San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
AS CORONAVIRUS FEARS INCREASE, RACISM SPREADS
Don’t judge a beer by its cover. The maker of Corona beer is hoping you will heed this advice (a version of which you’ve likely heard throughout your life). It seems that the brand is suffering from the name’s likeness to “coronavirus.” A report on Eater.com says that searches for “corona beer virus” are on the uptick. And in a recent survey of 737 Americans, 38 percent of respondents said they “would not buy Corona under any circumstances now.”
It’s not just the Corona brand that’s taking a hit. Chinese restaurants and Asian markets around the world are reporting that business is down by as much as 70 percent. There are far fewer visitors at Chinatowns around the country — normally, bustling tourist destinations. Locally, politicians staged a media event in the Convoy District to encourage San Diegans to patronize area businesses. And while coronavirus is a serious global health issue, says writer Jane Hu on Slate.com, it seems that acts of racism against Asians are spreading faster than the virus itself.
Hu cites an incident at the
University of California Berkeley, where the student health center posted a list of “normal” reactions to coronavirus including anxiety, hypervigilance and xenophobia, which it defined as “fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia and guilt about those feelings.” The university deleted the post when alumni complained that it normalized racism. Hu observes, "(the post) made explicit what has largely remained implicit: that because the Asians you encounter in your day-to-day life are somehow more likely to be carrying the disease, it’s reasonable to avoid them.”
Sarah Kim tells Forbes that she was taunted by a group of men as she walked to her apartment recently. They shouted, “See that Japanese chick over there? Stay away from her if you don’t want to get the coronavirus!” Kim is a Korean American who hasn’t traveled overseas for several months — so she was no more likely than any in the group of men to be carrying the virus. Kim calls their words “xenophobic,” adding that they reaffirm Western culture’s treacherous habit of grouping all people of Asian descent into the same ethnicity.
The incidents of discrimination are happening despite the small number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. and against the backdrop of a significant number of flu-related deaths this season. So, why isn’t the paranoia commensurate with the risk? And why would we attribute blame for the start and spread of a virus to a single race? People of Chinese descent live all over the world, and many have never even been to China, yet they’re being shunned as potential virus carriers.
Do we only see one dimension (race) in others? Absent a vaccine — and if we agree that this isn’t right — what is the antidote to the intolerance that we’re seeing?
I came across a speech that former U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon delivered on the International Day of Tolerance in 2008. It provides sage guidance. “Genuine tolerance is about openness, curiosity and communication,” said Ban. “It goes hand in hand with knowledge and understanding. Education is one of the best ways to prevent intolerance, by revealing similarities between people and spreading a healthy respect for differences.”
We also need to recognize and respond to acts of intolerance, rather than ignoring them, which is equivalent to tacit approval. And while it’s imperative that we heed the guidance of medical professionals to help stop the spread of coronavirus, our local businesses shouldn’t suffer — even if that means you’ll again have to wait for a table at your favorite Convoy District eatery.
Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based organization working to create innovative solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. NCRC is nationally recognized for its conflict management and communication strategies. To learn about NCRC’S programming, visit ncrconline.com