Muni Fisticuffs (update with partial translation)


Update:

Got a partial translation from a Chinese-speaking source. According to our source:

The two women started having an argument about an available seat. As the clip progresses with both women arguing, saying “Fuck you” and “you’re stupid,” a bystander said in Cantonese something akin to, “Don’t get excited, talk to her slowly.” According to our commenters, more than one bystander could be heard saying, don’t fight, don’t fight. As the argument escalated and the women begin physically fighting, a second bystander said in Cantonese, “Hit her, hit her, hit her, hit her until she’s afraid.” Then a third bystander pulls them apart as you can see in the video clip.

This whole exchange is really disturbing. Can anybody else verify what was being said?

– Eugenia

Original post:

Okay, this is really ugly. But we couldn’t not post it, could we?

We’re working on getting a translation for the lady not speaking English. We’ll update this post as soon as we get that.

(Thx: @ActionNewsSF and @pereljon)

143 comments

  • wen

    Do you notice how the entire time, the black woman has her fingers repeatedly shoved directly in the asian woman’s face? Yeah, that would infuriate anyone. The black woman refused to give up one of her 2 seats on a crowded bus, then insults the asian woman. Most people would be too scared to do anything but here we have an unusual circumstance where the Asian woman does not appear afraid to stand up for herself (or maybe she was afraid, but she stood up for herself anyways). Fom the outside looking in, the asian woman may appear to have overreacted. But when someone is threatening you and bullying you and shoving their fingers repeatedly in your face, your fight or flight response is going to kick in. Once the black woman threw the first punch, the asian woman was defending herself. As for everyone else who was nearby on the bus, someone really should have stepped in sooner to diffuse the situation.

  • Koji

    Shawn,

    It may be that you are part of neither cultures that you don’t see how race threads into this. As you said, we’re “not quite at the stage of a ‘post-racial’ world yet”–and this notion applies to both this thread and the video.

    Pride and saving face is something that is tremendously important to both cultures, especially before a crowd of onlookers, as in this case. I believe that a large part of the reason that such a situation escalated is unfortunately a language barrier. The body language of the African-American woman conveyed more than anything she said to the Asian woman, who might not have understood her words thoroughly. A lot can be said about the tone both women used and their body language. Assuming that the Asian woman only knew a handful of Chinese words (especially when it comes to tense situations like this), when confronted with aggressive body language and a string of words that she barely comprehended, it is unsurprising that she replied with the only way she knew to defend herself with words: violent swearing.

    As one who has parents who have a limited English vocabulary, I know that when they are frustrated with English speakers who are speaking to them rudely they respond with a string of curse words because they lack the vocabulary to properly explain themselves otherwise.

    This may very well be the case (and likely, it is). Of course any person, regardless of race, would take offense to the string of curse words thrown in their face. The African-American woman chose to react in a violent manner. It is not a choice unique to her ethnicity, so I’ll agree on the racial statement on that…

    Technically we’re all digging our graves in racial issues. Racism today is based on stereotypes that imprint themselves to us through our upbringing (parents, friends, society) and the media (books and movies, ect). I do not foresee an end to it in the near future unless we find some way to wipe histroy’s nasty influence from our behaviors entirely.

  • Karl Marx

    Indeed, an impartial observer might look upon the body of comments in this blog post and mock the pretentious idiocy within its margins.

    Granted, I myself, as the offspring of a black and of a small rhino, would never do so.

  • SFBHP

    I feel as though saying MUNI is to blame for the incident is an overstatement. It was incredibly negligent on the driver’s behalf to not do anything, but I am 100% sure stuff like this happens in metropolitan areas all over the U.S. Do we need more security? Is it always necessary? And is it sustainable on all modes of transportation throughout California or the country? We could always use more security and enforcement everywhere. But having it be sustainable…I doubt it’d work. This is a classic (or unclassic…) case of the “good samaritan.” Unfortunately, it just came a bit late. I don’t believe this case was something that warranted special attention by an armed officer or some phony security guard like the ones we have in certain stores. I think various cases need disparate responses and it’s hard to know when and where to have the right types of safety mechanisms. In this specific case, I think it was the people’s responsibility to act in good faith and prevent things from worsening. Unfortunately miscommunication and language barriers were prevalent, which could have prevented this from escalating.

    In response to Shawn, I think you make a good point. But I believe the “post-racial” world is incredibly utopian. For both cultures black and asian, being a minority is incredibly indicative of who you are in America. It may not represent who you are as a person or dictate how you choose to live your life, but it does pervade it. So it becomes hard to not acknowledge the fact that one woman is black and the other is asian (Chinese) and all the stereotypes and racial undertones that come with it. I myself, black, partially asian, and a homegrown San Franciscan am saddened by this event. As a black male, it also frustrates me to see that African-Americans tend to end up in much of these fights, confrontations, riots, deaths, etc. on television. It just reinforces what many are already asking themselves about black people. I could go on about this issue, but it’d digress from the original topic. All in all, the initial punch was completely unfounded and very immature. I’m glad this forum is open to intelligent dialogue (unlike other sites that shall not be named) and hopefully we’re able to take a lot from this.

    • McNutt

      “sustainable…unclassic…warranted…disparate…prevalent…indicative…dictate…pervade…undertones…reinforce…digress…unfounded…all in all…”

      If your aim was to turn what should be a straightforward blog comment into a prattling C- high school essay without a point, you have succeeded.

      • SFBVHP

        I apologize if those words seem a bit big to you. How’s this for straight foward, YOU SUCK!

        • mcnutt, better keep your opinion to yourself, else you risk angering sfbvhp.

          liberals dont like differing opinions, much less criticism about them. just agree with them, and they’ll stay docile.

          sfbvhp, i think maybe you still might need to simplify (just for my sake, I didnt get your superior education). I’m still not getting your point.

          great place, this SF. everyone here’s so enlightened and smarter than the rest of the world, why cant everywhere be like here?

          I love how the chinese dude’s screaming in the background. I cant get enough of this, it’s just too funny.

        • sfbvhp

          Usually, isn’t it the other way around with not liking differing opinions? Hence the
          word “conservative?” Be careful w/ that…there are quite a few conservatives here too..

          SF is a great place. Should visit.

  • buddy

    I’d like to suggest a new Muni Policy whenever there is any sort of argument on the bus:
    STOP THE BUS.

    If it works for the kids in the backseat of my car, it should work for the riding public who would remind us to mind our manners.

    • Not buddy

      Yes, a 2% chance of proving a point to a couple of riled up, irrational riders is worth pissing off the entire rest of the bus. As a trial lawyer, I would love if you were in charge of Muni. I would sue you silly.

      • buddy

        Don’t you think it’s time for people to step up & tell those few individuals to be
        accountable for their own bad behavior? Once the bus stops, the driver can call the
        police to respond to the disturbance.

        As for a lawsuit, save your money. Most people would think that it’s reasonable
        to expect to arrive at one’s destination safely, even if it calls for delays due to
        these types of incidents. Eventually, we’ll see more people intervening and
        less commotion on buses.

      • DanB

        LOL “trial lawyer” — sure, honey, I’ll go ahead and play pretend with you: Bring it on. You wouldn’t be the first idiot to sue a transit agency for something like that, and you won’t be the last idiot to lose and have to pay the agency’s legal bills.

  • Righteous Fist

    WHO THREW THE FIRST PUNCH?

    The good guy won in this case. Very simple.

  • E for Eugenia

    I believe that black person deserved every bit of it. Who hogs two seats? I wouldn’t hog two seats in Chinatown, don’t you see there are a ton of people standing up?

    The Chinese lady is toisan, she is saying she politely asked the black lady if she could sit there, and the black lady refused. And so that’s how the argument started. Of course the Chinese lady didn’t know how to say anything but “you stupid or fut you”.

    There were other incidents that involved the same black lady on the same bus that was not documented.

    The bus driver and the Muni Bus person at the last stop did NOT do anything.

    I believe the black person is at fault! To be honest, I wish the younger Asian lady didn’t stop the fight, I want to see her beat the black lady. That sounds bad and harsh, but it’s the truth.

    And to the person who filmed the whole incident, props to you! I’m glad you did! This will totally spread awareness.

    • eugenia

      Hm I disagree because, even if someone is hogging two seats, is it necessary to get into a big fight about it? Since the beginning of the argument was not captured on video, it’s really up for debate how the argument started. And I disagree with your sentiment that the young lady should not have stopped the fight. Both women could have injured themselves, each other, or other passengers. I am glad the fight was broken up – who knows how it would have ended, probably uglier than what we even saw.
      Eugenia
      Editor
      MuniDiaries.com

  • i want to beat the s out of all these lame ass posters. in normal cities, people laugh at this video and make funny comments. but not you holes of asses. you guys got it all figured out.

    just imagine being raised by one of these idiots. i feel sorry for your kids. I was wrong all along, it turns out abortion is the way to go.

    here’s to hoping you all win a darwin award. the gene pool needs to be improved just a touch.

  • Apparently I know a friend who knows a friend that was spat at by that very black lady on the video because he or she looked at her the wrong way or something.

  • Don Don

    Just to be a little provocative, I think the Chinese lady should be acknowledged as a modern-day immigrant Rosa Parks.

  • GBH

    The sucker punch throwing lady needs to be charged, arrested and given community service. I suggest street cleaning on Clement st. along with instruction and theory on street fighting. Lesson one will be: if you throw the first punch don’t f**king bail out the door at the first opportunity. It jus’ makes you more stupid than your previous stupid act and that would be the act of throwing said first punch.

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