Saturday, March 21, 2020

Yellowflake, and I Don't Mean Tuna

I suppose it takes someone of Chinese ancestry to say this to some Asians: quit whining about the "racism" in "Chinese virus."

The plague broke out in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The Chinese government covered up the burgeoning catastrophe, and the result is a contagion that has triggered a worldwide recession, and 11,000 deaths so far.

Large swaths of the U.S. are under lockdown, including two of its biggest States:
No state is completely preventing people from going outside or to work, but some measures were more drastic. California Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively banned residents from socializing outside their homes, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo went further in cordoning off the elderly and sick populations.
Now China is suggesting the virus' origin was really a U.S. biowarfare project. Here's the tweet from diplomat Zhao Lijian. China through its diplomat just threw the accusation out there with no evidence. The not-made-in-China falsehood needs to be stamped out now by political leaders, journalists, and anyone with a platform. If calling it the "Chinese/China/Wuhan virus" in the daily news conference makes them stop, then good, we all can focus on the real enemy, COVID-19.

A few more comments directed at the young Asians who are triggered by "Chinese virus" and its variations:
  • Get your priorities straight; if some of the many thousands who are working the problem are racist, so what? Sticks and stones.
  • Use this time to toughen yourself. Your parents, grandparents, and ancestors endured far worse discrimination--some of it was the law of the land--and you complain about words, especially words that are not epithets?
  • Report on really offensive speech, if you must, after the crisis has peaked. No one wants to address complaints that are not helping to put out the fire, but the post-mortem phase is the time to go over bad decision-making and morally reprehensible behavior.
  • "Kung flu" is mildly racist, mildly funny, and is far, far from the worst thing I've ever heard. The journalist refuses to name names, btw, so we're not sure the story is even true.
  • The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is the most well-known example of modern discrimination against Asians. Despite having their assets seized, their families imprisoned, and their good names sullied, Japanese-Americans responded by giving their lives for the country that mistreated them. To this humble blogger the Nisei soldiers of World War II are the shining example of how to respond to unjust treatment and how to change hearts and minds.
  • To the aggrieved Asian-Americans of today: no one's throwing you into internment camps, and one's asking you to die in the Vosges mountains. Help out however you can, share your complaints with friends and family, and never repay evil with evil.
  • Lastly, physical attacks on Asians should be fully prosecuted, but isn't that one of the dumbest things you've ever heard? Are there really people who beat up those who they think have a deadly, highly contagious disease?
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