Monterey Park's population is more than 65% Asian, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city of nearly 60,000 residents had just wrapped up the first day of its Lunar New Year Festival when the shooting occurred.
My (Asian) college roommate's law practice is across the plaza from Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park where the victims were shot and killed by a 72-year-old gunman, and I'm sharing her account as well as our shared experience.
Reportedly, the gunman was once a dance instructor at the studio, and about a year ago, moved from MP to a retirement community in Hemet.
On Sunday night, Community leader Chester Chong told ABC7 that the owner of the dance studio on West Garvey Avenue was holding an event there on Saturday. Through talking with friends that were in attendance and other local leaders, Chong said a woman was invited to the event but not her husband, which made him upset. Chong said he believes that woman's husband is the suspect in this case and jealousy may be a possible motive for the shooting.
Chong also told the network that it wasn't uncommon for the owner of the dance studio to hold these types of events and only invite certain people. He said people got upset all the time about not being able to attend the events.
Again, the above account, previously linked, is from a local community leader.
Relative to Chong's allegation that the owner of the ballroom dance studio often held events where only certain people would be invited and others excluded, I can't speak specifically to Saturday nights event but I have some general knowledge of these happening at venues catering especially to the older Asian/Korean community.
There are unofficial oral histories (consumer reviews) of NY and Los Angeles Asian/Korean Nightclubs 10+ years once visited by all sorts of K-pop royalty over the years and whose club owners have since transformed to ownership of dance studios serving longtime patrons now aged 65+.
Where the former clubs had a certain mystique, like most Asian haunts in NYC and Los Angeles: a word-of-mouth secret, hidden in plain sight, they are not shy about practicing cultural, old-world discrimination.
For example, my lawyer friend tells me even though Star Dance Studio typically advertises events such as the CNY dance on their FB, locals including Chong know the event long sold out (to the owner's exclusive, invitation-only guests).
And just like the studio classes where women outnumber the men, women desiring to attend the Chinese NY party were praying to make the cut! In Asian culture, not being invited is perceived as a scarlet letter, a public shaming. It's brutal -- aunties and uncles going to their graves wondering why they fell out. As my friend puts it -- "think senior citizen
Mean Girls, Asian style."
While it's too early to know the shooter's motive, I think it also important to have a cultural perspective surrounding this horrific tragedy affecting so many. MOO
Talk about a picky bouncer. Times Square nightclub Circle NYC is no stranger to accusations of racism regarding whom they choose to let past the velvet rope. On Thursday, however, those complaints …
observer.com
So unsettling.
