Gabriela Enamorado/Staff Writer
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the world, so does the panic surrounding it. Along with the panic comes misconceptions on where it comes from and how it’s spread, the worst of which has evolved into racism and xenophobia against Asians.
No matter how afraid you may feel, this pandemic is no excuse for your discriminatory behavior.
The coronavirus was first reported to have originated in Wuhan, China. Since then, I have seen people on social media say that Chinese people deserved the virus or that it was their fault the virus began because of the food they eat.
The U.S government has not helped and have used Chinese people as their scapegoat for the virus. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has labeled the virus as the “Wuhan virus,” and other GOP lawmakers have referred to the virus as the “Chinese virus.” The Center for Disease Control & Prevention has said the virus should not be referred to like this, especially since the countries like Italy and South Korea have been hit hard with infections. These labels continue feeding into negative stigma surrounding Wuhan and Asia in general.
What really started this was something called “Bat Soup,” which went viral after a reality star in China was seen eating it and was falsely painted as the origin of the virus. These claims are not helping anyone; they only perpetuate hate. I have seen people say that the reason they got the virus in the first place is because the Chinese people are “nasty” and “eat anything.” The public, especially on social media, have generalized them all and label them as unclean.
Though the virus can be traced to China, it is awful to put down their culture and call their entire country dirty. That is clear prejudice.
FIU is not immune to ignorance either. Luckily, I have not seen any violence or outright racism towards our Asian Panthers on campus. However, I have overheard lots of criticism towards Chinese cuisine and culture. I once overheard a student say, “that’s why I don’t ever eat Chinese food.”
Hate crimes against Asian people have increased along with tensions surrounding the virus. A Singaporean student named Jonathan Mok was attacked while walking down the street in London. According to Mok, his attackers said: “We don’t want your coronavirus in our country.” Just a few days ago, an Asian man on the subway in New York City was berated and sprayed with air freshener.
People tend to do this when pandemics happen. When Ebola was spreading in 2014, many Africans were met with xenophobia all over the world. The minute the coronavirus became international news, I saw the same thing with Asians.
These illnesses have been used time and time again as an excuse for being racist. Labeling Chinese people and other Asian groups as the reason the virus exists will not help us.
Racism will not protect us from the virus; only basic hygiene can do that.
Featured image courtesy of NIAID-RML on Flickr.
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