In the story of Christ’s journey to the cross, it strikes me how he went from a crowd hailing him “King” to a mob crying “Crucify him!” in a mere 6 days. The perception of him shifted quickly, in part thanks to the chief priests who, seeing Jesus as a threat, deceived people into seeing Him as an enemy. This moment in Luke 23 reminds me how our human perception is prone to deception. This Lenten season, with the medical threat of COVID-19 morphing into racial violence, we must remember how quickly fear turns to hate, and how the messages we receive can influence our perception of one another.
Racist Asian Imagery in U.S. American History
For me, COVID-19 is a case study in America’s pastime of hating Chinese and East Asian people. It is not difficult to hate someone once we’ve perceived them to be a threat. The depictions (in words and images) of East Asians as the evil and threatening “yellow peril” have deep roots in our cultural history and COVID-19 is merely proving how little has changed.
Some of the more explicit examples of historical anti-Chinese messaging can be found in the archives of a weekly magazine called The Wasp. In 1876, they published their first of many anti-Chinese cartoons drawn by George F. Keller, which depicted Chinese immigrants as many things, including “an infestation, a subversive labor monster, a ruthless competitor, immoral and diseased.”
We could say this high level of xenophobia was only actively perpetuated by a loud few, but history tells us this viral racism infected enough of the nation to allow our country to pass over 600 separate pieces of anti-Asian legislation between the 19th and 20th Centuries.
With enough anti-Chinese images and messages circulating, America became a place where one of the largest mass lynching in our history (the 1871 Chinese Massacre) is effectively forgotten, where Chinese could not become naturalized citizens until 1943, and two white men in 1982 could murder 27 year old groom-to-be, Vincent Chin, (out of anger about losing jobs to the Japanese auto industry) and get off with 3 years probation and a $3,000 fine.
We have become a nation with a “perpetual foreigner” perception of Asian Americans. We have become a nation that depicts Chinese as spies, allowing xenophobic targeting and biased investigations against Asian American researchers and scientists, merely because of the perceived threat they pose to national security.
Today, many people don’t blink when unrelated images of East Asian people and Chinatowns are featured in coverage of COVID19. Many can not see how certain jokes and memes are normalizing a racist connection between anyone who looks Chinese with a disease.
When #IAmNotAVirus trends, and I read about another Asian verbally and physically assaulted, and how Chinese American businesses are being punished, I remember the racist cartoons and legislation of our country’s history. I recognize the same comfort today that existed then with creating a convenient enemy out of East Asian people. The anti-Asian messaging we see today fits into the larger context, the pastime of “yellow peril” fear and hatred that won’t be contained.
It seems alarmingly easy for folks to justify this messaging, to excuse the jokes and minimize the financial, physical, social and psychological harm done; to claim it’s not a big deal. Sometimes I reflect on how easy it would be to convince this nation to quarantine “those people” in cages or go to war with “those people” for the perceived threat posed to national safety and security.
It’s Time To Hold Every Thought Captive
Yet God urges us throughout the Bible to resist all lies and deceptions; to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), not conforming our mind to the world, but transforming it (Romans 12:2), refocusing on things that are true, honorable, just, etc. (Philippians 4:8). What might that look like during the rise of COVID-19?
It could mean acknowledging a natural fear response to news of a deadly virus, but then inspecting it. Ask yourself, “What scares me about this story?”, “Who and what is being associated with this threat?”, “Is that association influencing what I think and how I feel about the people or places depicted here?”
It could mean you hold your thoughts up to the truth that Asian people are created in the image of God and consider if your thoughts are supporting that truth or obscuring it. You can remember that our historical cultural narrative tips toward dehumanizing Asians, then focus on how you and the Asian people in your community are more alike than different. You can acknowledge a natural fear of a virus and then separate that fear from your perceptions of Asian people.
This Christian commitment to self-awareness and truth should become a lifestyle. It should cause us to think critically about the words, images, memes, and headlines we’re seeing, so we can resist being deceived into seeing threats or enemies where there are none. As you hear more and more Asian people speaking up about the real harm caused by deceptive messaging, continue to question your perception. Inspect your own thoughts and words. I will even urge you to resist re-framing the situation to highlight how you may benefit (e.g. cheaper international flights), as that encourages a dismissive attitude toward suffering (i.e. hardening your heart).
Some may be tempted to stop following the news reports all together, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I believe we can stay informed while also questioning how things are phrased and what images are chosen. By keeping our minds and hearts rooted in truth, we can resist being swiftly swayed by fear and hatred, like the mob that demanded Jesus be crucified. We can resist being deceived by those who see our fellow image bearers as threats; those who would spin the situation to make them out to be our enemy, as the chief priests made Jesus out to be the enemy. Most importantly, we can resist distancing ourselves from the mistreated, like Peter denying Christ, and instead stand with our Asian brothers and sisters, challenging the racist “jokes” and supporting Chinese-owned restaurants and businesses.
God commands us to resist lies and deception, and to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). What might that look like during the rise of COVID-19? Click To Tweet
This is such an important post. Thank you for educating me.
Tiffany, thank you for sharing these insights and the background as well, much of which was new to me. I admit that it’s tempting to hide one’s head in the sand but I prefer what comes to mind after reading this: to be aware, ask meaningful questions and be sensitive in light of the gospel. Much appreciated!