Coronavirus: racism, fake news and nationalism

More than just an epidemic, Covid-19 gradually intensifies human mistrust and creates irreversible effects.

In 2018, Bill Gates gave a warning that the world needed to prepare for pandemics in the same way it had prepared for wars. He must not have predicted that 2 years later, the Coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan, China would grip the whole planet like today. The death toll and number of confirmed cases are rising every day. People are living in agitation and doubt every minute. Schools and businesses have been closed. Normal life has been suspended. Leaving home is no longer a routine task, every step outside is needed to be calculated. On top of that, sadly, I have been witnessing so many more unnecessary negative impacts this disease has made to my surroundings.

1. Racism towards Chinese people

At the time I’m writing this, racism continues to spread not only to the Chinese but also to people from South Korea or Italy, the top 3 Coronavirus infected nations. For example, my mom keeps calling to remind me to stay away from Chinese people and even asked me to stop talking with my Chinese friends. On a recent trip to Hokkaido with my friends, an old Japanese man pulled us on the train and made hand gestures asking us to stay away from him, thinking that we were Chinese. Social media made it even worse. At the beginning of the virus outbreak, you might see, while surfing Facebook, at least a post or two slandering Chinese people, criticizing their eating habits, and spouting off about why China deserved this severe situation.

This outpouring of fearfulness is not surprising. In fact, it is somewhat normal that people tend to protect themselves first when danger surfaces, especially one that cannot be seen. However, protecting yourself certainly does not open the door to spew hatred against others. China, as the world second’s largest economy, now faces several risks of slowdowns in its economic growth. Also, China is way more closely connected with the global economy than ever before as it has always been the worldwide biggest exporter. Not only China but the whole world will also be bitterly impacted. Not only Chinese people but you might also get hurt for what you have wrongly said or acted to others.

2. Fake news spread

It’s been striking to watch media coverage of the pandemic for the last few weeks and see how people react to that, especially Japanese people because I’m currently based in Japan. Yesterday there was a rumor that Japan is no longer capable of producing toilet paper due to a shortage of supplies from China. Later, I went to a nearby drugstore and there was no toilet paper left. Meanwhile, lines to buy them were stretching around the block. However, according to The Mainichi, toilet paper commonly used in Japan is made of mostly domestic pulp and other raw materials plus some imported from North America. Despite this, a Japanese friend of mine still questions if what The Mainichi published is true. People get easily fooled by fake news yet mistrust reliable sources of information.

It is also ridiculous that recently, some Vietnamese shops send me messages asking me to buy Japanese antivirus cleansers/lotions/moisturizers. Obviously, those products are just normal ones that I can easily find in drug stores here. Business practices that utilize misleading information need to be either reconsidered or sued. As customers and viewers, the best thing we can do is to be wiser in choosing the right source of information to believe, as well as to stop sharing dubious news on social media.

3. Nationalism vs ethnocentrism: can you distinguish them?

#ApologizeToVietnam and #banhmi have been the hottest hashtags on Twitter and other online platforms in Vietnam for the last three days. Why? This is because the fact that 20 Korean people, who were kept in quarantine in Danang (VN), briefly complained about the Vietnamese bread (#banhmi) while being interviewed after they returned home. The aftermath? My social media accounts become flooded with dramatic content, ranging from displays of pride in the national street food to posts mocking Korean political issues. About this case, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, wrote:

“A truism of our times is that media hysteria quickly envelops every major story, with social media virality and cable-news imperatives combining, until the next story rolls around and last week’s crisis is forgotten.” However, it shocked me how quickly things escalated overnight.

As a Vietnamese living abroad, I understand how strong our nationalism is. We celebrate it when our national soccer teams win/lose. We mention it in all business plans designed to expand Vietnamese products globally. Our eyes sparkle while talking about our food, and of course we can’t stand it when a foreigner dares to grumble about our wonderful #banhmi. However, the boundary between nationalism and ethnocentrism is thin; the former can easily become the latter, and lead to highly unacceptable behavior. Reading Instagram posts poking fun at South Korea with completely irrelevant points made me shudder. If you criticize everyone in South Korea for the misbehaviors of those 20 people, why did you ask the UK to stop racist attitudes towards our whole nation after 30 Vietnamese illegally entered their country?

Such are my observations of changes in the society and people around me during the ongoing epidemic of Coronavirus. To conclude, I do wish that everyone stays safe and think twice before taking any action, be it stockpiling resources that others may need or sharing “news” on social media. To my loved ones and to everyone: do not let the virus reveal the worst of human being. Finally, to those who are infected and receiving treatments, do not give up. We are here for you!