Items
topic_interest is exactly
xenophobia
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2020-03-18
How Will COVID-19 Change the World? Historian Frank Snowden on Epidemics From the Black Death to Now
This video is an interview the Democracy Now did with Frank Snowden, Professor Emeritus at Yale University early on in the pandemic (March 18, 2020). Dr. Snowden specializes in the history of epidemic diseases and the history of modern Italy. His father was the first African American ambassador to Italy. At the time of the interview, Dr. Snowden was in lockdown in Rome, Italy. He had gone there to research another project when the pandemic hit, so he changed his focus to studying covid-19. He contracted the disease himself, but was lucky enough to live through it. I was particularly interested in Dr. Snowden's views on the pandemic since I had watched his Yale lecture series on epidemics available on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3AE7B3B6917DE8E6) which was incredible in its thorough exploration of some of the worlds worst outbreaks. In the interview he states that an early modern Florentine would recognize a lot of governments' actions to combat covid-19 as very similar to those used by the Italian city-states and elsewhere in Europe to combat bubonic plague, especially the concept of quarantine. He also addresses the startling commonality between anti-Semitism during the first several plague outbreaks to the Sinophobia and xenophobia seen during our current pandemic. The interviewer also brings up a great question about the possibility of fascism arising out of strict government measures to combat disease. I was particularly curious to hear Dr. Snowden's response in light of the protests in the United States against quarantine and mask-wearing. He acknowledged that while it could be one outcome, it is not the only nor the most probable possibility. Many governments have voluntarily ended their strict measures during pandemics without devolving into fascist states. Now that the pandemic is, it seems, waning I believe it is abundantly clear that those Americans who feared that their freedoms were threatened by historically proven practices were both selfish and foolish. They and our ineffective and dangerous leadership cause the United States to become a hotbed for Covid-19, while other countries who swiftly enacted and enforced lockdown measures and mask mandates, such as New Zealand and Italy, recovered much more quickly. I contend that Donald Trump and his sheep are responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths. -
2021-03-27
Stop Asian Hate!
The rise in Asian hate crimes has gone hand in hand with COVID. This certainly was not helped by the previous administration continually referring to COVID as “China Flu” or “Kung Flu.” One of the more horrifying things is how close to home these incidents are happening. Just this month, there were two attacks at a local park on Asian Americans. One was on a Japanese-American Olympian, who was in training. The other was on an elderly Korean-American couple. I live in Southern CA, which has the third highest proportion of the population identifying as Asian, yet even here, racism and racially motivated violent crimes are happening. If there is any positive that is coming out of this, it is the honest conversations we’re having with our children about race. In light of George Floyd and similar situations, the immigrant population at the border, and anti-Asian crimes, our kids are engaged in an active dialogue about equity, prejudice, racism and our response to it. My children are proud to be Asian-American and seeing that pride and them use their voices, even in a small way, makes me hopeful for positive change. Like their signs say, they are proud to be Asian AND American, and to love them like people love Asian food! Oh yeah, and in this pandemic year, a reminder that they are not a virus. -
2021-03-23
"Asian and Black Americans experience racism differently. But we need to unite against hate"
In this editorial in the Los Angeles Times, Black female staff writer Sandy Banks poses the question "Now the question is: Can we join together and move forward, with white supremacy — not each other — as the enemy?" She reflects on the years of tension in Los Angeles between the Black and Asian American communities. However, she sees a common ground between the two communities in light of the anti-Asian racism and shooting of six Asian women at the hands of a White male, whose crimes were justified by a police spokesperson who was found later to have made anti-Asian social media posts. -
2021-03-11
Asian Americans Experience 'Far More' Hate Incidents Than Numbers Indicate
Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition aimed at addressing anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic, received more than 2,800 firsthand reports of anti-Asian hate, including physical and verbal assaults, between March 19 and Dec. 31, 2020. However, as this article explains, many more go unreported due to obstacles such as cultural and language barriers and a distrust of law enforcement. The article also argues that the surge in assaults are partially rooted in the anti-Asian rhetoric of the previous presidential administration throughout the pandemic. -
2021-02-14
"I'm Done Downplaying My Asian American Experience"
In response to the rise in anti-Asian racism and crimes, Allure magazine reached out to six prominent Asian Americans within the beauty industry to share their experiences as Asian Americans. They share not only accounts of bullying and racism, but also how the beauty industry can help change the narrative. -
2021-03-19
Asian American Experiences With Hate
There were 3,795 firsthand complaints of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans from March 19, 2020, through the end of February 2021, according to the coalition Stop AAPI Hate. Last week, eight people -- six of whom were Asian women -- were killed in the Atlanta shootings at three spas. The incident shook up many in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. While the past year has magnified the hate, it's also inspiring some Asian Americans to stop being silent and speak out about their experiences. CNN asked Asian Americans to share their stories. CNN received more than 300 responses, and this article shares some of these stories. They recount fear, violent attacks, racial slurs, losing businesses, being told to "go back to your country," and the scapegoating that has happened to the AAPI community. There is also a desire with the AAPI to speak out and encourage others to, too. -
2020-10-05
Asian American students discuss experience during COVID-19 pandemic
Long-standing stereotypes and new pandemic-related misconceptions against Asians and Asian Americans still affect their day-to-day lives. University students of East Asian descent say they’ve felt alienated and scared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic began, hate crimes against Asians in the U.S. have increased and stricter regulations have been enforced against international students, particularly those from China. Since the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, Asians have been strongly connected to the virus in the public sphere. President Donald Trump has called COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus” and “kung flu” — associating Asians with the spread of the virus. -
2021-03-21
‘Asian-American businesses are dealing with two viruses’
Reeling from racist incidents, many are hurting financially during COVID-19. The Atlanta-area spa shootings of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, have drawn renewed attention to anti-Asian incidents that have grown in frequency during the pandemic. As documented incidents of harassment, assault and discrimination against Asian Americans have escalated during COVID-19, many groups within the community have also faced heightened financial strain. Advocates say it’s beyond time to acknowledge and take action on both. -
2020-09-17
'You have Chinese virus!'
The Stop AAPI Hate Youth Campaign, which interviewed nearly 1,000 young Asian American adults across the country about their experiences with racism during the coronavirus pandemic found that 1 in 4 Asian American youths experience racist bullying. Discrimination in the form of physical and verbal attacks often also include questioning the identity of Asians as American, with statements such as "go back to where you came from." -
2020-06-25
'I Will Not Stand Silent.' 10 Asian Americans Reflect on Racism During the Pandemic and the Need for Equality
Asian Americans recount their experiences of the racism they face, being scapegoated as the cause of the virus. The aggression come in the forms of racial slurs, rude behavior, and physical violence. Many cite the rhetoric of Donald Trump and his insistence to refer to COVID-19 as the "Chinese flu" or "Kung flu" as justifying such behavior. These stories help illustrate the difficult experiences within the AAPI community. -
2020
Asian American Experiences of Racism during COVID-19
Over the past few months, the rise in xenophobic actions, racism, and violence against the AAPI community have been on the rise. Mainstream and fringe social media have perpetuated stereotypes and have scapegoated Asians as the cause of COVID-19. This rise in race and ethnically motivated hate happens alongside police brutality and anti-Black racism. Educators and parents should educate themselves and open conversations with their children and students about anti-racism. -
2020-07-01
Many Black and Asian Americans Say They Have Experienced Discrimination Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak
About four-in-ten U.S. adults say it has become more common for people to express racist views toward Asians since the pandemic began. Asian and Black Americans are more likely than other groups to report negative experiences because of their race or ethnicity since the COVID-19 outbreak began. -
2021-02-13
Protect Asian American Communities
Cries from within the Asian American community call for protection as the amount of hate crimes against the AAPI community continues to rise. -
2020-03
Racism during COVID-19 for minorities
The material presents racism during the Pandemic and how it has affected people from different racial communities like Hispanic Latinos, Asians, and African Americans.