On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump sent two tweets regarding the coronavirus, calling it the "Chinese Virus." Officials have named the novel coronavirus Covid-19, avoiding associating it with a place or people. This has been especially important due to the rising mistreatment of Asian-Americans due to the belief that it is China's fault. Some officials have described Trump's use of the term as xenophobic and having racist overtones, and emphasized the importance of not associating pandemics with an ethnic group to avoid discrimination. Similarly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus." In the face of this criticism, Trump has responded by claiming that he is not being racist, just stating that it comes from China. Despite his rationale, the term has been making many critics and Chinese officials upset. Experts on China predict that this will increase tensions between the US and China, and should be stopped.
1. Do you believe that Trump is being xenophobic by using this term?
2. Should there be more restrictions put in place to prevent the use of potentially harmful terms being used to refer to pandemics like this?
3. Do you think that Trump had a good response to this criticism?
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/china-virus.html
In response to question 3, I believe that President Trump had a terrible response to the pandemic. This is because he responded to it by criticizing the Chinese, rather than work towards a common goal. The idea that calling a virus specifically Chinese is obviously a breach of common courtesy, and is, however one may see, racist.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Trump had the best response to this criticism. I think he should have apologized and promised to only refer to the virus as its more scientific names "coronavirus" or COVID-19. There has been a lot of racism due to the virus as businesses are getting less customers and some Asian Americans are even experiencing violence, so Trump should be trying to get rid of this problem rather than possibly adding to it even if his comment wasn't intentionally racist. According to a Washington Post article, the White House tweeted once "Spanish Flu. West Nile Virus. Zika. Ebola. All named for places. Before the media's fake outrage, even CNN called it 'Chinese Coronavirus.'" I think this also simply made the problem worse as it's continuing to be disrespectful and justifying their actions by saying that other sources (in this case CNN) have done the same thing. We need to create a culture of mutual respect, and I don't think that Trump's comments about the virus and his response to the criticism he received have really achieved that.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/18/official-white-house-defense-labeling-it-chinese-coronavirus/
I believe Trump is not being xenophobic while using this term. However, I strongly believe this problem could have been easily avoided without calling it the "Chinese Flu." To further explain, we have named another illness the Spanish Flu. It was nothing towards Latin America, but just to show it may have originated in Spain. Either way I do believe the issues within this was easily avoidable and we should have stuck to the traditional name, Coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Trump was intentionally being xenophobic, however one could easily assume that and feel attacked by the way Trump has been addressing the virus. Additionally, I think that Trump's response to the criticism was poor because he did not apologize for using the term.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trump is definitely xenophobic, trying to say that the chinese started the virus and should take the blame. Trump is a person who always needs to point fingers at those involved. Trump then purposefully used the name "Chinese Virus" to create unrest between people and to create divides.Ever since he came to office he has bullied people into taking the blame even if they were not directly involved, using them as a scapegoat.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Trump was being intentionally racist, but it is definitely very insensitive for him to refer to the corona virus as the "Chinese virus," as this will most likely increase discrimination against Asian-Americans and Chinese people. I think people should avoid associating the virus with China as much as possible to prevent more racist outbursts from occurring. Also, instead of defending his use of the "Chinese virus," Trump should've apologized for using the term and acknowledged the fact that it was insensitive of him to use it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel as if Trump was being xenophobic, but it may not have been totally intentional. Although, certain stereotypical terms he uses I do consider it being racist; it's as if he holds a resentment. You can't necessarily stop one from using "harsh terms," but I do believe that preventing such would induce a more positive change rather than negative. Finally, he doesn't hold a correct response to criticism As a national leader, rather than fueling tensions, he should be collaborating to overcome the problem.
ReplyDeleteTrump is being xenophobic by calling the coronavirus the Chinese virus. While the virus did originate in China, it shouldn't be associated with the Chinese people or healthcare system, and Trump causes fear and increases tension through his action. The virus has become the world's problem, and no nation individually is at fault. Now is a time where we need unity, and Trump is trying to push his "America First" agenda by dividing us.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that President Trump is respectful toward China, and by calling it the "Chinese virus," does create more tension between the two countries. I do think there should be more restrictions out in place to prevent the use of potentially harmful language because it does harm the relationships between people and even countries. Not only is president Trump being xenophobic but he is giving an example to all Americans that it is okay to call it that. He also represents America and by doing this he is showing the world what America is like however that's not true. If more restrictions would be placed on the harmful language, then there would definitely be less harm done to other countries.
ReplyDeleteThis was by Cassie Vass
DeletePresident Trump's decision to refer to COVID-19 using terms like "the Wuhan virus" or "the Chinese virus", though not wrong, are slightly insensitive toward Asians. It's not like it is every Asian's fault that the virus began spreading through the human population. These names for the virus encourage pointing fingers at China, instead of working together as a global community to find a solution. However, I wouldn't go so far as to call Trump "xenophobic"-at least, not based on just this one issue.
ReplyDeleteI do believe Trump is being Xenophobic by calling the Coronavirus the "Chinese virus". It sparks unnecessary blame and hatred towards Asian Americans. There should definitely be more enforcement in place to prevent discrimination towards Asians. I don't think Trump had a good response to the criticism, in fact I think he fueled tensions and promoted the amount of discrimination and racism.
ReplyDeleteI do believe he is being xenophobic as it was totally unnecessary since there's already another name you can call it. Restrictions would be nice but it should already be a thing where people should know not to blame Asians or Chinese for. No, I think Trump is handling it like he usually does and that is without much consideration of the opposite side and claiming that he's innocent when its kind of obvious that he's not.
ReplyDeleteI think that he is definitely being xenophobic, as there is absolutely no need to call it the "China Virus". I don't think restrictions are really necessary for this problem since the people blaming the Chinese people for it wouldn't stop even if there was a rule against it. This tension between the US and China could be catastrophic if it keeps building up. Trump is also setting a bad example for American civilians, since they might follow their president and be racist towards the Chinese as well.
ReplyDeleteit is xenophobic, world health officials names this covid-19 for a reason to avoid discrimination against a group of people. To put restrctions on this problem woulndt do anything because we cant censor words due to freedom of speech. The president shouldn't have said this though because its going to spark fear and possibly worsen the situation we already have with this pandemic. He's a high ranking government official he should've known better.
ReplyDeleteI would certainly consider this to be xenophobic because he directly targeting one particular race when referring to a virus which has multiple scientific names. While I think restrictions are an ethical idea, I don't see them being particularly effective, especially with freedom of speech. People will always say what they want to, but it's better to spread the repercussions that come from using these terms and how they negatively impact others.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that this comment is xenophobic, in looking at this comment we should also look at Trumps past statements about other races and ethnicities. Overall many revere his comments as insensitive, and this is no exception. Looking at the increased racism that has surfaced due to this virus, there is no mistake that this could and most likely did spark another excuse for people to be racist.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do believe this is a little xenophobic of Trump, but I don think he meant it to be totally xenophobic. In the full video, he said he called it this because China was accusing the Americans of spreading it through soldiers, which we know probably isnt true. I do think he should see it from the perspective of Chinese Americans who may be offended because they have done nothing to spread this virus
ReplyDeleteI find this statement to be xenophobic. While China is the source of the virus, it is completely unnecessary to refer to it as the "Chinese Virus" when there are several scientific and official names that he could be using. I think this is unprofessional behavior from a man who is supposed to be representing our country during this time. He has a strong influence over many people, and his use of this statement can cause people to harass and pin the blame on asians.
ReplyDeleteAs we've been reading, we know there is tension between China and the US. And with a president like ours, instead of using this as a chance to build relationships by politically working together, he is targeting China by calling it a "Chinese Virus" and therefore implying blame on China for allowing the disease to get out. In reality, Trump handled the outbreak just as poorly if not worse than Jinping did. Everyone is to blame here, therefore nobody should be to blame. Therefore, instead of being petty, tyrannical hot heads, we should be working together to end this.
ReplyDeleteI do think there should be restrictions considering anyone who is Chinese is receiving hate for something they are not to blame. I do agree with how everyone is to blame because we are all personally responsible to practice social distancing and stop the spread
ReplyDeleteAlot of Chinese people have been hated on despite their history because of this new virus. I don't think there's a way to restrict how people use their language as they have that freedom, but I think we should get the fact out there that the Chinese peoples are not at fault. Accusing a whole entire race of something a smaller group of people have caused (probably not purposely either) isn't right.
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation and his response is ridiculous. We should not have a political leader much less our president who lacks basic respect especially in such times. This should hardly be anyones focus, and any qualified president or even anyone of intelligence should not have to be taught respect. Calling it the "Chinese virus" helps absolutely no one in this situation and even increases xenophobic feelings that are harming Chinese citizens during these testing times. Anybody in a position of power during a time like this should be focused on taking steps to amend the problem and inspiring confidence and unity in their people, while our president projects his incompetence and does exactly the opposite. A great example of this happening is comparing China-US relations under president Obama and president Trump. In today's world there are so many problems and a president definitely has the responsibility of solving them. The main difference in the two is that Obama did not create any more unnecessary problems as Trump does. Trump lacks respect, a filter, and sometimes just general common sense, and all of these and more create many new issues that a country would never have to worry about under a good president. This idiotic decision and insistence to create a problem in calling this the "Chinese virus" is just one among many examples that highlights clearly this difference and the problems created by it.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump was certainly being xenophobic, and had a quite poor response to the criticism. Trump has consistently made statements that are xenophobic or even overtly racist. When compared to a history of these statements it only makes sense that he was being xenophobic. His response of "But technically its right so..." is a poor response because it shows he was not truly listening to the criticism.
ReplyDeleteI believe Trump is definitely being xenophobic, as he should be calling it COVID-19 or the coronavirus. He doesn't have to associate it with China, but he chose to do so anyways. I believe as he is president of the US, he should know better. There is no excuse for him to call it the "Chinese Virus". I believe the cabinet and others that have an influence on him should advise him of what he should stay away form saying. He might be getting away with his response to the criticism, but he should at least acknowledge his mistake if he wants to make things right. It has especially hurt the Chinese-Americans.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Trump is being intentionally racist or xenophobic, but it certainly came across that way. The issue lies more within how careless he is with his words, especially considering how delicate of a situation America is currently. Calling it the "Chinese" virus is especially ignorant and irresponsible for him to say, considering how vast and diverse that single country is. Remember, it's population is around 1.7 billion, and China makes up 1/7 of the world's entire population - the coronavirus did not originate from all 1.7 billion Chinese people. Lastly, this comment was especially dangerous at this particular time; there is already a lot of hate and racism being directed towards those of Asian-American descent, so this could further aggravate hate crimes. Perhaps in 20 or 30 years it'll be called the Wuhan Virus or something of the likes, similar to the Spanish Flu. But right now, we must be extra careful of how we address things with high tension.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Trump is inherently being xenophobic, but his actions have consequences, and as a result the people who follow him see Asian-American people as a threat, just for their race and have been outwardly racist towards these people. He should have discussed it with the officials beforehand, and called it by its official name, COVID-19 instead of labeling it as the "Chinese Virus", which implies that Chinese people are the ones that have it.
ReplyDeleteTrump acted ignorantly and negligently by referring to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus." While he may not have intended to come across as xenophobic, his words imply that the virus can be attributed to a certain group of people, when in reality, anyone can be a carrier. This in turn leads to misinformation, perpetuating a cycle of hate and intolerance. He may have been trying to convey that the disease originated from China, but ultimately, choosing to ignore the widely accepted and accurate term "coronavirus" sparked controversy and revulsion from many across the globe.
ReplyDeleteI think trump is being racist in a way when he says that because not only is he throwing shade but he is making China look bad. It can be taken in many different ways but I see it as rude no matter where it came from or not. Most sources we have in the US are from China and Trump saying that is like a slap in the face to them.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump was in the wrong, calling it the Chinese Virus. It was very racist and unprofessional of him to put it like that. The public is already hating on the Chinese people enough, and we don't need our own president showing people that it is ok to act like that.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trumps words have hurt many people. His actions are racist and he doesn't understand that or refuses to understand it. Because there is an official name to it, he should not be calling it the "Chinese Virus" His ignorant actions have let a gateway of more racist remarks. People believe that it is "ok" to say because their president has said it.
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