Items
Date is exactly
04/13/2020
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04/13/2020
Racism and Covid-19
This image was a part of a Facebook post. It is evidently racist and indicates an underlying suspicion of the ‘Chinese’ community which has arisen out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Discussion of the cause of the Covid-19 outbreak, particularly regarding its supposed origins in a wet market, has contributed to a growth in anti-Chinese sentiment and ethnocentric thought in Tasmania. The image depicts a toy bat on a plate, with the caption describing it as a ‘Chinese meal’. This refers to the belief that bats are commonly eaten in China and that such practices caused the Covid-19 outbreak. The last line of the post is also evidently racist, with the name ‘Sum Ting Wong’ often being derogatively used by racist individuals to refer to Chinese and other ‘Asian’ people in Australia. It must be noted, however, that not all Tasmanians believe such horrid tropes. I immediately was horrified when I saw this post, and others I have showed it to have reacted in disgust. Nevertheless, it sadly still represents a faction of the community who have reacted to Covid-19 with suspicion and racism. From my personal experience, I feel as though this racism has reduced to some degree in the community, as the virus has spread throughout the world and beyond China.