On January 21, the Washington Department of Health confirmed the first case of the Wuhan coronavirus in Snohomish County, igniting a wildfire of panic, fear-mongering misinformation, and discriminating criticism that blazed through the nation. This story begins with the publication of an article that resurrected the age-old conversations of xenophobia and orientalism.
One morning, I embarked on my daily, sacred ritual of browsing my Twitter timeline, when I came across a tweet from the New York Times. “’This is where you get new and emerging diseases that the human population has never seen before,” screamed the tweet. Attached was the link to an article titled, China’s Omnivorous Markets Are in the Eye of a Lethal Outbreak Once Again. The publication covered the bustling, crowded Chinese street markets that consist of small vendors selling a variety of poultry and produce. Here, you can find anything from an assortment of vegetables and herbs to live pigs to a range of butchered offal. These markets, known as wet markets, are prevalent across Asia and have been for decades. The problem is that with the spread of coronavirus, this practice and other integral characteristics of Asian culture have been defaced and criticized for being foreign and bizarre. The way this article points a finger at Asia creates a chasm between the east and the west, as if both regions don’t have similar practices. (“Omnivorous markets?” Isn’t that every grocery store in America?)
But, the problem isn’t just grounded in this article. The ethnocentrism of this publication and the racialization of coronavirus validates prejudice and offers a justification for bigoted remarks. It gives individuals a platform to express their racist sentiment from behind a keyboard, establishing a new breeding ground for xenophobia.
“I’m trying to keep an open mind like ‘It’s okay that these cultures like to eat strange things.’” tweeted one Twitter user. “Meanwhile I am thinking…’filthy godless people spreading disgusting diseases via their lust for foul foods…No wonder it took them 1,000 years to (almost) join the modern world…”
Another tweet stated: “How does such a backward population live in the same country that produces state-of-the-art computer technology?”
These are just the blatant expressions of racism. Some aren’t so obvious.
Casual Racism and Coronavirus
The world is smaller than it has ever been before. Both information and misinformation appear instantaneously at our fingertips. However, breaking news are not the only thing that spreads quickly through the world wide web. Memes, the inside jokes of social media, become trends in an instant. A popular coping mechanism for epidemics and frustrations afflicting users of the internet, memes are easy to recreate, making casual racism a whole lot more, well, casual.
It’s easy to throw around the term. But, what is casual racism?
Casual racism is a type of microaggression involving prejudices based on race, often expressed in the form of off-handed comments and jokes. Unlike popular conceptions of what racism looks like, casual racism isn’t blatant and isn’t grounded in racial superiority. Instead, it resides in the underlying implications of our words. It creeps up on our subconscious and quietly reinforces stereotypes and generalizations.
So, what does this have to do with coronavirus?
Coronavirus shouldn’t be an excuse to make casually racist comments about Asian people.
These viral jokes surrounding coronavirus generalize the Asian population. As well-intended and innocent as the memes might seem, the underlying racism is still prevalent. They are still degrading and discriminatory. Creating and spreading coronavirus jokes normalizes racism against Asians, downplaying discriminatory misconceptions and offensive generalizations. We forget that these light-hearted, well-intended “jokes” have real, hurtful effects that perpetuate genuine racism against marginalized groups.
Simply put: for the people on the receiving end of the jokes, it’s not funny.
Why does this matter? It’s just a joke.
All of this stems from orientalism, the west’s patronizing perception of the east, which distorts and overexaggerates the distinctions between eastern and western culture. Orientalism maintains the notion that the cultural practices of the east are uncivilized and “backwards,” as opposed to the progressiveness of the west. This narrative has yet to be extinguished.
In light of the coronavirus epidemic, it is crucial to recognize mildly xenophobic jokes and prejudiced publications. Otherwise, we continue to fuel orientalism and, well, racism.
What’s your point?
So, what is all of this? A purposeful attack on Asians? The perpetuation of the backwardness of Eastern countries? The return of orientalism? Or, is it just pure ignorance? Regardless of whether or not our banter is intentionally racist, we should take care to be mindful of our words. Even if the things we say are simply jokes and a way to make light of a perilous and worrisome epidemic, it is necessary to acknowledge that underlying casual racism pushes the narrative that the east is backwards and uncivilized.
Conclusion: Coronavirus is not a justification for xenophobic rhetoric.