By: Karine Chan, Editor-In-Cheif
TW: mentions of physical assault
COVID-19 cases are not the only thing spreading worldwide, as xenophobia and discrimination against the Asian population have become a far too common occurrence. Asians have been experiencing a wide variety of hate crimes—all seeming to be linked to the pandemic—from derogatory messages posted online to physical attacks.
Many malicious things have been said about the Asian community—ranging from ordinary people to large political figures. The United States President, Donald Trump, has repeatedly referred to the Coronavirus as the “Chinese virus.” Adding insult to injury, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to it as the “Wuhan virus.” Phrases like these, coming from largely influential individuals, only help to perpetuate the growing hate speech against Asians. There have also been multiple statements made to reporters expressing their thoughts, saying they get scared upon seeing a Chinese person nearby or automatically assume someone who is Asian is a carrier of Corona simply because of their race. Especially hurtful phrases such as “go back to China” and “you f-ing immigrants” are outwardly spoken to those of Asian descent are also used often.
Some instances have escalated past verbal abuse, going so far as to resort to aggression and violence. Just recently, a sixteen-year-old boy at San Fernando Valley Highschool was maliciously attacked and hospitalized by two of his classmates who accused the boy of having Corona, simply because he is Asian American. Unfortunately, these attacks are not specific to California, as similar instances are occurring all over the world. A woman of Asian descent was sitting at a bus stop in Minnesota when a group of teen boys came up and began to surround her. A recording of the interaction surfaced, showing one of the boys kicking the woman in the face, then the teens are heard laughing and running away. They were later charged with harassment with intent to injure and fifth-degree assault.
Asian owned restaurants and businesses have also been hit hard by the blatant discrimination on account of COVID-19. Many Chinatowns—including but not limited to San Francisco, Houston, and New York—have transformed into ghost towns as a result of the rising xenophobia associated with Corona. Restaurants in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, for example, have reported business drops from 40% to 90%—fueled by xenophobia surrounding the illness. Similarly, the owner of the restaurant Amazing 666 in New York City’s Chinatown told reporters business had dropped at least 50, if not 60%. The reason for this slump is the common misconception that a Chinese person is an automatic carrier of the virus. Because businesses are experiencing such large drops in sales, owners are forced to lay off employees and cut down hours from other staff members’ regular schedules. The lack of money going into these businesses is affecting each and every employee, some of which depend on said job to support themselves and family.
As a Chinese person, I have experienced these microaggressions first hand. I stopped going on daily walks due to the dirty looks and offensive hand signals people on the street were throwing my way. While I am lucky no physical harm has come my way, that does not excuse the hurtful and inhumane behavior so many have begun to take part in against Asians. How is it that people whom I had never come across in my life were going out of their way to harass me? Why has society deemed this to be acceptable?
The few examples I have given of hate crimes and xenophobia in action are merely scratching the surface of the tremendous mental and physical damage that has been done to the Asian community. Racism against those of Asian descent has become far too normalized, now we must stand as one to reverse this damage.
