Racism and covid 19
The coronavirus also known as the Covid 19 has affected many people. It has changed the lives of many people… Many people have died, many people have lost their jobs, and many places and events have gotten cancelled or closed. The pandemic has caused stay at home orders and even have people locked inside for months in and on. This is a tough time in the world right now. During a time like this people are trying to make ends meet and stay positive, but In the mist of all this people still find time to be racist. The virus has taken a toll on the Asian community. For this blog post I will be using two articles one from the CNN website and another from the People.com website. Both the articles, the CNN and the People.com both discuss how the coronavirus is causing racism towards this community. The CNN article is written by a writer named Holly Yan. The people’s article is written by Diane Cho. Both the websites give examples on what is really occurring in these types of communities right now. The virus has made it hard for them to run restaurants and even nail salons as well. The virus has affected the way people interact with the Asian community and how they are treated.
In the CNN article “What’s spreading faster than coronavirus in the US? Racist assaults and ignorant attacks against Asians” Holly Yan discusses the racism that has occurred with the Asian community and she gives examples as well. In the article Yan explains how a Thai American has experienced a case of racism on a subway on the way to work. She explains how a man singled her out and even claimed Chinese people are responsible for all diseases. I disagree with this man’s actions and even words cause just because a disease started in a certain place it doesn’t mean you can bully and harsh a certain community. People shouldn’t single out one kind of person or group just because of what is occurring in the world today. Nobody should have to sit on a train and be harassed for 10 minutes while on the way to work. With times like this we should build each other up and not count each other out. Yan even gives another statement and states “I started getting my phone out after I saw this interaction, but in the process, the man hit the woman on the head.” This is another case where a male figure attacks a woman on a New York city subway. It’s one thing to say harsh words to someone but it’s another thing to physically abuse someone just because of a pandemic. This is another form of racism that is occurring. I also disagree with the way things were handled; people are abusing each other over a disease that can’t be fixed. It’s sad and unbelievable because there are so many other things that we should try to be fixing right now. Most of the racism that is occurring with these communities is just fearful ignorance. Yon states “Racial tensions are indeed escalating, and we now have significant reason to take agency in acting.” She states this to explain how racism is at an all-time high and now we really truly have reason to pay attention and not notice the unknown. Yan explains how a father and son went looking for a hotel one day but ran into problems. The first hotel, super 8 wasn’t very welcoming. The employees were asking the such questions as “have you guys been to china” and “anyone from China, I am told, has to be picked up and quarantined for two weeks.” The father and son went to a second hotel named, days in the employee there stated, “Asians aren’t allowed.” The two giving statements explain how a father and son just wanted to find a place to spend the night but were faced with racism. I don’t like these actions because people shouldn’t be turned away because of what type of ethnicity they are. Lastly, Yan gives another example where Chinese restaurants are suffering greatly. Yan explains how a man named David Zheng states “On a normal day, we’d have around 100 tables a day, but now for a full day of business, we’d get only 20 to 30 tables” This statement shows once again this a form of “fearful ignorance”. People assume that Asian workers have the virus just because it was speeded from china. All the examples explain how the Asian community is facing all types of racism right now in life. If we see these such things occurring, then we should speak up and not let these things continue to go unnoticed.
The second article is named “Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows” By Diane Cho. She explains how the Asian communities are affected by racism. Cho explains how a teen stabs three members of a Asian family in Texas because of a hate crime. Diane states “The young man attempted to murder three members of an Asian-American family, including two toddlers, at a Sam’s Club.” The cause of this action was said to be because he thought the family had the virus. This is another prime example of racism occurring, people shouldn’t be stabbing an adult and two toddlers just because of a virus… just because you think they may have it because there Asian. Another racism crime that Cho talks about is how a “man pours an unknown substance on a woman who has burns all over her face now.” This is another example of a hate crime that is happening in cities right now just like New York. The Asian community doesn’t deserve to be treated like this just because of where the virus came from. Lastly Cho explains how “a lady needs stitches after four teens attack her on a bus.” This is another example of racism the teens thought the young lady was carrying the virus just because she is a part of the Asian community. People assume that every Asian has the virus she because they are Asian. It’s sad to watch truly and honestly. All these would be considered hate crimes and racism, it’s sad to say that this is what the world is coming to.
In conclusion both the articles written by Yan and Cho explain how the Asian community is truly suffering and the things that are happening in everyday life. It’s shocking to see with everything going on people still have time to be hateful and spiteful to others. The issues occur just because people are scared but that’s not an excuse at all for the pain and lives that are suffering just because of racism and hate crimes.
Work cited
Yan, Holly. “What’s spreading faster than coronavirus in the US? Racist assaults and ignorant attacks against Asians”. CNN, April. 3, 2020, Fri February 21, 2020 https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/us/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asian-americans/index.html
Cho, Diane. “Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows”. People.com, April. 3, 2020, March 17, 2020 https://people.com/health/coronavirus-racist-attacks-against-asians/
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