OpinionCoronavirus-fuelled racism shows urgent need to address lingering anti-Asian attitudes

Name: New York’s Chinatown on edge after Asian man stabbed in back
Uploaded: 2021-03-10T21:15:09.000Z
Duration: 3 min 15 s
Description: New York’s Chinatown on edge after Asian man stabbed in back

Class privilege, or the perception of it, doesn’t shield Asians from racism and instead is used to delegitimise any form of discrimination

The answer to long-standing anti-Asian sentiment is not heavier policing but working together to become more aware of racial biases in our communities

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A man holds a portrait of the late Vichar Ratanapakdee, left, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand who was shoved to the ground in a deadly attack in San Francisco, during a rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes at Los Angeles Historic Park near the Chinatown district in Los Angeles on February 20. Photo: AP

Krystal Lai

Published: 5:15am, 11 Mar 2021Updated: 3:59pm, 22 Apr 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States when underlying divisions and resentment were already simmering. However, it also deepened the wounds of a pre-existing societal issue by exposing discrimination towards Asians in Western countries.

Terms such as “China virus”, “Wuhan virus” and others were touted by former US president Donald Trump, fellow Republicans and right-wing media. In one instance, Trump was photographed crossing out “corona” in “coronavirus” in a script and replacing it with “China”. This attitude trickled down from the White House, tainting perceptions towards Asians living in the country, even those who had lived there for generations.

Asians are often classed as the “model minority” in Western societies. We’re the ethnic group that benefits from higher levels of education and socio-economic backgrounds. We “succeed” in these countries because of our conformist attitudes and work ethic.

The model minority myth is reinforced through pop culture such as Crazy Rich Asians and Bling Empire. This also comes after an influx of money from the Chinese, specifically among the “new rich”, or fuerdai, sent west. These new rich sent their children to boarding schools, bought property and invested in businesses.

But class privilege, or the perception of it, doesn’t shield Asians from racism. If anything, it is used to delegitimise any form of discrimination towards Asians.

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New York’s Chinatown on edge after Asian man stabbed in back

In a 2015 Pew Research study, 50 per cent of white participants had a slight to strong subconscious preference for whites over Asians. Meanwhile, 30 per cent of whites had no implicit bias and 19 per cent had some subconscious preference for Asians.