COVID-2019 is not the only fatal disease spreading
Viewpoint by Halle Nottage
As Coronavirius is rapidly growing and infecting people, it seems as though another disease is rapidly growing and infecting people’s hearts and head’s as well: racism. As many people know, the virus began in China, and within a matter of weeks has claimed 1,775 lives and infected more than 71,000 people according to CNN News as of Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Pacific Standardized Time. This particularly vicious disease has swept through nations, and has even been found in our own yard here on American Soil in multiple cities, including Snohomish County.
However, the disease is not the only thing affecting the quality of Chinese people’s lives. As the disease has grown, so has a negative stereotype surrounding Chinese people: that they are all infected, or going to become infected, and that they will infect everyone around them. As a result, there has been a form of retaliation against them found within racist acts and hate crimes. A simple Google search with the words, “Chinese people, Coronavirius, hate crime” will lead you to dozens if not hundreds of news articles detailing vicious attacks on innocent people simply because of this brand new stereotype.
Now, it must be understood that one of the root causes of racism is fear, and this virus has many people scared for their lives, their family’s lives, and the lives of millions of other people. However, acting out in fear will only bring division and chaos amongst humans, which is the exact opposite of what is actually needed in such scary and disease riddled times.
Rather, this is the time to extend an olive-branch to Chinese people, to let them know that they are not alone in fighting both the disease of racism as well as the actual virus itself, and to let them know that they are not alone in their fear and grief. Racism will only cause this disease to grow faster and faster, but if there is unity to be found and racism to be extinguished, a cure could potentially come faster, and help to save all of humanity from what could potentially be the next devastating plague.
Data Journalism pioneer Ida B. Wells
Saluting her historic contribution
In 1895 Ida B. Wells published “The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, 1892-1894.”
“No good result can come from any investigation which refuses to consider the facts. A conclusion that is based upon a presumption, instead of the best evidence, is unworthy of a moment’s consideration…The Christian and moral forces of the nation should insist that misrepresentation should have no place in the discussion of this all-important question, that the figures of the lynching record should be allowed to plead, trumpet-tongued, in defense of the slandered dead.”
“The very frequent inquiry made after my lectures by interested friends is ‘What can I do to help the cause?’ The answer always is: ‘Tell the world the facts.’”
“I heard about it from a friend of mine, saying that there’s something going on with the whale hunting back then, here, back then. It got banned, but somehow they’re trying to bring it back. I didn’t know that it already got approved. That’s crazy, but I am totally against it, cause it’s just so cruel.”
“I’m trying to look at both sides of this. You got the whale, you got the tradition, which is their culture. We shouldn’t mess with that because in the constitution you have the freedom of religion and beliefs… So, if they aggressively keep taking out whales they are going to be extinct. So this is a touchy issue.”
“It is my opinion that if it was signed into the treaty, then I think Makah should be able to whale. And on the topic of conservation and logical preservation, I think if anyone is going to be concerned and respectful about it, it will be the Tribe, as opposed to some fishing or whaling corporation that is fighting for the ocean.
“I’m disagreeing about it. I very like whales. I think its cruel. I disagree because I very hate people to kill some people that will be extinct right now. I don’t like that.”
I think I’m against whaling because if we allow one group to whale, then other groups will start wondering if they could whale too. Then the number of whales decreases. It’s not endangered but it’s not much. I feel like it’ll just be a matter of time that they become endangered.