When SARS broke out in China and Hong Kong, people in the US were aghast as they saw so many Chinese people wearing masks. Americans began to believe that every Chinese person was infected with SARS and that was why they were all wearing face masks. I remember people remarking how 'dirty' Chinese people were to get themselves so sick they all have to wear masks. Americans reassured themselves that SARS would never occur in the US because US culture was 'cleaner' and more 'superior' than a 'backward' or 'infested' country like China or Hong Kong.
At the time of SARS, I was sitting in a 1950's type hamburger restaurant enjoying my hamburger. I overheard an American tourist who had recently been to China talking about why Chinese people wear masks:
Joan, an average American, asks, "Why do all those Chinese people wear masks? Are they all sick with SARS? I am sure glad to be American and not be living in such a backward place."
American traveller, Steve says, "Oh, the real reason Chinese people wear masks is not because they are all sick with SARS. They wear masks to protect each other from the common cold. Wearing a mask is just common courtesy."
Joan says," Those Asians are so strange with their strange habits. In an awestruck voice, Joan adds.."Wow, Steve, I admire how you have traveled so much in so many places and lived to tell about it."
As I was eating my hamburger, I resented the fact that Americans treated the Chinese as the Other as if Chinese people were subhuman or a separate species not quite human.
When the coronavirus first broke out in Wuhan, China, American broadcasters once again treated China as the Other. Just like Joan, the broadcasters thought it strange to see the Chinese citizens of Wuhan all wearing masks. Later when China shut down Wuhan, the broadcasters all gasped in awe at how empty the streets of Wuhan were and how the Chinese government were taking such draconian measures to suppress the virus. Some broadcasters thought the Chinese government was even overreacting as they used drones to scold people to wear masks. America thought it would not get the virus due to the 'superiority' of Western culture so nobody in America took COVID19 seriously as it was happening in real time in Wuhan.
It was not until March and April that Americans started wearing masks just like the people of Wuhan did. And governors of different states shut down schools, non-essential businesses just like the Chinese government did. Pretty soon, those 'strange' Chinese customs of wearing masks became an American custom. Like China, America was waging war against an invisible enemy, COVID19. Americans learned that no matter what race, what culture, COVID19 comes after you.
In conclusion, we are all in this fight against coronavirus together. We all need to put aside our differences and find a vaccine. Fighting for our health should be our main priority for all the people of the world--not racism, not pointing blame, not thinking somebody is the Other--we should unite and find a cure and that should be our focus. We are all one world.
For more about how wearing masks is commonplace in Hong Kong since SARS, read this article:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3047964/those-asian-people-wearing-face-masks-amid-coronavirus-fears-they-arent
Here is another article on why people wear face masks:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/coronavirus-face-mask-effective.html
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