Judge in Kyle Rittenhouse trial faces backlash from 'Asian food' joke: 'Definitely not okay'
Source: Washington Post
As the court in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was set to adjourn for lunch Thursday, Judge Bruce E. Schroeder thought it was a good time to joke about whether their food would get there on time. “I hope the Asian food isn’t coming … isn’t on one of those boats from Long Beach Harbor,” he said. The comments, which appeared to refer to the supply-chain backlog at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., were met with backlash from critics who said the judge made “a thinly-veiled anti-Asian comment,” questioning how Schroeder could oversee a trial with racial implications and make a joke at the expense of Asians and Asian Americans.
“Maybe I’m supposed to applaud him for not saying ‘Oriental food,’” tweeted John C. Yang, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an advocacy group defending the human and civil rights of Asian Americans. “During a trial that clearly has race implications, no less. Definitely not okay.” The judge’s joke comes as closing arguments in Rittenhouse’s divisive trial are expected on Monday. Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with killing two people and wounding a third during unrest in Kenosha, Wis., that unfolded last year after a White police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the back. The 18-year-old emotionally broke down on the stand in testimony this week, later saying he was attacked and in danger that night.
“I defended myself,” he said.Schroeder, 75, has gained national attention, and generated anger and confusion, through his rulings and comments during the course of the trial. When the trial began earlier this month, Schroeder forbade the prosecution from calling the three men Rittenhouse shot “victims,” which the judge has long called a “loaded term.” Schroeder, the longest-serving active judge in Wisconsin’s trial courts, prefers “decedents” or “complaining witnesses.” While Wisconsin lawyers say the ruling on “victims” has been long-standing in Schroeder’s courtroom, others pointed out the judge allowed the defense to call the men Rittenhouse shot “looters” and “rioters,” if the attorneys could prove they were involved in those acts.
Several other incidents put Schroeder in the spotlight. He dismissed a White juror after the man made a joke to a police deputy about the 2020 shooting of Blake. When Schroeder’s phone went off in court this week, many noted the ringtone sounded like the opening to the 1984 Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” which became a music staple at rallies for President Donald Trump. The judge’s attempt to honor veterans on Veterans Day resulted in the courtroom applauding for a witness for the defense, who appeared to be the only veteran in the room.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/12/rittenhouse-judge-asian-food-schroeder/
= new reply since forum marked as read
per the OP article, were actually Asian-American organizations and activists? 
From the excerpts -
Also in the article -
“The boats in the harbor are majority boats from Asia. And he said Asian food — which further connects the Asian boats,” he tweeted. “He could have just said the lunch was late.”
(the above guy is cited quite a bit on DU regarding COVID-19)
The "problem" in a system of racism-white supremacy is that the majority population demands to define what "they" think is "racist" or not. That's the very definition of "superiority" and it will never go away as long as this mentality continues.