From childhood we've been taught that our words matter. What we say and the tone we say it in has an impact on the way things are reviewed, shaped, and consumed. Amid the Coronavirus panic, we've heard a lot of different takes from world leaders, but one term being propagated by a certain leader and some of the media surrounding him is calling the outbreak the "Chinese Virus."
Although the virus did trace back to China, calling it the "Chinese Virus" has had some serious implications for Chinese Americans. Just ask Julia Marie, a mom who experienced this racism with her daughter first hand.
Julia shared a post on March 20 begging people to refrain from calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus" by sharing a photo of her daughter, Rosie.
"This is my 4 year old daughter," Julia wrote. "She used to love going out in public and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the grocery store. She is naturally friendly and extroverted, and loved introducing herself to people and striking up conversations. She loved the waves and smiles and friendly responses from people. But recently those smiles and waves are absent, replaced by scowls and undisguised hostility. Those friendly responses have become hurtful words. And she has become fearful of showing her face when we go to the grocery store, in case we draw attention for being Chinese in public."
Julia describes in unnerving detail a few instances she recalls.
"A few weeks ago a man got up in my face in the pasta aisle and told me we had a lot of nerve being out where we could 'infect decent people,'" she claimed. "Again, we weren’t sick, just Chinese in public. Another couple expressed their incredulity and displeasure that we weren’t at the local Chinese restaurant so people could choose to interact with us or not. I don’t work at the Chinese restaurant (and my four year old certainly doesn’t). But apparently that is the only acceptable public place to exist while Chinese. Last weekend a woman called us a virus and told us to go back where we came from, then tried to steal the single bottle of hand soap out of our shopping cart."
Julia shares with CafeMom that she wrote the post to raise awareness not just for her daughter's sake but for the Asian communities' sake.
Since making the post public, Julia says she has received an outpouring of messages from family members and other families about the vitriol they've been experiencing.
"I’ve heard from most of our white friends that they had no idea this was happening," Julia tells CafeMom. "And that’s the thing about institutional racism … It doesn’t usually come in the form of invitations to clandestine meetings in your bedsheets, or cross burnings on your friends’ front lawns. So unless you or someone you love is being targeted, it can easily fly below the radar for well meaning white allies who would never think to target us themselves."
And the way allies can help out, she says, is pretty simple.
"Having someone intervene and let us know that they see what’s happening and they disagree with the hatred being aimed at us, it makes a WORLD of difference," Julie says.
But that doesn't mean Julia and her daughter are taking the abuse lying down.
"We’re fighting back in our own way," she assures CafeMom.
"Rosie and I have started making Prayer Flag style One Love banners to hang up around town (while social distancing), and taking sidewalk chalk on our walks to write encouraging messages on the sidewalks," the mom shares. "It’s helping her feel like she’s putting more love back into the community, and it makes her face mask into part of the mission instead of being scared."
So before we justify using this phrase on a technicality, let's consider just who our words are hurting. Everyone in the US deserves to feel safe and welcome. Everyone.
