Last month, there was a fatal attack in San Francisco that was described as a racially motivated attack. An innocent 84 year-old man named Vicha Ratanapakdee was slammed to the ground by a random man who charged him at full speed. He died of a brain hemorrhage in the hospital two days later. The killing of Vicha has given voice to a united community under the idea of Asian-American identity. His killing brought much anger to a diverse group that encompasses people of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritages. There have been thousands of racist incidents among Asian Americans, probably as a result of Donald Trump repeatedly referring COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.” The hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise and there have been many Asian Americans coming together in anti-hate rallies with signs saying, “My ethnicity is not a virus,” and “Asian is not a virus, racism is.” Racism is a virus, and it seems as if it continues to spread faster than some viruses. There are many stereotypes and conclusions that people make about Asian Americans, such as them being rich, smart, and struggling in speaking English. They feel as if they are displaced in a country divided between whites and blacks, as they are the in-between race. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus originating from China, the Asian community has faced fear and insecurity as they are looked at as the individuals who brought the virus to America. The death of Vicha moved the Asian community to start protesting against this racial injustice crime.
The amount of incidences of hate crimes have increased as a result of the coronavirus. The New York Police Department says that a 36-year old Asian man in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood was stabbed and taken to a hospital in critical condition and the suspect faces charged that include attempted murder as a hate crime, among other charges. To read about more hate crime incidents: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/27/asian-hate-crimes-attacks-fueled-covid-19-racism-threaten-asians/4566376001/
The racial discrimination amongst Asian Americans is very unfair given the fact that we are all trying to fight against this virus and we are all in this together trying to stay healthy and safe. As it is said by de Beauvoir in her Second Sex, “it is that no group sets itself up as the One without at once setting up the Other against itself”. The coronavirus outbreak is the overall issue of the whole world combating the virus, but the world is letting their power of One and the Other overpower their identity and setting up injustice for certain racial groups. We can also refer back to what Beauvoir says, “he sets himself up as the essential, as opposed to the other, the inessential, the object.” After interpreting this, we can conclude that the essential her is other American groups and the inessential, the object as the Asian American community suffering from being looked down upon.
I really like the quote that racism is a virus in this diary entry. That is so true in today’s world and not just for those who are Asian American. The stereotyping mentioned in this article also made me think of Deming and the Leavers. The public and media make it out to seem like all Asian Americans come from rich families and are come to the United States highly educated, when we see that this is certainly not the case for all (and especially not the case for Deming in The Leavers).
Labeling racism as a virus and not the Asian heritage as a virus was integral to your post, and I’m so glad you included this line. It’s unfathomable to me that individuals, especially individuals of power, could associate a racial identity with a medical condition strictly because it originated in an Asian country. Creating this association completely belittles the Asian heritage and just adds onto the dangerous stereotypes that we have about certain groups in America. When we position racism as a virus, however, we can examine it in terms of how it is spreads, how it’s reinforced, and its harmful emotional, social, and physical effects on humans as individuals and on the human population as a whole. Discrimination against Asian Americans has become so prevalent due to a multitude of factors but can surely be tied to our former president’s references to COVID-19 as an Asian virus. This label has since been internalized by his followers and many others and has contributed to the assaults and attacks against Asian Americans recently. A person with as much power as former president Donald Trump, must be careful with their words because these words can create much more impact that they anticipate, and it’s unfortunate to think that Trump’s irresponsible rhetoric was a key variable in the violent acts today.
I totally agree with your statements in this post! As an Asian American, it’s been scary and heartbreaking to see the rise in hate crimes committed towards Asians, especially elders in America. Racism is a virus indeed, and it seems to be spreading just as fast if not more than COVID. Stereotypes have greatly harmed the AAPI community for a long time, forcing a huge and diverse population into a specific niche. Racism against Asians has always been around, but with events such as the outbreak of COVID and government officials calling it “Kungflu” and the “China virus” there’s been a sharp increase in hate/racism against the community. Like you pointed out, de Beauvoir mentioned the danger of setting up One and the Other. This is not a good mentality and is playing a role in preventing us from moving past major problems together such as COVID.
I really liked how you talked about racism being a virus not someones ethnicity or background. Racism in the United States has grown more and more and people are feeling unsafe in their own skin. We need to stop the spread of Asian Hate and people need to stop targeting them. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own bodies.
I think it is also important to bring up what has happened this past month with the racially motivated murders against the asian community. I do believe there is a way to get rid of the violence, which is making stricter gun control. There will always be the argument of “They will still find a way,” but why not try to make it a difficult as possible?
I have had conversation with some international student friends who have said they are starting to feel unsafe in the United States, which is invigorating to me.