Panic over the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a number of consequences among terrified people, with folks turning to a video game for information to a worrying amount of literal fake news about the disease being put out by less-than-reputable sources.
Unfortunately, we’re now having to deal with an unfortunate yet not unprecedented consequence of the coronavirus outbreak: racist morons.
The stereotype of Chinese people and consumption of weird meats isn’t new. But with confirmation that the coronavirus originated from a market in Wuhan, how the disease is likely zoonotic (it was initially contracted from human-animal contact), and how it resembles viruses found in bats, this information has provided material for racists to spread idiotic rumours and conspiracy theories.
All you need to do is look up “coronavirus bats” on Twitter and you’ll be greeted with a cesspool of racist tweets (which I won’t share here as they’re incredibly infuriating) about the eating habits of Chinese people. There’s even a 2016 video going around of a Chinese woman drinking bat soup that’s been commandeered and used to feed into this racism narrative.
Beyond the deluge of racist comments on social media, racism has spilled out into everyday life as Chinese communities face fears over being a target of racism due to the coronavirus panic.
Part of the reason for the spread of racist rhetoric is social media and how Western coverage of the coronavirus feeds into the “Chinese people are dirty and eat weird stuff” narrative, regardless of intention.
Sadly, an uptick in racist behaviour and comments during a disease outbreak like the Coronavirus isn’t anything new. The exact same thing happened during the 2003 SARS outbreak and anti-Chinese sentiment spiked over the course of those tense months. It’s not all centred on Asia either; the 2014 Ebola outbreak resulted in a rise in racist rhetoric towards Africa and Africans.
There’s no denying that the coronavirus is a scary thing and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to find out more about the disease so you can combat it however you can. But finger-pointing and racist fear-mongering will get us nowhere and serve to only divide us at a time when we all should be on the same team.
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