A woman apologized to a Filipina after a video of her going on a racist tirade went viral on Facebook.
Selina Cairel, who is half-Filipina and half-English, caught on video her word fight with a local named Sierra Measelle while she was in her vehicle in Portland, Oregon. The 22-year-old Cairel later uploaded her episode with Measelle last Sept. 12.
In the video, Measelle can be seen telling Cairel: “Before you wanna say anything, make sure you’re actually legals and then call the cops.”
Measelle then tagged Cairel and her companion as “illegals who crossed the border.” She added: “And your parents probably had to work for f*cking dirt just to get here.”
Cairel shared in her post that before she took the video, Measelle insulted her using a supposed Asian accent: “She’s Asian, she can’t see that’s why she can’t drive.”
“I never let this pass and wanna make sure this kind of behavior is seen and how people of color encounter this all the time,” the Filipina wrote. Her post has since gone viral, with 16,000 likes and reactions and 20,000 shares, as of this writing.
Days later, Measelle apologized for the episode, as seen in her Instagram post on Sunday, Sept. 16. Local community organization Portland Equity in Action managed to get a screenshot of Measelle’s apology.
“I am sorry for the ignorant, hateful comments I made to her and her friend,” Measelle wrote on Instagram. “I’m ashamed I let my emotions get the best of me and I reacted in such a hurtful manner that goes completely against my beliefs and morals. I’m extremely disappointed in myself and my lack of empathy.”
Measelle added that she plans to transform the negative experience into a “positive learning opportunity.” “[A]nd I hope that people who casually and carelessly use racist language will learn from my mistakes, as I have learned that these words and actions cause others so much pain,” she added.
Cairel’s experience is one of several incidents of Filipinos being targets of discriminatory remarks. In June, a woman in California went on a tirade against a Filipino family, telling them to “go back to your own country.” /ra
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