Opinion | Life in the US: coronavirus is only a trigger for the racism that lies just beneath the surface
- The prejudice is subtle but no less hurtful. By attaching the word ‘virus’ to the Chinese people, there is no need to say anything explicitly racist – the message is clear
On a mild weekend this winter, my wife, three-year-old son and I spent the morning in Central Park. After that, we stopped by a neighbourhood pizza restaurant to grab some food and were heading home.
At the pizzeria’s door, we encountered two teenagers. They opened the door for us and we thanked them. Yet, a split second after this usual courteous exchange, the teenagers looked at us and immediately held up the front of their hoodies to cover their mouths and noses.
We knew what they meant, but we didn’t say anything and walked back home.
On the evening of February 12, my friend texted me that her eight-year old son had been called “China Virus” in school by a classmate. My friend lives in an upper-middle-class suburb in New England.
Cotton stirred a rumour that a research lab in China was the source of the virus. He called the outbreak “worse than Chernobyl”. The sender noted that the video was worth watching.