Ugly traffic incident mars national holiday for Asian-American veteran

The Memorial Day holiday for James Ahn - a Korean-American Air Force veteran who lives in Fremont, California - should have been a day full of honor, reverence and pride.

Instead, what he underwent on May 21, in an apparent road-rage incident, not only ruined his annual celebration, but also sparked a nationwide outcry and heated debate over whether he had fallen victim to hate speech.

A video Ahn shared through his Facebook account last week, which went viral and has now had more than 653,000 views, caught a female driver yelling racially-charged comments and making derogatory gestures against Asians, Chinese in particular.

"I was driving in Fremont last week and this lady started the racial harassment while threatening me on the road only because I wasn't driving fast enough for her," Ahn wrote on Facebook.

"I got scared and I told my passenger to start recording because it looked like she was going to crash into me at some point. As I changed the lane, she kept driving towards my car gesturing to crush me and cutting in front of me to slam on the brakes. I later realized that this was more like a hate crime than road rage," he continued.

In the nine-second clip, the woman, who was later identified as an immigrant from Iran and a Fremont resident, was heard telling Ahn to go back to "his [expletive deleted] country." "This is not your country," she shouted. "This is my country."

She then mocked Ahn's looks by pulling her eyes to the side to mimic the stereotyped Asian appearance.

"Oh my God, Chinese ugly, ugly Chinese," she screamed in the video.

It took me a while to believe that this actually took place in today's America, a nation that is proud of its immigrants from all over the world, a melting pot known for its cultural, ethnical and religious diversity.

Moreover, how could Fremont, a city with more than half of its population being Asians, become a hotbed for racial hatred?

"This is my country, since I am a citizen plus a veteran currently serving this country," said Ahn. "Don't disrespect anyone by their race!"

Ahn later filed a hate speech complaint against the woman to the Fremont Police Department, only to find that local law enforcement officials determined it was a case of two drivers misbehaving but no laws were broken.

In a statement issued on May 25 from its official Twitter account, the Fremont Police Department said, "Many have become aware of a disturbing incident that occurred in Fremont. We investigated, took statements from both parties, but could not establish a crime. Sadly hate speech in and of itself is not a crime.

"This incident is not reflective of our diverse and compassionate City," the tweet concluded.

Disappointed, Ahn responded through Twitter. "You guys took hours and days to take my report by telling me that my feelings may be hurt but I didn't end up with an accident or have any physical contact."

In an interview with local media, Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said she "was deeply disturbed" and reiterated the city's firm stance on hate crimes.

"Fremont has zero tolerance for any kind of hate crime," she said.