Roy Choi

So it's not that we can't fight back or that we won't. It's just that in many cases, the first wave of immigrants, Asian immigrants, didn't know what the proper protocol was.

And you got to remember a lot of countries that these people come from, the cops are corrupt. The governments are corrupt. That's the whole reason they're here in the first place. So then you have that, you have the language barrier, you have the cultural incomprehension of what you're supposed to do. So that's why food is so important.

And you got to remember a lot of countries that these people come from, the cops are corrupt. The governments are corrupt. That's the whole reason they're here in the first place. So then you have that, you have the language barrier, you have the cultural incomprehension of what you're supposed to do. So that's why food is so important.

And you got to remember a lot of countries that these people come from, the cops are corrupt. The governments are corrupt. That's the whole reason they're here in the first place. So then you have that, you have the language barrier, you have the cultural incomprehension of what you're supposed to do. So that's why food is so important.

Because during the week, it's so hard that the only time that we had together was through food. And all my extended family, my aunts, my uncles, my parents, they would just be cooking all the time. Like all the time. And I don't mean like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I mean, like making stews, broths, dumplings, like full blown restaurant shit, you know, in their apartments.

Because during the week, it's so hard that the only time that we had together was through food. And all my extended family, my aunts, my uncles, my parents, they would just be cooking all the time. Like all the time. And I don't mean like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I mean, like making stews, broths, dumplings, like full blown restaurant shit, you know, in their apartments.

Because during the week, it's so hard that the only time that we had together was through food. And all my extended family, my aunts, my uncles, my parents, they would just be cooking all the time. Like all the time. And I don't mean like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I mean, like making stews, broths, dumplings, like full blown restaurant shit, you know, in their apartments.

And then we would all meet on the weekends and have these like tremendous potlucks every single weekend. It was like growing up with Quincy Jones as your dad or something. Or like Steph Curry, like how Steph Curry grew up, like on the NBA arena. You know, like that's how it is for us with food. So I never really used it as a space of here's my little private Idaho type thing. It was a given. Yeah.

And then we would all meet on the weekends and have these like tremendous potlucks every single weekend. It was like growing up with Quincy Jones as your dad or something. Or like Steph Curry, like how Steph Curry grew up, like on the NBA arena. You know, like that's how it is for us with food. So I never really used it as a space of here's my little private Idaho type thing. It was a given. Yeah.

And then we would all meet on the weekends and have these like tremendous potlucks every single weekend. It was like growing up with Quincy Jones as your dad or something. Or like Steph Curry, like how Steph Curry grew up, like on the NBA arena. You know, like that's how it is for us with food. So I never really used it as a space of here's my little private Idaho type thing. It was a given. Yeah.

I love how you just put it all because for people that are marginalized, we never hold any grudges in many cases.

I love how you just put it all because for people that are marginalized, we never hold any grudges in many cases.

I love how you just put it all because for people that are marginalized, we never hold any grudges in many cases.

And in many cases, when we do have opportunities, we're just giving back because we're survivors and we know our self-worth and we know ourselves, whether that's the African-American culture all the way to Asian-American to whoever. We know where we come from. We know what we represent. And so you can't just stop it. It just keeps growing and mushrooming. And so for us, it's just about sharing.

And in many cases, when we do have opportunities, we're just giving back because we're survivors and we know our self-worth and we know ourselves, whether that's the African-American culture all the way to Asian-American to whoever. We know where we come from. We know what we represent. And so you can't just stop it. It just keeps growing and mushrooming. And so for us, it's just about sharing.

And in many cases, when we do have opportunities, we're just giving back because we're survivors and we know our self-worth and we know ourselves, whether that's the African-American culture all the way to Asian-American to whoever. We know where we come from. We know what we represent. And so you can't just stop it. It just keeps growing and mushrooming. And so for us, it's just about sharing.

So, no, we don't hold those grudges at all.

So, no, we don't hold those grudges at all.

So, no, we don't hold those grudges at all.

The sad part is you go outside of L.A., it's still like that. Anywhere that's not like New York, L.A., San Francisco, it's like that. But we saw during the pandemic, even New York, L.A., San Francisco had to deal with Asian violence too in that same pattern that you just described in the 80s, which is so bizarre. I always equate it to the world that you come from, Hollywood.