The Racial Rhetoric of COVID-19

While COVID-19 has put Americans into an indefinite quarantine, the social implications of its Chinese origin are as far-reaching as the virus itself. Trump and his administration have labelled the virus the “Chinese Virus” and the “kung flu,” but upon facing backlash, Trump justified his actions by brushing it off as “not racist at all” and claimed it was factual. The government’s use of such terms alienates its Asian American citizens, many of whom already faced racism on a microlevel within their communities even before Corona hit. The offhand “where are you really from” remarks or “go back to your country” comments are microaggressions that were normalized by the coronavirus outbreak. 

Asians around the country have been attacked while carrying out everyday tasks such as going on a walk or taking the train because they are seen as potential carriers of the virus. Southeast and East Asian restaurants have suffered, simply because of the skin color of their owners or the type of food that they prepare. A simple cough or sneeze by an Asian person attracts dirty looks, or in extreme scenarios, physical assault. Many Asian Americans have been told that they “deserve” to get the disease because their family “eats dogs,” a stereotype of East Asians founded upon broad generalizations, perpetuated by the need to deem a population “uncivilized.” The coronavirus has allowed many who harbor xenophobic beliefs to act upon them, continuing the long, unseen war against Asians.

Even at Lexington High School, a community dominated by Asian Americans, the response to racism by the administration has been mediocre at best. After instances of racism were reported, the administration sent out a reminder to students to not initiate xenophobic attacks that were going on everywhere around us, and commented that some of the comments made to other Asian students were just “plain mean.” A simple email isn’t going to change the mindset of someone raised with racist values, especially if they don’t even recognize their racism in the first place.

Although some may be surprised at the prospect of Asians being racially-targeted  in the 21st century, the racism stemming from the coronavirus is simply an intensification of the racism that has always existed. After the Asian population was stereotyped and grouped into the myth of the model minority, racism against Asians has hardly ever been taken seriously. People pulling back their eyes, calling us ch**ks, saying we smell weird, or look weird is anything but new. While the coronavirus may serve as a large scale example of this oppression, it perpetually occurs on a smaller scale, and little has ever been done to change that. Ultimately, we are all human regardless of skin color, and a virus will not change that fundamental fact. Getting people who are blind to this to see the reality will be yet another challenge for humanity.   Viruses don’t have ethnicities. No one “deserves” to get sick.  

by PIA JAIN & ANGELIQUE PHAM