Andrew Yang On Andy Ngo Attack: ‘Journalists Should Be Safe To Report On A Protest Without Being Targeted’
Last weekend, photojournalist and Quillette editor Andy Ngo was attacked by Antifa ?— the violent protest group he has been chronicling ?— in Portland, Oregon. Per The Inquisitr, Ngo was left bloodied, and his lawyer said Sunday that he was suffering from a brain bleed as a result of the attack. As of now, his GoFundMe campaign is at $146,405 ?— almost triple its goal of $50,000.
On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang took to Twitter to send his best wishes to Ngo and briefly address the incident.
“I hope @MrAndyNgo is okay. Journalists should be safe to report on a protest without being targeted.”
Despite the violent nature of Ngo’s attack, many people have taken to social media to make light of the situation and suggest that his conservative-leaning political beliefs warrant his injuries. Given the controversy surrounding the event, Yang’s comment drew both praise and criticism.
“Don’t know about this one chief, shoulda just stayed out of it. Not helping you one bit,” one user wrote.
“Please do more research before making statements like this,” another said.
But others supported Yang’s decision to disavow political violence.
“We can’t disavow violence anymore? Wtf?” one user wrote in response to the criticism of Yang’s post.
“Doesn’t matter who you are, violence is not the answer,” another user chimed in.
“It’s not too far fetched for someone to whoop your ass for wearing a MATH hat,” one user wrote, suggesting that particular media focus on Yang’s appeal to people with more conservative views ?— a quality some people believe could alienate him in the Democratic field ?— could plausibly spark violence against his own supporters.
In the ER. pic.twitter.com/spe5N4nzVl
— Andy Ngô ???? (@MrAndyNgo) June 29, 2019
Many journalists, both Democrats and Republicans, have spoken out in support of Ngo. But others appear to be indifferent and even supportive of the violence against him.
Yang was most recently in the news when he announced his plans to start a podcast called Let Yang Speak. ?The title is a reference to the hashtag that spread following Yang’s low amount of speaking time at last week’s Democratic presidential debate and reports that both his and Marianne Williamson’s mics were not always on. Per The Inquisitr, the announcement came not long after critics like Sam Harris and Eric Weinstein suggested the debate format encouraged spectacle rather than honest conversation.
“Institutional media & political parties are the only ones keeping it alive,” Weinstein said of the debates, adding that Yang would have support if he chose to move toward “longer internet based formats with greater depth.”
