Anti-Asian Racism & the Coronavirus
compiled by Erica Pernell
What are Asian and Asian American people experiencing in the U.S.?
Asian and Asian American people around the U.S. are experiencing an increase in incidents of harassment, name-calling, violence, and hostility. Asian & Asian American people on public transportation have been targeted with racial slurs and insults. Middle and high schoolers around the U.S. have experienced name-calling and racist questions about what their families eat. Younger Asian students report being asked by classmates if they have the virus. Businesses owned by Chinese people in America have been hit hard, as sales and business have dropped considerably for weeks.
What are the facts and history regarding the coronavirus and race/ethnicity? Why is the coronavirus outbreak leading to an increase in anti-Asian racism?
No one region or country is to blame for the virus, and questions as to how and where the virus originated are still under investigation. It is a biological and evolutionary fact that new human viruses will emerge over time. The novel coronavirus exists on every continent except Antarctica and global infections drastically outnumber the cases in China. Viruses can emerge and make anyone sick regardless of their race or ethnicity. Anti-Asian racism and medical scapegoating have a long history rooted in white supremacy.
Scapegoating an entire ethnic group is a common political practice used to stoke racism. When an outbreak of the plague threatened San Francisco in 1900, the city blamed and subsequently quarantined all Chinatown residents. This medical scapegoating amplified anti-Chinese hostility, leading to loss of life and property for Chinese and Chinese American people. The misplaced blame also decreased the effectiveness of the city’s response, causing more widespread disease and death. This scapegoating also paved the way for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to become permanent law in 1902, prohibiting the immigration of Chinese people to the U.S. until 1943. There are many other historical examples of anti-Asian racism related to medical scapegoating.
The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. As a result of this initial detection, some have been inappropriately labeling the virus the “Wuhan virus” or, as the President recently tweeted, the “Chinese virus.” The World Health Organization, the CDC, and many global leaders have condemned naming the virus after a particular location because such divisive and inaccurate labels put Asian and Asian American people in danger by increasing stigma. The WHO writes, “Stigma occurs when people negatively associate an infectious disease with a specific population. People are being labeled, stereotyped, separated and/or experience loss of status and discrimination because of a potential negative affiliation with COVID19.” Attempts to name the virus after a particular location are inaccurate and increase hostility and violence towards Asian people in the U.S. Now is a time to remember and learn from our history. Uniting across racial lines to eliminate racism in our coronavirus response is the only way forward. Antiracism is what is needed, now and always.
What should I call the virus? What is the difference between coronavirus and COVID-19?
“The coronavirus, officially SARS-CoV-2, is a virus, not a disease, and the disease it causes is COVID-19 (or coronavirus disease), deriving from CO(rona) VI(rus) D(isease)-(20)19. COVID-19 is also called “the coronavirus disease.” It’s not accurate to say “the virus COVID-19” (that’s the disease). Phrases to keep on hand: “COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus”; “the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. [Mother Jones Style Guide]”
Sources:
When Xenophobia Spreads Like A Virus - Codeswitch by NPR
How a Chinese immigrant neighborhood is struggling amid coronavirus-related xenophobia - Vox
Chinese as Medical Scapegoats - FoundSF
We Shouldn’t Need to Explain Why Trump’s “Chinese Virus” Tweet Is Wrong. But Here We Are. - Mother Jones
Coronavirus fears show how 'model minority' Asian Americans become the 'yellow peril' - NBC News