Not Rocket Science: How Anti-Asian Racism Exploded in the the last year

Since the the founding of our country, Asian people have been victims of prejudice. In the 1800s for example, Chinese immigrants helped build the railroads in the western U.S. and were harassed and victimized. In the early 1900s and throughout the 20th century, you will find literature and cartoons (even in comic books) demeaning to people of Asian backgrounds. All of this has led to racism and prejudice. Last year (2020), when the pandemic began Asian people have increasingly become the victims of brutal prejudice. Where did this elevated level of hatred come from? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out the prejudice existed, but was fueled to astronomical proportions by one person (who is fortunately been mostly silenced). Today's blog highlights some happenings and offers suggestions for combating it.   

HOW DID IT GET OUT OF CONTROL?  When the COVID-19 virus spread around the world,  just 1 person   affixed a bigoted label to it and called it the "China Virus" and "Wuhan Flu."  YOUR WORDS MATTER. 

Sadly, this bigot was in office when the pandemic exploded and he spread hatred, intolerance and promoted targeting all people of Asian backgrounds. He  said nothing to stop it and actually exacerbated the hatred and intolerance by continually using the words "Kung Flu" and blaming the Asian community for the pandemic.  NBC News reported, "As the virus spread, so too did violence against Asian Americans, spurred in part by then-President Donald Trump’s repeated use of the term “Chinese virus” and the even more offensive (and deeply scientifically inaccurate) "Kung flu.""

A significant increase in attacks on Asian peoples can be directly correlated to his incendiary words.  He incited and inspired followers to brutalize innocent people because of his prejudice and intolerance of others who are not caucasian.

(Photo: Credit NBC News) 

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Stand up against bullies. Call out the bullies. Support the Asian community. Show kindness, help them in any way you can.  Here are 10 ways to help:

1) Confront the Bullies 2) Keep a record of the bullying 3) Photograph or video the bully before stepping in 4) Call for help 5) Report it to the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center ― a coalition of nonprofits, organizers and educators ― has been instrumental in keeping track of attacks, both nationally and locally.  http://stopaapihate.org/. 6) Donate to non-profits that support American-Asian communities 7) Support Chinatown areas in cities. 8) Check in on your Asian-American friends and offer to talk or listen. 9) Spread awareness on Social Media 10) Follow more Asian voices on Instagram and Twitter to diversify your feeds.

VIDEO report from NBC News March 11, 2021: https://youtu.be/9fLxrPxShDY

EVEN IN NYC TODAY

On March 17, I just heard on WCBS-AM News radio New York City, an Asian woman was assaulted and acid was thrown in her face. An Asian man was brutally beaten because he is Asian. - 

LINK TO Story in St. Paul Minnesota (click here) 

ANTI-ASIAN ATTACKS RISE DURING PANDEMIC (2020-2021)

March 17, 2021:   NPR noted today, "Crimes targeting Asian Americans have risen dramatically since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks incidents of violence and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., reported nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination against Asians in the past year. The actual number could be much higher.

YALE IDENTIFIES THE RACISM IN MARCH 2020: 

 On March 12, 2020 Dr. Marietta Vazquez, Yale Professor of Pediatrics /Pediatric Global Health Track Director wrote an article for Yale University  titled: "Calling COVID-19 the “Wuhan Virus” or “China Virus” is inaccurate and xenophobic" 

 SHE WROTE: This week, my colleagues logged on to Twitter to see “#ChinaVirus” and “#WuhanVirus” trending in the United States. Most posts were written with dismay from people who couldn’t believe some government officials were influencing others to refer to COVID-19 (also known as the Coronavirus) this way. As vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion for pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, I feel compelled to speak out. In the weeks since COVID-19 has been circulating, Asian-Americans and Asians around the world have noted a spike in discrimination and xenophobic attacks. ARTICLE: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/23074/

SEPTEMBER 2020- JOURNAL ARTICLES DEMAND STOPPING THAT LABEL

Time to stop the use of ‘Wuhan virus’, ‘China virus’ or ‘Chinese virus’ across the scientific community

 BMJ Glob Health. 2020; 5(9): e003746. Published online 2020 Sep 6. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003746Zhaohui Su,1 Dean McDonnell,2 Junaid Ahmad,3 Ali Cheshmehzangi,4 Xiaoshan Li,5 Kylie Meyer,6 Yuyang Cai,7,8 Ling Yang,9 and Yu-Tao Xiang10 

Paper Summary

•  The use of phrases such as ‘Wuhan virus’, ‘China virus’ and ‘Chinese virus’ is prevalent, even among academics. Considering the fact that, to date, no evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 was originated in Wuhan, the use of these phrases to refer to SARS-CoV-2 is unjustifiable and unscientific. 
•  In this paper, we discussed how the use of these terms violates the research ethics proposed by the National Institute of Health, ranging from objectivity to responsibility. 
•  In addition, we emphasized the fact that these phrases are discriminatory and can have a negative impact on Wuhan and Chinese people’s health and well-being. 
•  We concluded by calling for ceasing to use these phrases, as fundamentally, they are misleading and can distract the public’s attention from the most important issue of the day: how to stop the virus from spreading.