“Get over yourselves. The sensitivity of todays youth is insane and troubling.” 8 likes
“My Asian teacher and I joke about the Coronavirus all the time. Y’all just need to stop being offended by everything and feeling entitled to shut this down when your feelings are hurt. This ain’t it.” 18 likes
“Don’t like it??? Leave America” 2 likes
These are some of the few comments that are found under an Instagram post with a statement from UAlbany’s Asian American Alliance regarding a “Coronavirus party” that went viral on Instagram until it was shut down on February 17.
The statement was straight forward, it said it was “not funny and completely insensitive,” and also mentions the bad implications from this “party.”
So here’s a question to those who think Asians are being “sensitive”: Is this “party” funny to you because you’re not one of those Asian people who are being stereotyped with this virus? The fact that people like you don’t realize the implications this “Coronavirus party” can do, is worrying.
Calling people “sensitive” shows how privileged people can be. We are trying to stand up for ourselves but yet, we get put down for it when people are attacking and perpetuating racist stereotypes against us.
Two Hmong men were barred from staying in hotels in Indiana and an Asian teen was bullied and assaulted, which sent him to a hospital in California. This was all due to people assumed that only Asians have the virus. Here’s another question: Why wouldn’t the Asian American Alliance speak up when there is obviously a serious case of uninformed racists and xenophobes around the country?
Not to mention that all this misinformation also hurts Asian businesses like Yin Ji Chang Fen, a rice noodle shop in New York City’s Chinatown. It reported a 40 percent drop in business and is cutting staff even though the virus hadn’t reached New York state.
Whenever you feel like people are being too “sensitive” about this situation, think about the people who will be affected by this. Put yourself in their shoes. If people keep following such rumors, this would not help anyone at all. Anyone could get this virus. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said, “Diseases can make anyone sick regardless of their race or ethnicity.” If this isn’t clear enough, the CDC also further explained what they meant; “People of Asian descent, including Chinese Americans, are not more likely to get COVID-19 than any other American.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently called this virus a pandemic and many experts believe a vaccine will only be made in a year or more. If you thought the “Coronavirus party” was funny, imagine if you end up getting this virus in a year or two. Imagine joking about a pandemic that hurts thousands worldwide where real repercussions affect so many real vulnerable people? Ask yourself: was that party even funny in the first place?
This Op-Ed piece is written for AJRL475Z Opinion/Column Writing class of Spring 2020.
*This piece is a continuation from my letter-to-the-editor piece "Dear Ignorant Americans."
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