The Pandemic of Scapegoating and Hatred during Coronavirus

by ammy y. ‘22

America tends to emphasize foreignness when naming pathogens: it is the “Ebola” virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the “Zika” fever, after the Zika Forest in Uganda, the “Spanish” influenza despite the flu not originating in Spain, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), also known as the “camel flu.” Illnesses that originate closer to home, however, get no such treatment. HIV, which first emerged in New York, has not been dubbed “NYC-11”; similarly MRSA, which saw its first outbreak in Boston, has not been given the moniker “Boston plague.” This habit of nomenclature extends to today’s current pandemic: COVID-19, or the coronavirus. The virus first exploded in the central city of Wuhan, China and has been referred to as the “Wuhan” flu and the “Chinese” virus in news outlets and even by the president of the United States. 

In this period of social distancing and quarantine, Chinese-Americans face double the threat. Not only must they struggle with having their lives upended avoiding the virus, but they must also contend with the ever-growing danger of xenophobic attacks. Since the threat of COVID-19 was first announced, there have been hundreds of cases of Asian-Americans being yelled at, spit-on, beaten up, and harassed online. These victims not only include Chinese-Americans, but people who descend from other countries like Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Myanmar. The unfortunate consequence of bigotry is that those who possess it do not understand nor care to learn the difference between these ethnicities.

This vitriol was only fueled by President Trump’s repeated use of the term “Chinese Virus” when addressing the pandemic. On March 16, he tweeted “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus.” While he immediately faced heated backlash for the use of “Chinese Virus,” others applauded his use of the term. American comedian and avid Trump supporter Terrence K. Williams posted a three and a half minute video arguing that since the virus came from China, it should be called either that or the “Ching Chong Virus.” In a follow-up tweet, he pulled the “comedian card” in an effort to avoid backlash. Yet, he still used the terms “Ching Chong Virus” and “Kung Flu.” All over the country, reports kept pouring in regarding physical and verbal assaults on Asian-Americans. Finally, on March 24, President Trump decided to pull back from associating the novel coronavirus with China in accordance with WHO guidelines, which warn against giving names to diseases that stigmatize certain communities. 

Bryn Mawr’s own community has not remained unaffected by all this hatred and harmful rhetoric. Jingjing X. ‘22 explains, “I haven’t been personally attacked. However, I do find myself doing grocery shopping faster, looking over my shoulder more. There’s just this sense I have that people are giving me looks, and I feel weird being in a situation that would otherwise be normal. Is it paranoia? Maybe, but you hear the stories of people being attacked on subways and streets for wearing masks; it’s terrifying.” Iris Z. ‘21 recalls a lunch when a Bryn Mawr freshman claimed she couldn’t possibly have coronavirus because she was a minority race that wasn’t Asian. “It’s these casual instances of prejudice that can feel just as harmful,” she says. “It’s also confusing to me that people of other minorities who understand all too well how it feels to be attacked due to their race can so easily turn around and say such ignorant things.” Unfortunately, times of crisis have always been accompanied by xenophobic sentiments and pointing fingers. It’s important to remember that this pandemic is a truly global ordeal, one that affects all races and backgrounds. Scapegoating serves to only divide humanity in a time when solidarity is needed most.