- Xenophobia is a term relating to a fear of the unknown in terms of racial and cultural concepts. Issues relating to this are usually very common during outbreaks. Much of this xenophobic activity was seen during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak started in a small section of China called Wuhan, which in turn put a target on all people of Asian orient.
- Fear has been implanted in every aspect of the personal and political accounts formed against the pandemic. All around the world and in our own country, people of asian heritage were targets of racism, verbal abuse, non entree in businesses and establishments, hate crimes and more. All actions were a cause of fear even without proof that the people targeted had any real relation to the outbreak.
- The piece written by Serhan and Mclaughlin related to Cadogan’s article in a variety of ways, the most crucial being racism out of visual fear. Cadogan writes in his article the way his arrival to America resulted in many targeted reactions from others who feared him as he was a minority and seen as different. The same can be seen during the pandemic when people of Asian descent were targeted and hated simply because they were related to a country where the pandemic started.
- Overall, the act of extended travel bands in reaction to widespread outbreaks such as the pandemic can be biased, demeaning and are not completely effective. It could be argued that travel bans can be helpful in the sense that they put people at ease as many agree that the idea of a country working to protect its people makes them feel better. This being said, the idea behind a country’s complete lockdown is quite ineffective in the sense that there will always be ways for outsiders to get in to the country and that a pandemic always finds its way in, especially one as busy and involved as The United States.
