Target of racial tirade in Abbotsford posted video to start dialogue

The man who recorded a shocking video of a racist altercation in Abbotsford says he posted the video to show Canadians there is still racism in this country.

Real estate and business lawyer Ravi Duhra says the incident shown in the widely-shared video began when a pickup truck was getting a ticket for being illegally parked in his law firm's parking lot.

He says when an attendant came to ticket the vehicle, the truck's passenger — a white man — rushed at the attendant.

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"I grabbed my phone and I thought I'd at least take a picture of the individual," he told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn. "He saw me and started to charge towards me. I opened the video app, slid it to video and hit record."

The man unleashed a racial tirade against Duhra before getting back in the truck as the driver of the vehicle sped off.

Time for dialogue

Duhra says while "99.9 per cent" of the people he meets every day don't act out in prejudicial ways, he still encounters racists "on occasion."

"It can be as simple as you're riding your bike in high school on the sidewalk and not being careful where you're going and instead of saying, 'Hey, you jerk,' they use a racial slur instead," he said. "Those are the things I've experienced in the past. It's an easy target for some bigots."

He says since the video went viral, he's received many messages of support from people online who were horrified by the video.

B.C.'s hate crimes team is investigating the incident.

Duhra says more importantly, he hopes the incident and his video can start a dialogue in the community.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Man who recorded racial tirade in Abbotsford says he wants to start a dialogue