When it comes to the Coronavirus Pandemic, who is to blame? The news? The Government? For many individuals, it is the Asians, especially the Chinese. The origins of the virus are unknown and assumed to be either a bad bat meal for a man, or some scientific freak accident in a lab. However, when it broke out, China dismissed it as a cold, until a doctor said that it was much more serious to the world. By then it was already too late: now the virus has claimed over a hundred thousand people.

Ever since the Coronavirus Pandemic, people have been, in a friendlier term, suspicious of Asians, as the disease originated in China. This has led to first, a lot of jokes on coughing, then full-on hate crimes inflicted upon thousands of Asians.

For instance, on March 14, a 19 year-old man named Jose L. Gomez attempted to murder three Asian-American family members, including a two-year old toddler and a six-year old child, at a Sam’s Club in Texas. He claimed to the authorities that he did it assuming that the family was Chinese and attempting to spread coronavirus, and thus assaulted the family along with one of the employees.

A student from Rowland High named Jacob Kim says that his family was also affected by the stereotypical stigma. “There is definitely some racism for Asians. It is because Asia is where the virus technically started, so the other races would assume that we started it all. I have some experience, where one of my family members was trying to use an elevator, and they got kicked out. The workers, who kicked out my family member, yelled,”Get away corona!” There is racism.”

Another student, this time from El Rancho Charter School, named Ethan Kim has experienced this even online as he hangs out with his friends and sympathizes with others on the internet. “I get racism through things like video games. Even though it is just my friends, I feel that other Asians might be discriminated against due to COVID-19 originating from china.

If i’m getting racism and I’m seeing it on social media, I’m sure people are experiencing it in real life as well.”

The plague that is racism has returned to the US, and this time, it is the Asians that are suffering. So quickly, Americans have forgotten their morals and assault Asians through verbal and physical abuse. There is no longer the racial equality that the United States is so famous of, and it shows no sign of stopping.

But all hope is not lost. The United States, and possibly the world, can fix this issue by enforcing the law and encouraging racial equality through campaigns. Though there are thousands who oppose the Asians, thousands more should be there to help the Asians, who are so wrongly oppressed.

<Kyle Min / Los Alamitos HS 10th Grade>