Michael Lofthouse, the founder and CEO of Solid8, an IT tech start-up based in San Francisco, was apparently thinking deep, important thoughts and sipping wine this July 4th at the tony Bernardus Lodge and Spa, nestled in the soft, idyllic hills of Carmel Valley, Ca., when his reverie was rudely interrupted.
Across the room of the lodge’s elegant Lucia’s restaurant, a small family of Asian-American folks including Ms. Jordan Chan, had begun to sing Happy Birthday to Chan’s “tita,” Mari (‘tita is Filipino for “aunt.”) It was the culmination of a happy evening, an annual celebration the family liked to hold in the Valley. And it was apparently utterly intolerable to Mr. Lofthouse, who was prompted by the singing to rise and loudly give voice to his innermost thoughts and political convictions.
Michael Lofthouse gave the family the finger, then said, "Trump's gonna f--- you. You f------ need to leave. You f------ Asian piece of s----."
Ms. Chan fortuitously captured the event on her smart-phone camera.
As the video shows, an alert server at Lucia’s intervened and ordered Lofthouse to leave the premises. She has since been praised by the restaurant owner for her decisive handling of the matter.
A Lucia employee quickly stepped in. "Get out, you are not allowed here. You do not talk to our guests like that. They are valued guests. Get out!"
According to Chan, Lofthouse also told them (off camera) to 'go back to whatever f****** Asian country you're from' and that 'you don't belong here,’ among other things. From Ms. Chan’s Instagram post accompanying the video:
(FYI he had a LOT more to say after I stopped recording). This is the face of the man who relentlessly harassed my family and I completely UNPROVOKED, UNWARRANTED, and UNCONSCIONABLE. We were celebrating my tita’s birthday, literally just singing happy birthday to her and taking pictures, when this white supremacist starts yelling disgusting racist remarks at us.
The server, interviewed by a local ABC affiliate, had noted Lofthouse’s behavior before the incident, observing him switch table and make rude comments to other staff.
After Ms. Chan's video of the incident circulated on local news affiliates, Instagram and You-Tube. Mr. Lofthouse declared he would step down (whatever that means) as CEO of his company and deleted his Linkedin and Facebook accounts, which were soon filled with negative comments. And, as is typical of Trump supporters usually only when their hate and racism are publicly revealed, Mr. Lofthouse profusely apologized for his conduct, but not until days after the incident had gone viral. His “apology” includes the assertion that “This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments.”
Lofthouse’s contention that he “lost control” is intriguing, as it suggests that his customary practice was to “control” his racism, but something gave him permission or encouragement to relinquish that “control.” The first audible words Lofthouse says after giving the family the middle finger in the video are “Trump’s gonna fuck you” (apparently Lofthouse also lost control of his sense of irony, as he is a U.K. native, and, according to his mother, his sister-in-law is of Asian descent). So it appears that Trump gave him that permission and encouragement.
As Forbes Business staff writer Isabel Togoh reports in the “Key Background” segment of her article:
Democratic senators have denounced a rise in racism towards Asian Americans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, President Trump has stoked racial tensions by referring to coronavirus as the ‘Chinese virus', which he later stopped doing, before recently calling it ‘Kung Flu’ at his rally in Tulsa last month.
Ms Chan directly attributes Lofthouse’s actions to Donald Trump. From her Instagram Post:
It is no coincidence that this man has the audacity to showcase such blatant racism on the 4th of July. White supremacy has a notorious habit of masquerading as patriotism! The fact that Donald Trump is our president (i. e. THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD) gives racists a platform and amplifies voices of hate. The surfacing of racists is so prevalent right now, even in such an ethnically/culturally diverse and liberal state like California, because Trump HIMSELF uses his position to incite racial tension and to promote aggression towards POC, foreigners, and immigrants. We need change! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE VOTE THIS UPCOMING RE-ELECTION. PROTECT ALL PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOR AND ETHNIC ORIGIN. ✊
As reported by CBS News, there have been more than 2100 reported incidents of Trump-inspired harassment and discrimination against Americans of Asian descent since March, when the Covid-19 pandemic began to prompt lockdowns in the United States.