Your Racist Coronavirus Jokes Are Not Funny
Something terrible and dangerous is spreading throughout the country, and this is not a biological disease. The idea is that calling the coronavirus “kung flu” is ridiculous.
I shouldn’t have said that. You know you can’t be a racist xenophobic jerk, right? Many of you reading this would never really think of a joke like this. And for that, you will be rewarded with one gold star and the obligation to look with dead eyes at your friends who say racist things and say, “Wait, I don’t get that. Explain to me again why this is funny? “Until they understand what they are saying and die of embarrassment.
Sorry, your service is required. Asian students are bullied at school ; The Hong Kong-born Canadian Health Minister received racist comments when she spoke about the coronavirus . Plus … you’ve probably heard or seen (or did?) A lot of nasty jokes.
Unfortunately, panic and prejudice are common during disease outbreaks. And these are not just harmless jokes. For example, it is reasonable to ask if the current quarantines of travelers from China are motivated more by xenophobia than any other issue. The World Health Organization specifically recommended QUARANTINE against healthy travelers, stating that the evidence is against it.
So the jokes are not funny; harassment and racial profiling of people is not good and ineffective; and stereotypes feed misinformation too. For example, British tabloids have unearthed old videos of Chinese people eating unusual foods , including bats, implying such practices are to blame for the virus. This is not true, but the video went viral.
We can do better than that. If you’re worried about the coronavirus, channel your energies back on track. Wash your hands, get a flu shot, and give your friends a deadly look if they try to make you laugh at their gruesome jokes.