As the coronavirus continues spreading, so has the racism behind it. The East Asian community has faced countless discriminatory jokes and xenophobic memes. While people nowadays tend to turn to the internet to find information for what is going on around the world, it allows all sorts of people to post slanderous and false news about a certain topic. This time, social media is targeting Asians.  

Society is belittling a real problem and turning it into a meme for people to laugh at. There have been over 2,500 deaths as of Feb. 25 and choosing to make jokes about it is insensitive and rude towards victims and loved ones. The genuine peril of thousands of people have become the butt of a joke, and this goes to show how uninformed and insensitive the common social media user is.

While residents of China and other countries with widespread infections, Asian-American students in the US are at no more risk than any of the rest of us. Accusing them of spreading the virus and poking fun at them because of the color of their skin is not only racist, it’s hurtful and damaging. 

Hashtags online like #IAmNotAVirus are trending on Twitter which goes to show the pain that these media attacks cause for the Asian community. Asians have been belittled down to a disease that the vast majority does not even have. Because of this, they sadly feel the need to assure bystanders that they are not contagious based on their physical appearance.

While some may believe that the coronavirus racism subject is only an issue seen online, it is an issue locally as well. Asian-American DGN students are the victims of coronavirus “jokes” and bullying. Harmful comments like “I’m scared to sit next to so-and-so because they might have it”  is being said by ignorant students can be heard in the halls. This turns a worldwide devastating pandemic into a school-wide issue. The person seated next to you in class could be a victim of harassment just because of their heritage.