By Yujie Zhou : missionlocal – excerpt
Chino Yang recently wrote a rap — a diss track, to be specific — about his frustration with anti-Asian hate, the current state of San Francisco and Mayor London Breed. Within days, the Asian rapper found himself the focus of condemnation from San Francisco’s African American leaders and the subject of a media frenzy.
The reaction to Yang’s rap criticizing Mayor Breed was as much about the messenger as the message, said Kyle Shin, 26, a fifth-generation Chinese American in the city who is also a rapper. Generally, he noted, Asians are perceived as reserved, the “model minority.”
That model minority may be turning on Breed. Interviews with small-business owners and leaders in the Asian community indicate that many are unhappy with the mayor and ready to support another candidate in the November election…
“I see people that are mad at London Breed, you know, don’t trust her at all,” said Albert Chow, president of the neighborhood association People of Parkside Sunset and owner of Great Wall Hardware on Taraval Street.
“I know there’re a lot of people that aren’t very happy with what’s going on now with the politics,” added William J. Barnickel, president of the Outer Sunset Merchant Professional Association and a commissioner on San Francisco’s Veterans Affairs Committee. While Barnickel is not Asian, most of his association’s members are.
David Ho, a Chinatown organizer and political consultant, said that the community now sees the mayor as responsible for the public-safety issues that have been there for years. Previously, the mayor and others could blame former District Attorney Chesa Boudin…
“Maybe this time we can point at the mayor, ‘You better do your job,’” added Sean Kim, vice president of Richmond District’s Geary Boulevard Merchants Association and owner of Joe’s Ice Cream. For small businesses, Kim said, it is dangerous to do business in San Francisco now. “But we don’t see any accountability, so we are not happy.”…
“I’m really glad to see Chino Yang speak up, and we have to support him,” said Kim, who also noted the chilling effect the aftermath of the incident would cause. “This kind of incident gives signal, ‘Oh, any other Asian small businesses, you better be quiet, otherwise you will be targeted.’”…