Actor and activist George Takei is criticizing U.S. Rep. Chip Roy after the Texas Republican congressman glorified lynchings as a form of “justice” during a House hearing on anti-Asian American violence.
Rep. Roy’s remarks come just two days after a Georgia gunman shot to death eight people – seven women, six of whom were Asian American, and just one day after he voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act.
Congressman Roy insisted on trying to divert Thursday’s hearing’s focus away from attacks on Asian Americans and into a more generalized focus. He also made clear he opposes what he called “policing” derogatory rhetoric, and wants the focus to be on “taking out bad guys,” while not understanding that derogatory rhetoric, like that promoted by former President Donald Trump about AAPI people can easily lead to increased violence.
“There’s old sayings in Texas about, you know, find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys,” Roy suggested. “That’s what we believe.”
Takei slammed Rep. Roy, retweeting the above video and saying, “One of the worst lynching incidents in our history was perpetrated against the Chinese community of Los Angeles when some 20 people were killed and hanged by an angry white mob. This language is unacceptable, and Chip Roy is an ignorant inciter.”
Roy beat Democrat Wendy Davis last year by seven points in his re-election battle.