Coronavirus Outbreak: The Latest “Excuse” for Racism
The recent coronavirus outbreak has captured global attention. Whether it be from school, social media, or at home, this disease has quickly become a popular subject due to its effects. This disease, originating in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 95,000 people in every continent except for Antarctica. While the coronavirus continues to spread across the planet, an adjacent issue has also developed - racism against people of Asian descent.
Asians worldwide have begun to face microaggressions, which is intentional or unintentional behavior, that is hostile or derogatory in nature. Although these microaggressions are typically underhanded and rarely reported, this form of discrimination comes with many consequences. On January 28th in Sydney, Australia, a 60-year-old Asian man went into cardiac arrest outside of a restaurant in Chinatown. Bystanders reportedly refused to administer CPR, under the impression that he could be a possible carrier of the coronavirus, an assumption based solely on his appearance. By the time that paramedics had been called to the scene, it was too late and the man died of heart failure. If not for the ignorance of the bystanders on the scene, it is likely that he would have survived.
In the United States, Asian Americans in communities nationwide have faced both physical and verbal discrimination as a result of fears caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak. People have become increasingly wary of Asian-owned restaurants, forcing numerous small businesses into closure as the number of customers has dropped dramatically since news of the virus surfaced.
According to an article by the Vox, “Early this month, New York City Chinatown officials held a press conference addressing the rise in “xenophobic hysteria” against Asians, as more discriminatory acts were being reported. In a viral video, a man on the subway yelled at an Asian man to move somewhere else, then sprayed him with Febreze”. Anti-Asian hysteria has become a worldwide epidemic as concerns over the coronavirus continue to grow. With an abundance of information, most of which can be misleading, people are quick to make harmful generalizations.
There is never an excuse for racism, especially not now when so many continue to face exposure to the virus and are already suffering due to the coronavirus itself. An increase in discriminatory actions against people of Asian descent are just one of the many reactions to the coronavirus outbreak.
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