Essay 3

Throughout history there has been racism and it is still very prevalent in society. During the pandemic there have been many instances of racism and the xenophobia exhibited because of the fear of the virus has  increased but so have people standing up to the prejudices in society. The articles I will be discussing are about racism towards blacks and Asians and how it affects those individuals. First is “Walking While Black” by Garette Codogan, which talks about how the racism he experienced in the cities he lived in affected him and how walking helped him experience the world. Second is “The Other Problematic Outbreak” by Yasmeen Serhan and Timothy McLaughlin. I can learn from the stories told by Codigan, Serhan, and Mclaughlin to see how racism affects the individuals mentioned in the articles through their eyes. As a white person I have never personally experienced racism and I acknowledge that I can’t understand what minorities like black people and Asians are going through but I can still do something to help. As an undergraduate college student, I can use my voice to advocate for lifting prejudices on minorities and reducing police brutality. 

I acknowledge that I will never understand how someone who is subject to racism, discrimination and xenophobia becuase I am white and have never encountered any of the mentioned scenarios but I am still willing to use my voice to advocate for change. 

 Although I believe that DFWs idea of making an effort to understand what other people around you are going through can help in most situations, I don’t think this can apply to racism. I believe that what needs to happen to get rid of racism is people who have awareness of the prejudices and discrimination minority groups such as black people go through. The stories of Cadogan’s experiences in the cities where he lived in the article “Walking While Black” touch on the discrimination and prejudice. One of the stories is about how there is a double standard for how a white person and balck person can dress. Cadogan mentions how “the all-american sartorial choice of white T-shirt and jeans, which many police officers see as the uniform of black troublemakers, was off limits to me at least if I wanted to have the freedom of movement I desired”(4). Basically, if a white person wore the jeans and T-shirt he wouldn’t be looked at differently but a black person would, I don’t find that to be fair. Black people are not the only ones that suffer from discrimination. Xenophobia against Asians arose during the pandemic. In the article “The Other Problematic Outbreak” Eunice is an example of the xenophobia against Asians. When the pandemic first began she wore a mask to keep herself safe and the others around her when she went out, like most of us have done. Because of this, Eunice “began experiencing multiple forms of xenophobia. People would make racist comments, overtly distance themselves from Eunice, and she even received a death threat”(Serhan and McLaughlin 2). Even though she felt like she was doing something good by wearing a mask the people around her didn’t and were xenophobic towards Eunice because of it. I believe that by being aware of the prejudices changes can happen and the world will be a better place for everyone. 

Although I don’t feel comfortable participating in protests I can be someone who treats everyone equally no matter their race. In Hong Kong Mandarin speakers are being discriminated against in restaurants because of the prodemocracy movement (Serhan and McLaughlin 4). Restaurant business in San Fransicsco Chinatown restarants have been affected by discrimination against Asians too. In San Francisco, “Restaurateurs in San Francisco’s Chinatown report that business has dropped since the beginning of the outbreak”(Serhan and McLaughlin 3). In other words, people did not go to Chinese restaurants as much because of the xenophobia that is felt towards Asians. By supporting businesses I can help reduce the prejudices that are present in society. I believe it is wrong to think that just because someone who is from the area scientists believe the outbreak originated from is discriminated against because they are people just like us just as scared as we are of the pandemic.

Although the article “Unfollow” by Adrian Chen does not have the exact idea of racism and xenophobia, it talks about Megan Phelps-Roper, who was the daughter of the preacher at the Westboro Baptist Church. She used twitter as a way to get the church on the map. She didn’t use Twitter to spread positive messages though. For example, on World AIDS Day she tweeted a homophobic tweet towards gay people. The tweet was, “Thank God for AIDS!”… “You won’t repent of your rebellion that brought His wrath on you in this incurable scourge, so expect more & worse!”(Chen 1). She was basically saying that AIDS is a sign for gays that being who they are is a sin. I am not saying it was right what she tweeted but I do believe that because she was raised in the environment of the Westboro Baptist Church she never thought that was harmful to anyone because she was surrounded by the homophobia and the other harmful ideas of the church.