Rep. Rui Xu concerned by alleged offensive gesture

Rep. Rui Xu says he was offended by what appeared to be a racially motivated gesture from a top senator’s aide Friday night on the House floor.

Ethan Patterson, the chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, denies making the gesture, and the moment in dispute wasn’t captured by the official video broadcast of House action.

The alleged incident happened while Senate and House leadership were meeting in advance of a House vote on a budget proposal. Lawmakers are at an impasse in a dispute over the unwillingness of Senate leaders to put Medicaid expansion to a vote before finishing this year’s session.

Xu, a Democrat from Westwood, and an assistant said they saw Patterson waiting in a doorway that leads to House leadership offices. They said Patterson looked directly at Xu, placed his hands together and leaned forward in a bow, which Xu interpreted as a gesture reminiscent of 1940s propaganda that reduced Asian-American people to caricatures.

Read more: https://www.hdnews.net/news/20190504/rep-rui-xu-concerned-by-alleged-offensive-gesture/1
(Hays Daily News)