Rise of Asian Discrimination Amidst Covid-19

by Steven Sy

Discrimination has been a rampant problem in society and has affected the livelihood of many people. People are constantly experiencing unjust treatment due to their age, gender, or their race. These discriminatory action can range from minor harassment to physical violence. Any one of these actions can cause emotional distress and trauma. There have been several occurrences where people are harmed due to discrimination and these violent attacks have resulted in death on drastic occasions. The most common form of discrimination are through the use of abusive language. There are many people that would use their words to insult people in order to cause mental trauma. 

With the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in discrimination directed against the Asian community. The Covid-19 pandemic had brought a huge change to the lives of many people. The requirements and restrictions placed on the people caused them to feel a lot of frustration and anger. The frustration from the pandemic has caused people to direct their anger towards the Asian community. 

"Even before the deadly Atlanta-area spa shootings in March, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) had faced nearly 4,000 hate incidents since the pandemic began, a 149% rise over the previous year (Stop AAPI Hate National Report, 2021; Anti‐Asian Prejudice March 2020, Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism). Reported episodes range from verbal harassment, insults, and jokes—such as referring to COVID-19 as the “kung flu”—to violent attacks in schools, businesses, and other public spaces." (Abrams, 2021)

It is believed that one of the reasons people are openly discriminating against the Asian community is due to statements made by influential public figures. 

"Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Asians and people of Asian descent have been targets of derogatory language in media reports and statements by politicians as well as on social media platforms, where hate speech related to Covid-19 also appears to have spread extensively. US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s use of “Wuhan virus” may have encouraged the use of hate speech in the US." (Human Rights Watch, 2020)

"The governor of the Veneto region of Italy, an early epicenter of the pandemic, told journalists in February that the country would be better than China in handling the virus due to Italians’ “culturally strong attention to hygiene, washing hands, taking showers, whereas we have all seen the Chinese eating mice alive.”" (Human Rights Watch, 2020)

Public figures have a massive influence on the masses. Their words are heard by a lot of people and their actions are used as reference for people's beliefs. When these public figures make discriminatory remarks towards the Asian community, it could increase the amount of discrimination towards Asians. These remarks could be viewed as agreement or encouragement towards discrimination made on the Asian community. People may be more likely to discriminate because influential figures make these actions appear to be socially acceptable. 

There have been a wide range of discriminatory behaviors towards the Asian community once the pandemic had appeared. These terrible events can take place anywhere from public spaces to your average workplace. Violent actions are the most well known and receive the most attention, but there are discrimination that don't involve violence. The workplace and employment discrimination has been on the rise along with the pandemic. 

"In Australia, 66.4% of Asian Australian respondents to a survey last October reported experiencing workplace discrimination, which represented an increase of almost 15% in six months." (Toh, 2021)

"In the United Kingdom, the employment rate among Chinese people dropped 4.6% from the first quarter of 2020 to the second — nearly three times more than declines experienced by other ethnic groups, according to government data." (Toh, 2021)

The discriminatory actions that don't involve violence tend to not receive enough attention. Most of the workplace discrimination are considered to be minor incidents and don't have much impact in the view of many people. There needs to be more attention brought to these incidents, because there are many cases at this level. Many small cases can build up to something large. If such cases are allowed to continue, then there may be an escalation.

"In the days that followed the mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, that killed eight people, six of them Asian women, an outpouring of pain from Asian and Asian American communities in the United States flooded social media. As mainstream media outlets fumbled their initial reporting on the events, the corporate world responded with a smattering of supportive statements on social media to denounce the violence that occurred." (Zheng, 2021)

"But then, an uneasy silence. No crescendo of charitable donations to Asian organizations occurred. No spike in community partnerships, new diversity and inclusion initiatives, or renewed commitments to corporate social responsibility emerged from corporate America. Nowhere was this more apparent than within my own community of diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioners, individuals whose careers were made offering actionable advice in times like these." (Zheng, 2021)

Discrimination directed towards the Asian community do not receive as much attention and outcry compared to others. The attention and outcry towards these behaviors only appear when a major event occurs. Despite the notice the incidents receive, the attention only lasts for a short while before there is a lack of outcry. 

As someone that is a part of the Asian community, I believe that there needs to be more attention towards the increase in discrimination due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Discrimination has affected many people in terrible ways and there needs to be more support against discriminations. People can get hurt, lose their jobs, and suffer from mental issues due to discrimination. The increase in the attention can increase the amount of available help people can get.

References:

Ruiz, Neil G., et al. “One-Third of Asian Americans Fear Threats, Physical Attacks and Most Say Violence against Them Is Rising.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 16 May 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/21/one-third-of-asian-americans-fear-threats-physical-attacks-and-most-say-violence-against-them-is-rising/. 

Toh, Michelle, et al. “Attacked at Work, Rejected for Jobs and Harassed by Colleagues: Asians around the World Speak Out on Workplace Discrimination.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 June 2021, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/06/business/asians-workplace-discrimination-covid/.

Zheng, Lily. “To Dismantle Anti-Asian Racism, We Must Understand Its Roots.” Harvard Business Review, HBR, 30 Aug. 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/05/to-dismantle-anti-asian-racism-we-must-understand-its-roots.

Abrams, Zara. “The Mental Health Impact of Anti-Asian Racism.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 1 July 2021, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/07/impact-anti-asian-racism.

“Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide.” Human Rights Watch, 28 Oct. 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide.