The thing about prejudices and discrimination is that they can be masked so well it seems casual and offhanded.
Sometimes, they seem like your normal everyday statements that can even make it onto established sites like Fox News.
Which explains why it’s so incredibly prevalent in our society today:
American News Host Demands For Apology From China On Live TV For Covid-19
On 3 Mar 2020, it was reported that Fox News personality Jesse Watters, 41, demanded that China apologise for the COVID-19 outbreak.
And he didn’t do it in a tweet. He did it on a talk show on Fox News.
Thankfully, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not let it slide. Here’s what went down.
Apparently, the Chinese are “a very hungry people”
Watters spoke on the 2 March edition of The Five programme.
He began by praising American President Donald Trump for “meeting with industry leaders”, referring to pharmaceutical executives, and said Trump has had his face in front of the camera “pretty much every day since last week”.
He then asked the Chinese for “an official apology” which he demanded to be issued the very next day by either Chinese President Xi Jinping or the Chinese embassy.
“This coronavirus originated in China, and I have not heard one word from the Chinese. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ would do, it would go a long way.”
“I expect a formal apology tomorrow. Doesn’t matter if it comes from [President Jinping] Xi or the embassy,” Watters said.
His co-host Dana Perino responded asking, “What if (the virus) started here (in the United States)?
And Watters responded saying that the Chinese eat “raw bats and snakes”.
Oh just spewing some casual racism for millions of people to soak up.
It didn’t end there. He continued and described the Chinese as “a very hungry people” and said, “the Chinese government cannot feed the people.”
And bear in mind, all of this was spoken with tons of laughter happening in the background.
He then goes on to say, “according to The New York Times, Dana, the Chinese government has been very deceitful and deceptive in communicating the extent of the infections to the world.”
To add salt to the wound, co-host Greg Gutfeld seemed to agree with Watters and said with a huge smile on his face, “I love Jesse’s asking China for an apology,” before another round of laughter ensues from everyone.
Hilarious.
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China Has A Thing Or Two To Say & It’s Not An Apology
On 5 March, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry who was recently appointed to the role in February said that the Fox News host’s comments were “ridiculous”.
He added that the comments only revealed his “arrogance, prejudice and ignorance” towards China.
“Firstly, viruses are the public enemy of all mankind, and patients all over the world are victims, so I do not see where the ‘apology theory’ fits in here.”
It was also pointed out by the World Health Organisation that stigma is even more dangerous than the virus itself.
#COVID19 is our common enemy. Don't understand why some think anyone should apologize. @WHO has said many times that stigma is more dangerous than the virus itself. pic.twitter.com/XFDGO0VCb7
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 5, 2020
Why The Virus Was Given A Name That’s Not The “Wuhan Virus”
P.S. that’s why the virus’ name was changed from “Wuhan Virus” to COVID-19.
More specifically, the reason why we shouldn’t reference it to a particular location is that the country or city would be inevitably linked to the virus in the public mind, thereby causing stigma.
For instance, names such as “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)” or “Spanish flu” are now avoided as they can stigmatise entire regions or ethnic groups.
The same can be said about the name “Wuhan Virus”. The name has been scrapped to avoid stigma.
Valid points Brought Up In Rebuttal Against Unprofessional Host
First of all, it does not make any sense that China should apologise because “the origins of the virus are now still undecided”.
Plus, the virus does not discriminate based on race.
He said, “regardless of where the virus originated in, China is the same as other infected countries, which are all victims that face the challenge of containing the spread of the virus.”
If we are pointing fingers, should we look at America for causing the H1N1 back in 2009? The swine flu originated from America back in 2009 and caused a lot of grief for many countries around the world.
Ooh, shots fired.
He also mentioned that China has displayed credibility as a country through its efforts to contain the viral outbreak.
He added that WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had pointed out that China has contained the virus within its own borders and stopped the virus from spreading to other countries.
Tedros also praised China for setting new standards for the world to follow when it comes to combating the spread of viruses.
Watters & His History Of Racist Comments Towards The Chinese
It’s apparently not the first time Watters has made racist comments towards the Chinese.
It’s not surprising given the casual way in which he talks about it.
The previous incident was during a segment on a Fox News talk show The O’Reilly Factor where he interviewed people who didn’t appear to speak English in New York City’s Chinatown and asked them questions such as “Do you know karate?”
He was criticised by Malaysia-born comedian Ronnie Cheng on The Daily Show.
COVID-19 Situation In The United States
The coronavirus situation in the United States is not easing up either, with the death toll rising to 12 on Thursday.
There are over 225 confirmed cases in the US and congressional leaders have agreed on an $8 billion emergency funding package.
Even the US is facing excessive pricing of consumer medical supplies. Think exorbitantly priced surgical masks.
It’s clear that anyone can be a victim of the virus and pointing fingers does nothing to help the world overcome the COVID-19 outbreak.
If anything, the world could benefit from a little more love and a little less hate.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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