The story of systemic injustices that I want to talk about is how the president and some people name COVID-19. I am Chinese and was born and raised in China until I came to the states in 2018. At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 started to spread out in China and then all over the world. China has put a lot of effort to prevent the spread of the virus. The fact and statistical data did show that China did a good job in controlling the epidemic. However, the president of the United States consistently said that data reported by the Chinese government was fake, and the number of death cases was much higher than that in the states in conferences and on Twitter. The most unbelievable thing he has done was that he called COVID-19 “China Virus” on Twitter. Undeniably, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in China, but did it mean that the virus was from China? In a country where people advocate for justice and equality, the president of this country openly talked about racially offensive words. Then, some people followed him and called it “China Virus”. As a Chinese citizen, it was heartbreaking to see this term on social media.
The behavior of the president leads more people to believe that the virus originates in China which is still debatable, and what even worse is that some people discriminate against Chinese because they believe that Chinese people carry COVID-19. Innocent Chinese people were hit on the streets without doing anything offensive. It’s systemic injustice because it is racial discrimination implemented by various groups of people that is always one of the most serious problems in the world. Chinese, as a minority in the United States, hardly have voices to speak out their needs. In The Leavers, Lisa Ko also talks about a story of a family of Chinese living in the U.S. From my perspective, Peilan would be classified as a subaltern because as a poor immigrant of color in the working class and an unmarried mother, she has no voice to speak out about her needs and feelings. Chineses in the United States are now in the same situation as she does. Although President Donald Trump says racially offensive words, the Chinese cannot address this situation. Additionally, Martin Luther King Jr. said that life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” When the pandemic spreads out all over the world, people should unite in fighting against it but not blaming anyone and a president should be the leader to advocate for this movement. Racial discrimination is always one of the most serious social problems in the world throughout history. The president should not be the leader of being racist because he has great power in influencing all people within the country.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/17/politics/trump-china-coronavirus/index.html
Report from CNN of Donald Trump’s use the term “China Virus”
Donald Trump should not contribute Covid-19 until certain that the virus has came from China. Even if it has originated from China there is no reason for Racial slurs or discrimination against an entire race of people for it. I feel this post is a little emotional and subjective depending on political views, however, I enjoy you tying in the pandemic and our president.
I think I have a very similar post as yours. It’s nice to see we speaks for our race and ethinity together. The covid 19 virus is a unexpected tregedy that nobody ever hope and hope it could end as quickly as possible.
Your presentation hit on some truly valid points. Chinese people are being patronized for something that has not even been validated. Nobody can pinpoint where this virus came from and the only reason the president has began to call it the “China Virus” is because he is naive and incompetent. There is no evidence this virus came from china, simply because the first case appeared in China does not give anybody the right to criticize or belittle people of Chinese descent. It is horrible what they are experiencing, and I hope this can be changed.
Hi Yang,
I real like your post. Ever since the outbreak, people have been looking for the cause of this outbreak. But I don’t think at this particular time, Trump should come out and clearly point out that this virus is the Chinese virus. This will only make the situation worse. The ensuing racial discrimination will also be more serious. We should get together.
Hi!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings about recent anti-Chinese sentiment. Due to the deliberate use of terms like ‘Chinese virus’ without any scientific proof, it has largely fanned the flames of racism towards Asian Americans in many states and has led to the emerging of racial act and violence. I sincerely hope that the government can face this issue in a subjective and scientific way rather than deliberately politicize it.
Thank you for your post, it had many valid points. Calling it the “Chinese virus” without knowing if covid actually came from China is only causing discrimination and making the situation worse. It is terrible what asian Americans are going through and hopefully it will end soon.