Hate Is a Virus

An Asian American woman in her 20s, wearing a protective mask, waited for her groceries to be scanned at an upscale supermarket. The White male grocery clerk, also in his 20s and not wearing a protective mask, seemed visibly afraid of her. He kept his distance while scanning the groceries and tossed them at her. One of the groceries fell to the floor and she had to pick it up. The clerk did not treat any of the non-Asian customers wearing masks this way. When this incident was reported to the store manager, he said that his employees were “on edge."

Regrettably, this kind of discrimination is common for Asian Americans since the spread of COVID-19. People of Asian ancestry have been uniquely scapegoated as carriers of COVID-19. President Trump initially referred to it as the “Chinese virus." Americans have followed suit. A recent Ipsos poll indicates that nearly one-third of all Americans have witnessed someone blaming Asian people for COVID-19. In addition, 60% of Americans of Asian ancestry have witnessed this.

Some may dismiss Anti-Asian discrimination as microaggressions that are not harmful. However, Anthony Ong and colleagues examined the effects of microaggressions on Asian Americans in a diary study. Over two weeks, 78% experienced microaggressions. Common microaggressions were:

• being asked where they were born.
• being stared at by Whites as if they didn’t belong in the same place with them.
• hearing that Asian women are exotic.

After experiencing these microaggressions the participants were likely to:

• have pain, poor appetite, respiratory problems.
• feel angry, irritated, disgusted, sad, and hostile.

COVID-19 racial profiling of Asian Americans may have the same negative health effects. This discrimination is not limited to microaggressions. There have been accounts of verbal and physical assaults on Asian Americans associated with COVID-19.

Source: Emily Pascale

Scapegoating of immigrants and other outgroups is common when people seek reassurance during the threat of disease. Situating a problem in a group may provide some people with a sense of security. But this is a false sense of security. There are more COVID-19 cases in the United States than in any other country. Sadly, COVID-19 has become a United States virus more than a Chinese one. Within the United States there have been almost 10 times more White American deaths than Asian American deaths from COVID-19. Therefore, Asians are not more likely than other groups to be carriers of COVID-19.

So, what can Asians and allies do to stop COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination? The Asian American Psychological Association recommends these actions:

• Correct anyone who mislabels the virus and encourage them to use the terms COVID-19 or coronavirus.
• Educate others about the historical and structural factors that have seeded the current racism and xenophobia.
• Report incidents of hate through the Asian American and Pacific Islander Planning Council’s incident report portal.
• Resist attempts to divide Asian American communities from other communities who also face racism and discrimination.
• Engage in healing.
• Access trustworthy resources on mental health and response to racism and xenophobia.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Working together, we can stop the anti-Asian hate virus.