Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) opened the House hearing Thursday on violence and discrimination against Asian Americans protesting the Chinese Communist Party and extolling lynching, saying it takes “justice very seriously”.
The House Judiciary Committee hearing, which was originally scheduled to address the sharp rise in hate crimes and anti-Asian violence in recent months, gained urgency after a 21-year-old white man entered a murder spree on Tuesday who left eight dead, including six Asian women.
In his opening statement, Roy first acknowledged that the shootings were a tragedy and that “victims of racial violence and their families deserve justice”. From then on, however, the Texas legislature immediately criticized the very nature of the hearing, while implementing an almost absurd logic.
“The case we’re talking about here is the tragedy we just saw in Atlanta, Georgia,” said Roy. “I would also suggest that victims of cartels that transport illegal aliens deserve justice. American citizens in southern Texas are being absolutely wiped out by what is happening on the southern border, they deserve justice. “
The conservative congressman continued: “Victims of riots and looting on the streets … last summer deserve justice. We believe in justice. “
And then came a reference of admiration to lynching, a violent and public form of vigilant action that most often targeted people of color: “There is an old saying in Texas about ‘find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak.’ You know, we take justice very seriously. And we must do that. Gather the bad guys. That’s what we believe. ”(The” old saying “is actually a lyric from” Beer for My Horses “, a song by Toby Keith.)
Roy further mumbled: “My concern with this audience is that it seems to want to venture into policing rhetoric in a free society, freedom of speech and away from the rule of law and ending bandits.”
While many have expressed growing concern that the heated rhetoric of conservatives and former President Donald Trump about the coronavirus – including calling it the “China virus” and “Kung flu” – has potentially led to an increase in anti-sentiment. -Asian in the states, Roy decided to launch a rant against the Chinese government.
“I think the Chinese Communist Party runs the country in China, I think they are the bad guys,” exclaimed Roy. “I think they are harming people and I think they are engaging in modern slavery.”
“What they are doing to undermine our national security, and what they are doing to steal our intellectual property, and what they are doing to shake up the entire Pacific, I think is patently bad and deserving of condemnation,” he continued. “And I think what they did to hide the reality of this virus is equally worthy of condemnation.”
Later in the hearing, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), who is of Taiwanese descent, issued a powerful rebuke to Roy, specifically highlighting her attempt to use a hearing on anti-Asian violence to complain about the Chinese government.
“I want to go back to something that Mr. Roy said before,” said an emotional Meng. “Your president, your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country you want, but you don’t have to do that by placing a target on the back of Asian Americans across the country! In our grandparents and in our children! “
Holding back tears and her shaky voice, the Democratic lawmaker added: “This audience was to address the pain and pain in our community and find solutions! We will not let you take our voice away from us! “
In response to Meng’s comments and media coverage of his own comments, Roy later issued a statement folding down: “Apparently, some people are freaking out because I used an old expression about finding all the rope in Texas and a tall oak about doing justice against the bad guys. I meant it. We need more justice and less thought-out policing. We need to stop the wrongdoers, like those who carried out the attack in Atlanta this week, or cartels that abuse young children, or those who kill our policemen on the streets. We must restore order by eliminating evil actors, not transforming America into an authoritarian state like the Chinese communists who seek to destroy us. No excuses. “