At the very beginning of the year 2020, the world has encountered an unexpected and unprecedented virus outburst that changed millions of people’s lives across the planet. One of the critical outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be a distorted view of the public towards Asian people. This paper aims to determine the connection between the recent assaults against Asian Americans and the coronavirus outbreak, as well as analyze the role of stereotypes about Asians in these racist incidents.
The coronavirus pandemic has given rise to the horrifying outbreak of xenophobia and racist attacks on Asians worldwide, and the United States is, unfortunately, no exception. Asian Americans have been experiencing social harassment, as well as both mental and physical assault, due to the virus being constantly claimed of Chinese origin. Many racist people blame the whole Chinese nation for the coronavirus spread. They assume each Asian looking person to be Chinese and often rudely violate their privacy by screaming, accusing, and even physically abusing them.
Such reprehensible behavior is essentially caused by the stereotypes about Asians that had been accumulating for years. The term “Yellow Peril” appeared in the 19th century and have been frequently used ever since to refer to Asians being different from the white and a threat to the European culture. Asian people are victimized for the stereotyped perception of them being “uncivilized,” living in unsanitary conditions or eating “improper” foods. These wrongful accusations became even more reinforced in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.
To conclude, racism and xenophobia have increased dramatically since the beginning of the world pandemic and resulted from the long-term stigmatization of Asians. Many narrow-minded people see the risk of the virus infection in each Asian individual, calling them the reason for the world’s current critical state. Unfortunately, such stereotypical thinking is the consequence of the years’ oppression and unacceptance of the Asian culture. It must be eradicated by means of open dialogue and raising the public awareness of the issue.