Discussion on Vincent Chin by https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k After reading Zia's chapter and also watching the documentary movie, please add to this discussion: Was the murder of Vincent Chin racially motivated? You must explain your reason and thought process, and provide support with analysis and examples. (In addition, you may respond/retort or make additional points to someone else's comments, just reference them) en-us 2016-11-07 03:26:55 UTC 2025-11-03 14:03:08 UTC hello@padlet.com Vincent Chin Response Ryan6244 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136465373 I think that this case has a lot of elements that our lecture last week had. It seems that in Detroit people were panicking that foreign imports were doing better than the products being made in America and they felt that they had to preserve “America” in any way they could. Ron Ebens instigated a fight in a bar that was racially motivated whether he thinks so or not and it got out of hand. Either side could have and should have just walked away, but they didn’t and someone died. 

What astounds me is that the killers were not sent to prison. Even if they could prove that the actual fight was started by Vincent Chin, they killed him. They need to be held responsible for that. What I found interesting in the documentary was the way that Ron Ebens talked. I believe he thought he was justified in doing what he did and that it wasn’t racially motivated and he is innocent. That was a scary thing to see, especially having read the chapter first.

-Ryan Glinski

]]> 2016-11-09 16:38:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136465373 Ryan6244 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136481519 2016-11-09 17:14:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136481519 Vincent Chin Response stephanie_cherng85 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136925425   I believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Vincent Chin was a Chinese-American man who was murdered in a strip club in Detroit. He was beaten to his death with a bat by a white man by the name of Robert Ebens. During that time, there was a strong resentment towards the Japanese in Detroit because there was an increase of Japanese cars sales favored over American cars. Before Vincent's murder, Ebens had went up to Chin and said, "It's because of you little motherf*ckers that we're out of work." In the documentary, Ebens constantly states that even under his "drunken" state he was a hundred percent sure he didn't say such a thing. However, witnesses such as the dancers in the club and Chin's friend all confirmed that he had said such thing. Ebens's outburst was a reflection of the frustration around the economic situation and Chin was used as a scapegoat. He was mistaken for a Japanese and because of his skin color and they way he looked, Ebens lashed out against him. This particular situation is not something new. Historically, Asian Americans were always a target for violence because of economic and labor factors and were constantly scapegoated such as the creation of the railroads which led to many Chinese Americans to be victims of violence by whites. Chin's murder however, ignited and fueled the Asian American activism in this country. In the documentary, Ebens disregards these activism and states that the "ASJ is using this case to fuel their own plight as Asian Americans." He even admits to not even know that Asians in this country have any sort of problems and states that his daughter had helped an Asian kid once. Eben's was cleared of all charges because the jury believed that it was not a hate crime. Thus, the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. 

Stephanie Cherng

]]> 2016-11-11 02:57:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/136925425 Vincent Chin Response eshaahmed94 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137062769 I do believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Vincent Chen was 27-year-old Chinese American engineer from Detroit, Michigan who was beaten to death with a baseball bat by two unemployed autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. This act of violence came at a time when Americans, especially white Americans, associated with the automobile industry blamed the Japanese for the decline in popularity of American cars. Japanese manufactured cars saw increase in sales when compared to American cars and many employees in the U.S. auto industry were laid off. Chin was beaten a week before his wedding, on the night of June 19, 1982 at a strip club. After an initial altercation, where Ebens blamed Chin for his unemployment, he beat Chin with a baseball bat, mistaking him for Japanese because of his physical appearance. The severe blows he received led to his death four days after the incident. As the documentary states, Vincent Chin was also attacked verbally with racial comments, blaming him and his people for the troubles within the American automobile industry. This was not simply a crime; it was a hate crime which was racially motivated. This case was an important one for the Asian American community. Ebens was initially put on trial and convicted for his heinous crime but it was overturned upon appeal. This led to a public outburst forcing the case to continue and marked the beginning of an ethnic movement for the Asian Americans. The documentary shows this case throughout its trials and shows how it affected not just those involved, but also the American justice system, pointing out its flaws. Vincent’s mom Lily Chin kept fighting strong for the case to go to the Supreme Court. However, in the end the killer Ebens was set free with no sentence and a small fine to pay since it was not viewed to be a hate crime. But this was a hate crime since Ebens attacked Chin assuming he was Japanese, blaming him for his unemployment and beating him so ruthlessly. The racial slurs said by Ebens and his entire reaction to the case indicates what really led to this crime. Hence, it can be seen that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated.  
                                                                                    -Esha Ahmed
]]> 2016-11-11 17:50:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137062769 Vincent Chin https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137115245 Vincent Chin’s death was racially motivated. The two auto-workers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, believed that Japanese people were the reason for their unemployment, and they targeted someone they thought was Japanese. Even though Vincent Chin was a Chinese autoworker, they assumed that the first Asian they saw was Japanese. They assumed that this person was the reason for their unemployment, and after fighting in the bar and even outside. They sought their anger towards their unemployment towards someone who happens to be Asian. Even being convicted, their punishment was solely three years of probation. To me, this show that Asians’ lives are not as important as Whites. It’s absurd that for someone to commit murder, with intent, and receive no prison time. These two people seem to show no remorse for their actions. They should be held responsible. Ebens said, “it just happened,” the way he has said it showed that his actions, of murdering someone, was part of everyday life. Ebens and Nitz could have left behind this issue, however, instead, they had decided to find Vincent, which took thirty minutes, and killed him with a baseball bat. Ebens talks about his night in jail and his “struggle”. He DID NOT apologize, and even mentioned that he felt terrible being in jail for Father’s Day. It seems like he constantly mentioned the struggle he faced for the crime he COMMITTED. I feel that Ebens was trying to use a “sob story” to try to warm the hearts of America. I feel he was trying to use his race, of being white, towards his case. It was mentioned that Vincent Chin’s mother, the dancers, or even the police officers did not speak in court. How does one rule a case, without having all witnesses testify? This is absurd, and it so happens that the judge was also white. This crime was done by white men, and it was ruled by a white judge. It seems that race has a huge role towards this case. They both should be held responsible for manslaughter. On another note, this reminded me of Glenn Rhee, from The Walking Dead. Glenn was murdered by "Lucille", Negan's baseball bat [Negan is white], having his brains on the ground, and so far in the series, he has gotten away with it.
Shu Xin Lei]]> 2016-11-12 04:47:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137115245 Vincent Chin Response xueyi_chen621 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137116630 I believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. This is because even before the fight happened, the two auto-mobile workers, Ronald Eden and Michael Nitz was the first to say something insulting to Vincent Chin in the strip club. They were not happy about the high layoff rate in the automobile industry because of the Japanese so when they first set their eyes on Vincent, an Asian in the club, they automatically assumed that he is a Japanese and vented their anger out on him. Although Vincent was the first to start the physical violence with a punch, Ronald and Michael were the first ones who insulted Vincent and cursed him out. Being drunk and having a fight outside a club is a common sight to see but even after the security guard broke them up, they went and tracked Vincent down at a McDonald’s place. They even went to the extent of paying strangers twenty dollars to find him, which is not what a normal drunken brawl would look like unless they wanted revenge. Ronald and Michael was clearly trying to pacify their anger on a Japanese person but instead mistaken Vincent for a Japanese because of him having very similar racial features.
 In the interview with Eden, he did not even give off a small hint of being guilty, but instead felt very sorry because it was father’s day the next day and he couldn’t spend it with his family. He kept on saying that he did not want to be in jail ever again because it wasn’t accommodating. Towards the end, he said “..I know a lot of Asians who are very nice. My daughter even helped an Asian kid in school..” to make it sound like he was not racist but not once did he say that he was sorry for what he did to someone else’s family member thus it makes me think that he feels that there was nothing wrong with beating a person with a baseball bat until that person dies. When the sentencing took place, I was shocked when the Jury found Ronald and Michael not guilty just because they had no previous crime records. They were only sentenced to three years in probation. This absolutely made no sense to me because when the trial took place, there was no testimony. The women who witnessed the fight and worked at the the strip club was not contacted to testify. The most ridiculous thing is that Lily Chin was not provided information of when and where the trial is to take place. She had to find out through friends after the trial. 

Xue Yi Chen

]]> 2016-11-12 06:18:16 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137116630 Vincent Chin Response stephanie_betancurt https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137134357 I do believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz both insulted Vincent without reason to, as he had done nothing wrong. With increasing rates of unemployment in the Auto Industry due to the high influx of Japanese immigration, many Americans were laid off and forced out of jobs that they would've otherwise been able to keep. Ronald and Michael were both unemployed Automobile Industry workers that had been laid off. I believe that when they first saw Vincent at the strip club, they just assumed that he was Japanese and decided that hurting this man would be a just form of revenge. After insulting Vincent, they probably grew more enraged and even went as far as looking for him, which shows that it was more than just a random attack. When they found him at McDonalds, they beat him to death with a baseball bat. 

These two men hold no remorse or guilt towards the actions they committed and instead Ebens just claimed that he felt bad because it was Father's Day the next day and he couldn't spend it with his family. 

What I find absolutely absurd about this entire sequence of events, is that these two murderers did not receive prison time for the horrible crime they committed since they had no previous record, but rather just a probation sentence. This shows that they were not the only ones who regarded Asian lives as being less worthy than other lives. 

-Stephanie Betancurt

]]> 2016-11-12 14:36:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137134357 Stephanie Betancurt "Vincent Chin Response'' yanique_brown37 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137156113 When I first started watching the video and I heard how Vincent Chin was killed in a violently way by Ebens and Nitz, I do think that his beatings which led to his death 4 days later was indeed racially motivated.  I think Ebens felt he was being disrespected by a Japanese American whom he felt was responsible for the decline of the American motors industry. And when Ebens was hit by Chin, this led to emotions that were racially motivated.  While it is not abnormal for two men at a strip club to get into a bar brawl ( which is what happened because Chin was not attracted to the black dancer and Ebens insisted that the black dancer was indeed a real 'looker'), and if those men were from different racial backgrounds as these men were to use racial slurs against each other how the two white men were able to walk away with basically a fine of $3000 for the death of a nonwhite man makes this case a hate crime.

Yanique Brown]]> 2016-11-12 21:40:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137156113 The murder of Vincent Chin yanique_brown37 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137156569 The mentalities of Ebens and his step son Nitz were that similar to a white supremacist.  They were not happy with the fact that in 1980's a slew of Japanese imported cars were taken away 'jobs' from the American motors industry and just as an evil natured white supremacists took it out on an innocent Asian man whom they mistook for a Japanese. The incident  ( the bar brawl) which led to the brutal beating of Vincent Chin was the perfect alibi for Ebens and Nitz to get away with the brutal killing of an innocent Asian man  despite it being a hate crime.
Because there were conflicting eye witness accounts on what occur at the bar brawl where some key eye witness claimed that Chin had punch a drunken Ebens to the floor and had taken off, this may influence the jury to believe that the beating of Chin was less of a racist hate crime but more of a scorned man exacting revenge.
But what makes me upset about the trial is that both Ebens and Nitz were initially , simply fined $3000 with probation. Instantly, It reminds me of the recently coined term "white privileges.''  and I concur Mrs. Chin and Zia ( and many other minority groups) that had the roles been reversed and two Asian men had killed a white men, the verdict and punishment would have been different. 
Watching the interviews of Mrs. Chin is very touching and watching Ebens interviews made me mad because I see no remorse in his face.

Yanique Brown


]]> 2016-11-12 21:52:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137156569 Vincent Chin Response nhuang97 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137158056 I believe that Vincent Chin’s murder was racially motivated. During this time, there was a lot of hate towards the Japanese because they were blamed for the downfall of the auto industry. Detroit was facing an oil shortage and Japanese automakers were able to develop cars that were inexpensive and fuel efficient. Many auto workers were laid off due to the lack of demand for American cars.
The incident began at a strip club. Michael Nitz and Ronald Ebens were sitting across from Chin and his friends at the club. Nitz and Ebens found it an eyesore to see an Asian American sitting across from them and started insulting Chin by calling him “Chink”, “Nip”, and “fucker”. According to one of the dancers, Ebens said, “It’s because of motherfuckers like you that we’re out of work.” This shows that Eben’s attack was racially motivated.  Ebens believed that Chin was Japanese due to his facial features and blamed him for his situation. Therefore, he attacked Chin to vent his anger towards the Japanese. 
After the fight ended, Ebens went after Chin. He even went as far to hire someone to find Chin. After finding Chin, he began to assault him by beating his head with a baseball bat. Despite murdering Chin, Ebens and Nitz showed no remorse or guilt on their actions. On the day Chin passed away, Ebens was playing baseball like any other day. After assaulting a man and ultimately murdering him, he acted as if nothing had happened and went on with his life. During the interview he never apologized. Instead, he talks about not wanting to be in prison again and how he felt bad since the next day was Father’s Day. Chin’s death did not affect him in any way. It’s as if he sees Chin as someone insignificant due to his “inferior” race. A majority of Ebens and Nitz’s acquaintances, who are white, were defending them by saying that they are not they type of people to commit such a crime instead of why they might have committed such a crime. However, since they are white and acquainted with Ebens , it is natural that they are on Eben’s side. 
During the trials for Chin’s case, none of the witnesses were called to court. The judge was White and the perpetrators were White. The judge favored Ebens and Nitz and let them off with probation and a fine. There are other racial groups were punished with a more severe sentence for lesser crimes than Ebens and Nitz. This shows that Asian lives are not seen as valuable and that a person can be let off easily just for being White. 
 
Nancy Huang
]]> 2016-11-12 22:38:56 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137158056 Nancy Huang ''Vincent Chin Response'' yanique_brown37 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137158179  I agree with you when you said that " This shows that Asian lives are not seen as valuable and that a person can be let off easily just for being White. ''
I was quite taking a back with the interviews of the Ebens and the other white men in the videos. I was not ready for how they seemed so quick to consider Vincent's life as easily disposable. 
 During Ebens' interviews I do not recall him saying he was sorry that Vincent ended up dead, I only saw him claim that "these things (fights) happens all the time and that it was just Vincent's time to go. In fact at one point during the interview, he kept wondering why he was still getting hate and stated that all he wanted  was just e free from going to  the trials; never once acknowledging that he killed someone or his actions killed someone. I sincerely believe that he just doesn't think he did an evil thing. 
I was very appalled at this but I think you said it best when you say that just like Ebens, many of white America may not value Asian lives. 


Yanique Brown.]]> 2016-11-12 22:43:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137158179 The Death of Vincent Chin mindy_guan75 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137161778 I do think that the killing of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. There was a witness that the jury found credible who said she heard Robert Ebens say "It's because of you motherfuckers that we're out of jobs." Even if Ebens never explicitly said "Japanese" it's obvious that he was referring to them due to the context of the time period. The Japanese people in America were receiving a lot of hate and blame for the decline of the American auto industry. Many people were losing there jobs in the auto industry because America was importing much cheaper cars from Japan.
Ebens continuously mentioned through the documentary that him killing Vincent Chin was an accident, not racially motivated, and therefore not a civil rights case. When you deliberately hunt someone down, however, and beat them with a bat four times directly to the skull, it indicates otherwise. He said he was not in the right mind because of all the adrenaline and the alcohol but the police officers at the scene had already testified saying both parties seemed completely aware of what was going on. 
One of the people who were interviewed in the documentary even mentioned that there was plenty of time for Ebens and his stepson to have cooled off from all the adrenaline of the initial fight and to stop searching or to prevent an accidental killing. This shows that Judge Kauffman's verdict of Ebens being guilty of manslaughter was wrong. This was homicide. Ebens had time to cool off from this adrenaline that he claimed took over him. Ebens killed Vincent Chin was malice intent and was racially motivated.

Mindy Guan]]> 2016-11-13 01:03:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137161778 Vincent Chin Response https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137196540 To me it seems clear that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated.  The conditions in the auto industry in America also played a role in enabling this horrible conflict to escalate.  The process of globalization has left workers all over the world disenfranchised due to lack of work and financial distress.  In some communities this has brought out xenophobic sentiments and intolerance towards immigrants and minority groups.   We see this going on today in developed countries like France, England, and the USA.  Many argue that the recent election of Donald Trump is a result of white working class Americans insecurity in this fast paced and politically correct climate.  

1987 was another time where there was high unemployment and economic instability particularly in the automobile sector.  American car companies at this time faced never before experienced competition with foreign products.  The Japanese auto industry was tapping into middle class markets and selling cars at a competitive price that encouraged American car companies to have layoffs.  It seems in the video that there was some resentment of Asians as a result, especially if you were affected personally by the layoffs.  

One night a white man who lost his job got into an argument with an Asian man.  During the argument, a witness reported that he had said something to the effect that ,”We lost our jobs because of you people” (“You people” being Japanese people).  Disregarding that the man wasn’t even Japanese to begin with, it’s clear to see that this man’s intolerance for Japanese people lead to this fight escalating to the point that he killed another person.

To make matters worse, the system protected this individual so that he wouldn’t serve any hard time for the crime.  This displays a complete racially bias justice system that covers up the vicious, ignorant and racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin. [�

Vanessa Zheng
]]> 2016-11-13 15:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137196540 Vincent Chin Response https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137216106 I agree with everyone that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Many people blamed the Asians for the decline of the American auto industry, due to America getting cheaper cars from Asian countries instead of using the labor force in America. In the documentary, Ebens had a lot of evidence against him that the killing of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. A witness to the killing even said that she heard Ebens say "It's because of you motherfuckers that we're out of jobs." Although not directly implied, it was targeted to the minority races. Along with this, Ebens says that he killed Vincent Chin by accident and that he wasn't in the right state of mind, being influenced by alcohol, when it was obvious that Ebens had a specific target in mind to vent his anger out on. An African American guy, who witnessed the fight, asked if they needed help, because the younger guy was bleeding. Instead, they offered him $20 to track down these "Chinese guys." The father was saying "when we catch up to these Chinese guys, we're going to bust their heads." The African American warned them that there were police there but the "older guy" said "Fuck the police." The certainty of who was being targeted and the way that the two men didn't even care that the police were there, shows that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Witnesses of the killing said that they saw Mr. Ebens hitting Chin's head with a baseball bat, while Mr. Nitz held Chin down. Those that were friends of Ebens and Nitz said that they were not the type of people who would do such things, they were nice people, etc. Due to the notion that these "friends" were white, they would have racially associated themselves with Ebens and Nitz and claim that they were good people. Along with this, no witnesses were called to court on Vincent Chin's case. The judge sided with Ebens and Nitz, letting them off with probation and a fine, due to the fact that the judge was white as well. 

-Gabriela Shen]]> 2016-11-13 19:02:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137216106 Who Killed Vincent Chin Discussion https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137224416 The murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated, according to the documentary the two suspects Michael Nitz and Ronald Ebens hit Chin repeatedly with a baseball bat because of their anger towards the Japanese taking over the auto industry that caused Michael Nitz and many people working in the auto industry in Detroit to get laid off. Although Vincent Chin was Chinese, these men did not care and thought of them as all the same, as "orientals." In the beginning of the documentary a black man who encountered Nitz and Ebens during the night of the killing stated that the two was willing to pay him twenty dollars just for him to help them catch "the Chinese guy." Ebens and Nitz were tried in court and received probation and a fine of only $3,000, this angered Chin's mother as well as the Chinese community because they did not get the justice Vincent Chin deserved. As for Ebens he played the victim as well by reasoning that he was not in the right mind and that when he was at the jail during father's day he felt really bad. But he was able to avoid being in jail because the judge was very lenient   because he was white. When the judge was asked why he can't do a second trial for the case of Vincent Chin he reasoned that he has way to many cases to spend so much time on one case. This angered Chin's mother as well as many Chinese that cared for the justice for Vincent Chin.
I agree with Stephanie Cherng that often Asian Americans were often targeted to violence as a scapegoat to whatever bad is happening to society that relates to any Asian groups. In this situation because the imports of Japanese cars are booming in the U.S., American cars are being oust in the auto industry causing many Americans to be unemployed. Although Vincent Chin was part an engineer of an American car company he was still targeted by these white men because of their anger of being laid off. 
I also agree with Shu Xin Lei that Ebens was trying so hard to get pity from the people that he was innocent even though he managed to beat someone to death. He kept emphasizing that he did not mean to do what he had done, but there is a fine line between physically getting into a fight and beating someone to their death because of extreme anger. 

On a different but related note, it saddens me that these racially motivated violence occurred and its very disappointing to see that America hasn't change with the recent rise of racial attacks occurring now with Muslims and immigrant minorities.

-Abegail Laforteza]]> 2016-11-13 20:39:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137224416 Vincent Chin Response https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137225964 I believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. Basically, the conflict was caused by the outrage from both sides. Ebens and Nitz, the two laid-off autoworkers, were mad because of the mass layoffs in America auto industry, and they believed that the mass Japanese auto imports was the reason for the decline of domestic auto industry. Vincent was mad because of Ebens and Nitz’s malicious remarks. However, in my opinion, the killers’ outrage relatively was bound to racial hatred. No matter how nice Ebens and Nitz were to their neighbors and friends, Ebens and Nitz, as a small part of the auto industry, their mood of hating Japanese was highly affected by the anti-Japanese events and public figures in the city. For example, workers destroyed Japanese cars in public events. Zia mentioned, “On TV, radio, and the local street corner, anti-Japanese slurs were commonplace”(pg.58). Also, from a dancer’s witness, Ebens once said, “it’s because of you motherfuckers that we’re out of jobs”. The “you” here he meant was directly against Japanese. Vincent Chin was not a Japanese, but he was targeted because of his physical appearance. So, in fact, anyone who had an Asian face could possibly be the victim at that night.

-Xiaoyu Chang]]> 2016-11-13 20:57:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137225964 Vincent Chin Response robertsmia97 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137247263 Like everyone else, I do believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated. The attackers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, we former autoworkers who were angry at the Japanese for the United State's trouble in the auto industry. The two attacks beat Vincent Chin with a baseball bat all because they mistook him as a Japanese. Even though Chin was Chinese, he was solely attacked because he "resembled" a Japanese person. I think this show just how ignorant people can be, just because someone looks to be of a certain race or ethnicity doesn't mean that they are that race or ethnicity. This attacked occurred all due to mistaken identity, but even if Vincent Chin was Japanese that doesn't justify the attack at all. Ever since World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor there has been a discordance between Americans and Japanese, as well as Asian-immigrants. In Helen Zia's book she writes "On TV, radio, and the local street corner, anti-Japanese slurs were commonplace" (pg58). This can further show that Chin's murder was racially motivated. Even in the video, one of the women mentioned that during a baseball game the White people would shout racial slurs and kick them until they left or were too traumatized to return. During the 1980s in Detroit, it was a time when the domestic auto industry relied on Japanese parts and slowly replaced domestic distributors. This put many Americans out of a job, and like many, just fueled Ebens' and Nitzs' anger towards the Japanese. However, the attack against Vincent Chin was one of many to reach news sources and attention. What I find interesting is that Eben's and Nitz's did not apologize at all for their crime, and they didn't even seem sorry at all. In fact Eben's just continued to blame Vincent Chin over and over again. I believe that Eben's and Nitz were angry that the were laid off and took their anger out on someone they assumed to be of the ethnicity "responsible" for them being laid off. 

Mia Roberts

]]> 2016-11-14 01:16:32 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137247263 Vincent Chin Response yiling_thoo62 https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137248890 I believed that the Vincent Chin’s murder is racially motivated.  Firstly, there is a witness that heard them arguing, stating that they think that it is because of them that they lose their jobs, intentionally grouping Vincent in a racial group.  It started off as an argument, and then afterwards, turned into a fight. The content of their argument was that they think that they had been fired because of the Japanese automobile industry, and Vincent Chin was targeted because he was thought of as Japanese. This shows that Ronald Eben and Michael Nitz had provoked him because they think that he is Japanese, which he is targeting to release his anger. They had chased Vincent Chin with a baseball bat when they were all leaving the place. Thus, the killing would be intentional. It was also mentioned that in Eben’s testimony, he could be sure that he hadn’t said anything that the other claimed to have heard, though he had said that he can’t remember the night well, which was received as “his memory was too selective”, and the police officer stated that even though they had drank, “they knew what they were doing”. Eben doesn’t think that he was wrong in killing Vincent Chin, and he tells that it is only an accident, that he should not be jailed for it. He thinks that it is only natural that he is pleaded not guilty for his actions five years after the event. Thus, we can deduce that the killing is intentional and racially motivated. 
-Yi Ling Thoo]]> 2016-11-14 01:30:46 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137248890 Vincent Chin discussion post https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137600804 Although I am convinced that Ronald Ebens did not premeditate and intend to murder Vincent Chin before the altercation broke out, I do believe that the execution of the murder was racially motivated.  Many white, working class men were frustrated and angry; Detroit was full of racial tension--especially in the automobile industry.  Men who became unemployed had to put the blame on someone for their misfortune and instead of blaming the corporations and big businesses, they blamed the immigrants.  The minority group was targeted as the cause of the economic turmoil in Detroit and their alien status made them vulnerable.  As immigrants, they lacked the legal representation, acceptance, and voice in the American society.  Moreover, there was no real understanding of the Asian Americans during this time period.  They weren't viewed as an integrated part of the United States; it seemed unfair that "foreigners" were having greater success (or so as it seemed) in a land that belonged to them--the white Americans.  Also, when family and friends of Ebens and Nitz explained that the two men were friendly, open-minded people who were free of prejudice, it showed me how unexposed these people were.  One can be accepting and loving in a community where everyone is and looks like yourself.  However, one can be tested in his or her capacity to affirm others when they are unlike themselves.  Additionally, Eben's attitude throughout the documentary was very unrepentant and that solidified the idea that the lives of Asian Americans were considered inferior and insignificant compared to those of White Americans.

-Yoonha Choi

]]> 2016-11-15 02:35:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137600804 Vincent Chin's Murder xinnong_liu https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137619932 I believe that the murder of Vincent Chin was racially motivated after I read the chapter and the documentation film. From both texts, I learned that Japanese car production was going up and white auto workers in Detroit whom originally worked for American cars were loosing their jobs. Those people blame their lost on Japanese, and have already done with striking and trashing TOYOTA cars to release their hatred. By the time two of those white auto workers came up to Vincent, they were already intend to beat him up for the blame, even though they may not wanted to kill him at the first place.
The most terrifying part of this issue is not when they thought he was Japanese and beat him outside the club until his skull cracked, but when Judge only charged them for 3 thousand dollars fines and 3 years of probation, this was way too soft than what man saluter criminals suppose to deserve. 
There fore, the racial motivation was not only a motivation for the killers to kill, but also a motivation for the judge to be injustice. The racist environment were filling the air and leads to unfair treatment in many ways, which is the phenomenon that Asian and other racialize groups often have to face. 

Xinnong Liu]]> 2016-11-15 06:34:42 UTC https://padlet.com/mwu0004/ev3e25ruy85k/wish/137619932