Asian Americans are NOT a virus

February 26, 2021

The reason for this rise in violence is linked to Covid-19. As a result of the ongoing pandemic, Asian Americans have been facing higher rates of violent attacks. The reason Asian Americans are being targeted is due to the origin of Covid-19 and the stereotypes that followed. Last year, Covid-19 was discovered in Wuhan, China- an Asian country. Many, including the former president, chose to use offensive rhetoric against the Asian community. In fact, former President Trump often referred to Covid-19 as "the China virus." The remarks from the White House led for many to blame Asian Americans as the culprits for the pandemic.

Racism and malice towards Asian Americans is NOT new. It has only been heightened over the past year. In fact, anti-Asian violence can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution in which people organized into nativist programs such as the Anti-Asian Exclusion league. In an extreme case, the United States went as far as passing The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), which resulted in the Chinese community being labeled as the first ever illegal immigrants. It can also never be forgotten that Japanese Americans were wrongfully put into internment camps during WWII. Nevertheless, this has to change no one should fear for life due to the color of their skin, ethnicity, gender orientation, and/or religion.