This just keeps getting worse.
If you’ve been with us over the last 24 hours, by now you know the sad, sad story of Ponzu Cool Cat, a beloved Instagram influencer feline who was tragically killed during a horrific incident at a New York City park earlier this month. In that very same incident, readers will recall, Ponzu’s owners were viciously attacked by a family of more than a half-dozen people, and the family’s other pets — including the dog Tofu and the parrot Mango — were also allegedly struck.
Finally, and thankfully, the NYPD has been investigating, and on Thursday morning Ponzu’s mourning owner, Chanan Aksornnan, revealed there had been at least one arrest made in the case. Also on Thursday, the family revealed they’d set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to help pay for the inevitable legal battle that is coming against the attackers at the center of this ugly, ugly incident.
Now, things are about to get even more disturbing. On Thursday evening, Aksornnan took to Ponzu’s official Instagram page to share two Stories showing anti-Asian, racist comments and outright hate — allegedly from social media accounts involved with the attackers.
As you can see (below) in exchanges first published to Facebook and later re-posted to the cat’s IG account, the red circle shows a completely inappropriate, negative stereotype directed at Asian heritage. To make matters worse, those claiming to have ID’d the perpetrators allege the racist comments came from actual accounts related to the incident:
For those unaware, it is a negative stereotype that is often used to dismiss Asian communities. Sadly, there’s more in a second picture shared by the owner of Ponzu, though we won’t be re-sharing it here as it contains a racial slur and an image of an Asian man used in an ill manner.
Between the reported mistreatment of Ponzu, the ganged-up attack on Ponzu’s owners, and now the alleged racist online behavior, it’s no wonder the hashtag “JusticeForPonzu” has been trending around social media.
Of note, a report earlier this year showed that hate crimes against Asian Americans skyrocketed nearly 150% in 2020, following the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic as then-president Donald Trump mocked COVID-19 with derogatory terms aimed against China. It is currently unclear if NYPD will decide to pursue this case as a hate crime, but many social media users think they should consider it.
You can learn more about what you can do to help stop AAPI hate HERE.
Truly, truly awful all around.
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