A white woman was caught on camera spitting at a crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in a California mall last week. While leaning over a side rail, she not only showered the group with her saliva but inadvertently sprinkled a little Black girl next to her.
Once confronted by the child’s father, she went from bashing the Palestinian supporters to cursing Black people.
The protest happened at the Westfield Mall in San Jose, California, and called for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war during the Black Friday shopping frenzy.
According to footage circulating online and other reports, the protesters were gathered on the mall’s main floor in the lobby. The woman was several floors up, mocking and ridiculing them from above. At one point, she flipped her middle finger at the demonstrators and then spat on them.
The camera does not capture her spitting on the child, but a Black man with the child said they were standing next to her and that she was spat on too.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she says to him before he tells her that she spat on or near the little girl.
As she clarified and shared who the spit was intended for, she barked as she walked away, “F##king Black people.”
The footage, posted on TikTok by @popprincesszelda, lasted 43 seconds but made a big impact. One tweet of the video has received in four days over 20.2 million views.
Many criticized the woman for her behavior. Some online are calling for her to be charged with a hate crime, with one user tagging the San Jose Police Department asking, “Where’s the justice system when you need it?”
The San Jose Police Department’s Assaults Unit Hate Crime Detail was created in 1993, and “all acts of hate crime violence, or threats will be viewed as serious and the investigations will be given priority attention, according to the agency’s website.
In 2021, California Attorney General Rob Bonta established a racial justice bureau to prosecute hate crimes, showcasing his foresight. From 2021 to 2022, hate crimes increased by 20 percent, with 26 incidents reported against Muslims in 2022.
Since its May launch, the “California vs Hate” hotline has garnered 400+ reports of hate crimes. Beyond reporting, victims receive aid in locating mental health resources and navigating the legal system, should they choose to pursue justice efforts.
Since 2019, California elected officials have allocated around $135 million in grants for organizations at higher risk of hate attacks. This funding enables them to acquire reinforced doors, security lighting, and mass notification alert systems.
