Huntington Beach Skinhead Attack

Re “Huntington Beach Strip Is Skinheads’ Nighttime Haunt,” Feb. 7: To me, as an Asian American born and raised in Huntington Beach for 17 years, the recent attack on a Native American only adds to a pattern of hate crimes that has proven endemic to the city. On June 15, 1991, for example, three Japanese women were attacked by a group of Caucasian women outside the Huntington Beach Red Onion Restaurant. On June 15, 1992, three white men attacked four Asian American youths on Beach Boulevard.

My personal experiences with hate speech have definitely shown the underlying attitudes of racism that many city residents have. Yet, despite promises from the Huntington Beach Police Department to increase their presence on Main Street, the real problem remains: Nazi skinheads and hatemongers would not feel so free to violently express their viewpoints without tacit approval of their ideology from many city residents.

RYAN MASAAKI YOKOTA

Los Angeles