Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Asian community has been the target of racism and xenophobic attacks. As a result of President Donald Trump’s tweet and using the term “Chinese virus,” Asians have faced more attacks and subsequent racism. The name of the outbreak is either one of the three: COVID-19, coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2. There is no fourth option and so forth, so please call the outbreak by those names instead of the racist ones.
It is without a doubt that the source of the outbreak came from China; the phrasing of “Chinese virus” makes it appear that the Chinese people are responsible for the outbreak. In the past, the world was stricken with Ebola, SARS, the bubonic plague and even the swine flu pandemic of 2009. Nowhere have we referred to either of these diseases as “African flu,” “European virus” or “American flu.”
Why do others refer to the current outbreak as the Chinese virus? The answer is simple; Americans are quick to place Asians as a scapegoat for the cause of disease. If the world referred to the swine flu pandemic as the “American swine flu,” we would be much more offended and defensive than normal. Americans cannot blame Asians for diseases when Americans themselves are at fault for causing the 2009 flu pandemic.
Think about it: our iPhones, the famous Air Jordans and everyday household items are made in China. If one refers to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” the iPhone is a China-phone, Air Jordans are China-Jordans and so forth, according to @AsiansNeverDie on Instagram.. Most items are made in China and the U.S. relies on China for cheap labor; should we stop buying iPhones and shoes? We depend on Chinese labor and some blame them for causing an outbreak. In essence, we are biting the hand that feeds us. There is a racist remark in “Chinese virus” that is fueled by ignorance and lack of compassion for people that suffered at the hands of their government.
In the news, Asians have been spat on, robbed, yelled at and insulted by ignorant people across the globe. Elderly people are not invulnerable to attack either; they have been subject to more, if not harsher, attacks. Though it is advised to stay away from people who visited areas of high infection, there is absolutely no excuse to assault innocent minorities and it is idiotic to assume that all Asians are carriers of the virus.
It is unfortunate that Trump chose “Chinese virus” as the name of COVID-19; it alienates a large population of people in the U.S. Recently, photos of his speech have been leaked, leading viewers to see that “coronavirus” had been crossed out and changed to “Chinese virus.” It is saddening to see our president, the person that the whole nation is supposed to look to during times of distress, hurling racist remarks to China and its people, especially when their labor has helped to build America to the powerful country that it is today.