Yi Yang A01 Week 1

Yi Yang A01 Week 1

Reflection of Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.The virus was first widespread and infected in China. However, the Chinese government issued timely policies and the active cooperation of the Chinese people, and now the epidemic situation in China has been well controlled. As an international student from China, I worry about my family all the time in the United States. My family is very obedient to the country's arrangement and advice, they try to avoid going out and will wear a mask when going out to reduce the contact with the virus. Wearing a mask is a common way to reduce the spread of infectious diseases in China, so I have repeatedly told my family to wear a mask when going out.

                                         (Chinese people wearing masks when going outside)

While my parents were still glad that I was in the United States and didn't have to worry about viruses, a novel coronavirus came to the United States and came with a vengeance. The number of people diagnosed is growing so fast that my parents told me to buy more masks to wear when I go out. While Americans were still treating the virus as a little flu, the experience of China made us international students very wary, so I started wearing a mask when I went out. Because of cultural differences, I didn't know at first that Americans think only seriously ill people wear masks. But the way they look at me when I wear a mask makes me feel uncomfortable.When I was shopping in the supermarket with my friends wearing masks, one of the locals even deliberately coughed at me.This may be a form of discrimination.

When I read the article Fight the Tower written by professor Valverde, I admire her courage to speak up in the face of discrimination and injustice. The difficulties she suffered did not break her, but became her motivation. But when I was in the supermarket, I just pretended not to see the stranger's racist joke and quickly left. I want to know what I should do in the face of an epidemic and when someone makes this kind of discriminatory joke about you. As a foreign student from Asia, I am very interested in the current situation and experiences of Asian Americans. I hope to learn more about them.

Citation: 
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Pic from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fdont-buy-chinas-story-the-coronavirus-may-have-leaked-from-a-lab-2020-02-22&psig=AOvVaw3mJqCbudyd09XsRH_gd4h7&ust=1585775177477000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNi2wpnPxegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD