The Coronavirus: A Viral Excuse for Racism

The 2019-nCoV—better known as the coronavirus—has begun to infiltrate immune systems, the media, and nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As sensational headlines blare, the global community’s panic intensifies. Both these fear-inducing pathogens circulating through the air and the fear-inducing news circulating on air have brought out the very worst in the people they infect.

The 2019 novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, is a new strain of the respiratory infection-causing coronavirus. Symptoms range from mild fever and dry cough to pneumonia and death. As of February 4, 10:30 PM EST, the global death toll and number of cases confirmed stand at 490 and 23,324, respectively, and are expected to rise exponentially. The outbreak, which began in mid-December 2019, gained mass media attention in mid-January as the virus spiraled into an epidemic. 2019-nCoV now has the potential to become a pandemic as well; as of February 4, there were 11 cases in the United States alone. Furthermore, the majority of the infected are asymptomatic; this lack of visible symptoms puts victims at greater risk of unknowingly transmitting the virus to others.

In addition, China’s previous botched attempt to prevent coverage of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic greatly lowered its credibility within the international community. Rumors of a similar cover-up for the coronavirus have circulated and become prevalent across all social media platforms. The average citizen, then, is forced to decide between clickbait articles with outlandish claims—such as several that claim Bill Gates funded research that released the virus—and China’s official but seemingly untrustworthy reports.

Many people choose to follow the outlandish articles, thus exacerbating the current panic on a greater scale than the Chinese state’s lack of transparency does. Most notably, a video promoted by the Daily Mail of a Chinese woman eating bat soup in Wuhan went viral, and she was subsequently attacked by various Twitter users. Their claim that the “disgusting” cuisines of China and their unsanitary wet markets caused the disease soon became a popular opinion. Though it was shortly confirmed that the video was shot by an online travel show in Palau, an island-country in the Pacific ocean, and that early coronavirus victims had no contact with such wet markets, many still unabashedly utilize the bat-eating video as a racist example of dirty Chinese disease carriers.

Meanwhile, nations themselves seem to have trouble implementing preventative measures without triggering further xenophobia. A Twitter user relayed the story of a traveler who “escaped” Wuhan to the Toronto Pearson International Airport on January 23. The airport enthusiastically responded, “Thank you for letting us know!! We will share this information with Canada Immigration.” Amidst fearful cries to quarantine the woman, one user demanded, “For God’s sake keep [her] away from us!!!!”

Perhaps more concerning than this clear violation of the traveler’s privacy and civil liberties is the fact that the airport immediately accepted an unverified story from an unknown user. Understandably, precaution is necessary when it comes to epidemics, but when a major organization announces on a massive online platform that it will readily accept and believe such a story, it only causes naive fear and destruction. In doing so, the airport has unintentionally set a precedent: unsupported accusations against Chinese travellers as coronavirus-carriers and Wuhan escapees are welcome.

In such a context, many dismiss these incidents as “cherry-picking,” especially because they were recorded in the very early stages of the epidemic. However, history tells a far different story. Honolulu's Board of Health issued an exclusive military quarantine of Chinatown in Decemeber of 1899 after several Chinese immigrants died of the bubonic plague. After such drastic measures did not contain the spread of the disease, officials set 41 fires to burn infected buildings, leaving 7,000 homeless and in detention camps. Soon after, San Francisco was struck with the bubonic plague in 1900. Similar quarantine measures were instituted in Chinatown, and racism was further intensified by various political cartoons that cruelly depicted the Chinese as disease-carriers. The Chinese Exclusion Act, established in 1882 to halt the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States, was indefinitely extended as a result. Though differences such as the origin of the coronavirus in China and the lack of outright sinophobic legislation set the two cases apart, historical events still support the grim prediction that racism will only worsen alongside the epidemic.

To witness the interplay of various age-old stereotypes—such as Asians eating disgusting, contaminated food and preferring unsanitary conditions—is terrifying. Diseases already destroy our livelihood, safety, and security—we must not allow the coronavirus to dismantle the progress we have made in combating racism, too.

Thus, practical solutions are imperative to eliminate paranoia and combat the coronavirus properly. First, the media must evaluate their stories more carefully before publication or promotion. Favoring profitable clickbait articles that bring readers en masse over journalistic values is not only immoral, but dangerously divisive in times of crisis. Small blogs and major media platforms alike must re-adopt their responsibilities and engage in far more vigorous fact-checking to verify their stories.

As for public entities, it seems that many have forgotten their responsibilities. All states and associated organizations must understand that their influence on the people should be used to protect against, not to promote, unrest and animosity. Rather than rushing to implement extreme policies with crisis-inducing consequences—such as the burned buildings and racist political cartoons that resulted from bubonic plague preventive measures—they should prioritize the well-being of their citizens by including them in solution-making. An inclusive example would be to hold an open dialogue with Asians of their country in order to lessen the vulnerability of citizens to both the coronavirus and the consequent xenophobic panic.

Finally, as the backbone of society, the people must serve as a stable and strong support as disaster shakes us to the core. In short, we should watch our words. There is a vast difference between recognizing that the coronavirus originated in China and accusing Chinese people of causing the coronavirus. It is mainly by misfortune that the 2019-nCoV originated in Wuhan, as it was that the 2014 Ebola outbreak originated in West Africa. If society is still hell-bent on playing the blame game, we must rather blame the lack of proper medical care that allowed the coronavirus to flourish, not the people who are victims of an underfunded system. Then, we must go beyond mere assignment of blame and act upon our concerns by donating to foundations and relief organizations that provide aid to Wuhan. The coronavirus is a serious, frightening disease, but it is still within our hands to take appropriate action against it. Venting frustration at our inaction through racist and xenophobic remarks is highly inefficient, and for a society as divided as ours, will accomplish nothing but further hatred.

It is often said that the earlier you diagnose a disease, the greater chance you have of overcoming it. Thankfully, the coronavirus is still in its initial stages, and the same applies to our modern racism pandemic. We have identified the toxins of xenophobia that entered our society’s bloodstream, and it is now time to eradicate it from our system, once and for all.

Masks At Stuyvesant

Since the coronavirus outbreak gained traction in mid-January, there has been a noticeable increase in mask-wearers throughout New York City. Especially at Stuyvesant, it is common to see a classmate or two wearing a surgical mask in school.

However, the CDC does not consider the common surgical mask as respiratory protection against the airborne disease, since loose-fitting masks cannot completely prevent the inhalation or exhalation of miniscule particles. Especially because there has been no coronavirus outbreak on the scale of Wuhan’s in the United States, there seems to not be much benefit to wearing one. Additionally, Americans tend to perceive masks as an indicator that the wearer is ill. Thus the social stigma around masks prevents many East Asians from wearing one, for many believe that the racist and xenophobic remarks they would receive are not worth the trouble.

It is completely up to the individual to decide whether to wear a mask or not. However, it is important to consider both the pros and cons before strapping one on.