The sounds of bird chirping filled my ears. The roads were silent, and the only sign of human life around me were the solo joggers running around the waterfront path. This was my first time out in days, and the warmth of the morning sun hitting my face was a feeling I so dearly missed. I found an empty bench with no one in sight, and went and sat down to enjoy the beautiful view around me.
“2 m away from everyone” I constantly reminded myself.
Given the emptiness of the area, this was easy. Sitting there, I let myself close my eyes and just breathe. It felt so good to be outside. Quite some time later, I heard people approaching from behind me.
“ We can’t sit there, she’s Asian she might give us Corona”
I turn around to see two middle aged men, staring at me. It was early morning, and I was in a complete zen state. I couldn’t be bothered to let these racist small minded men ruin my day. So, I simply walked away from them to continue on with my peaceful morning. Just a few minutes walk away, I found myself on another bench with an even better view.
Looking back, I realize that I don’t understand at all why they had approached my area. There were tons of other benches nearby. Did they not understand social distancing? Was the point of them coming near me to say something racist “quietly” but loud enough for me to hear? But, in the moment those thoughts didn’t really hit me, and I just went on to meditate at a different bench.
It’s upsetting to see that COVID-19 has brought upon society an influx of xenophobia. I had seen it on the news, happening in New York, San Francisco, the United Kingdom, etc. But, it never really occurred to me that I would be a victim of racism myself.
This was the first time this had ever happened in my life. It caught me off guard, and in the moment I definitely didn’t react properly; I should’ve stood up for myself.
Here are some more incidences of Xenophobia that have occured:
Roger Chiang, who works in San Francisco, recalled a white woman glaring at him on the train to work, covering her nose and mouth. When he told her in a joking tone that he didn’t have the coronavirus, she replied that she “wasn’t racist — she just didn’t want to get sick.” – NPR Station article
“Allison Park from Brooklyn told us that when visiting D.C., she saw a man making faces at her on the Metro train. She tried to move away from him, but he wouldn’t stop. After a while, she said, he confronted her outright, saying: “Get out of here. Go back to China. I don’t want none of your swine flu here.” A week later, on a Muni train in San Francisco, another man yelled the same thing to her — “Go back to China” — and even threatened to shoot her.” – NPR Station article
In fact, it has gotten so bad that in places such as the United States, a house resolution was introduced to denounce the racism toward Asians that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was sponsored by 120 other lawmakers and it stipulated that “ the House would condemn all forms of racism and scapegoating and call on public officials to denounce any anti-Asian sentiment, as well” the latter point was definitely targeted towards Trump who referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus”).
Bizarre video of Trump:
It’s disappointing to see that in a time of crisis where people should be supporting one another, some people are choosing to spend their time hurting innocent individualds because of their race. Coronavirus is spreading quickly, but unfortunately, xenophobia is spreading just as fast and that is not okay.
Works Cited:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/03/uk/coronavirus-assault-student-london-scli-intl-gbr/index.html
BLOGGING THE JUST CITY 2020 