COVID-19, more commonly known as the Coronavirus, has been the main highlight of several worldwide news sources for months. The global pandemic has come to affect a wide, and growing, variety of people in an array of ways that were almost unimaginable just a few months ago. The quickly spreading disease has seemingly put society at a halt, causing the advocacy of social distancing, mandated quarantine and self-isolation, as well as sickness, anxiety, and in many cases, death.
Many people know now that the virus originated in Wuhan, China. As this information spread, along with the virus into the US, many people began to fear coming in contact with the virus. Today, people all over the world are constantly talking about the virus: where it came from, how it spread, how to prevent it, and various associations they have with COVID-19. People all over the world are stressed and anxious about catching the infectious disease, and are very wary of the people around them who may have it. Thus, many are staying home and watching the news as a way to keep up-to-date with the virus’ status, where they ultimately see the leader of the country referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.” This extremely inappropriate, insensitive, and blatantly incorrect association made between China and COVID-19 made by President Trump is very obviously not the correct way to handle the situation. Because of this, many people are seriously relating COVID-19 with anyone of Asian descent, which has ultimately led to false accusations, racial slander, as well as racial hate crimes, using COVID-19 being the “China virus” as an excuse.While the racial stereotype of Asians having the virus became prevalent even before Trump’s nonsensical term for it, his propaganda has made the situation worse, and is ultimately creating a divide among US citizens during a time in which the country should be united.
This current situation is very relevant to our course material, specifically relating to our topics of racism and social injustice. Our class has focused heavily this semester on the stories of real people and their real experiences with racism, segregation, social injustice, and prejudice. For example, in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the narrator speaks to his experience as an “invisible [black] man” in his society. The narrator recalls his struggles in trying to find his identity, equality, and quite simply, his worth and value to society. He recalls times of racial prejudice, his first-hand experiences of a societal racial divide, as well as the physical and mental abuse he was forced to endure simply because of his skin color.
This main idea of being judged and persecuted because of your racial background has never completely disappeared from society. However, it is very obvious that the issue is much more prevalent today than it was several months ago because of the Coronavirus. With the support of biased news sources, fictitious speculations, and even our own president, the Coronavirus has unfairly been associated with the Chinese, and Asians in general. Like the part(s) in Invisible Man when the narrator recalls physical abuse by white people and the police because of his skin color, Asians are now going through a similar experience. There has been an increase in physical hate crimes against the Asian community because people are taking their anger out on them, blaming them for the spread of the Coronavirus. People all over the internet are making insensitive jokes, making biased speculations, as well as blatant racist comments using the virus as an excuse to persecute the Chinese. This type of behavior is extremely uncalled for, unfair, and, in my opinion, is exactly the type of behavior Ellison loathed about in his novel.
Overall, the current COVID-19 pandemic is a very relevant topic of discussion today. While the virus is very serious and is extremely multifaceted, the way in which the public is reacting to it is racist and disrespectful. The way society is acting today greatly relates to our course material discussing racism and social injustice, and is extremely similar to the topics covered in Invisible Man. We are living history, and it is important to recognize our actions and learn from our past mistakes.
By Kevin Espiritu
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