For frameworks, I chose “Coronavirus & Yellow Peril” by Amanda Yee. The issue of this excerpt is that the overall media about the COVID-19 is used as a metaphor for the “Chinese virus” and the Chinese government itself. She states that ““There’s a lot of similarities between coronavirus coverage and the way mainstream media covered Ebola a few years ago.” Media outlets report that virus is a country’s virus by substituting it for a country’s image. Bad news travels fast. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeii also called China a ‘central threat of our time’ and claimed that the Chinese government has challenged Western democratic values. Amanda says these comments about the Corona virus are intentional, a stark indication of U.S. anxiety over the rising economic and political impact of China.
For stories, I chose “Tired” by Alice Tsui, musician & educator. In this story, she shares her feelings she is been going through since the coronavirus broke out. How can young students know the truth when the Ministry of Education jokes about the virus itself? Even Asian educators are being racially discriminated against. I think educators also need guidance to correct racist remarks.
For resources, I chose “Wash your hands” by Malaka Ghairib and Wanyu Zhang. They share daily routines about the COVID-19. 1. Wash your hand often. 2. Sneeze into your elbows. 3. Avoid touching your face. These actions are that we must do after we faced the COVID-19. Even though these are very simple, everyone does not practice them. It is very important to follow the rule to overcome this pandemic as soon as possible.
Regarding “Coronavirus & yellow peril”, I think it’s important to draw a distinction between criticizing the Chinese government and criticizing/harassing Chinese people. The Chinese government did some shady stuff by trying to cover up the virus at the beginning of the outbreak. (Not that I’m suggesting the U.S. did a great job dealing with the pandemic either, because they didn’t) But it becomes an issue when Chinese people (or anybody who looks Asian, for that matter) gets harassed simply because of the way they look.
I think washing hands is so important especially during this pandemic. Its really questionable seeing people not taking these precautions despite of being simple and quick.