemn the hateful rhetoric, but we stand with you because we are all one family, united against hate," the governor said in a statement.

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.