COVID-19 & The Collapse of the Model Minority Myth

In 2017, Andrew Sullivan wrote a piece for New York Magazine that, while centered on the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election, challenges the complexity of race relations in America by celebrating the model minority myth. Sullivan facetiously writes, “Asian-Americans are among the most educated and successful ethnic groups in America. It couldn’t possibly be that they maintained two-parent family structures, had social networks that looked after one another, and placed enormous emphasis on education and hard work, thereby [eliminating] false, negative stereotypes” (Sullivan 2017)[i]. The model minority myth serves two functions. First, it protects government and societal institutions from accountability for the presence of systemic oppression. It blames the existence of racial inequities on individual behaviors by using other minority groups as “evidence” that success is obtainable no matter what obstacles one faces. Second, it wedges factions amongst people of color by promising some groups proximity to whiteness (i.e., more rights) in exchange for their compliance in marginalizing other people of color, particularly Black people. The COVID-19 pandemic exposes the fragility of the model minority paradigm by demonstrating that white people will only elevate people of color when it benefits white supremacy and will rescind the elevated status when they feel threatened or unsafe.

The model minority myth has existed for decades. In 1935’s My Country and My People, Lin Yutang states “China’s family system is the mechanism that instilled self-control, courtesy, and a sense of duty” (Wu 190)[ii]. In 1941’s Shake Hands with the Dragon, Carl Glick argues, “the bedrock of the Chinese family was a hierarchical, gendered system of obligation that rewarded compliance with order and security” (Wu 190)[iii]. Glick popularizes the association of Chinese Americans with good behavior and absence of delinquency. In 1966, William Pettersen helps expand the scope of the model minority to include other East Asian groups. By juxtaposing the academic and business achievements of Japanese Americans to their experiences with violence, segregation, and internment during WWII, Petersen uses the Japanese as an example of the level of success that can be achieved with diligence and hard work, regardless of systemic barriers[iv]. Arissa H. Oh further emphasizes the expansion of the model minority to encompass broader East Asia when she writes of the transformation of Korean orphans from war waifs to ideal immigrants in the aftermath of the 1950s Korean War[v]. In 2000s America this trope is strengthened by the association of Asian Americans with business prowess and ivy league degrees.

In late 2019 we see the façade of the model minority begin to crumble. However, 2019 is not the first time that Asian Americans begin to experience mass stigma and persecution. White Americans have historically persecuted Asian people when they pose a “threat” to white domination. In 1882 the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years. The Geary Act of 1892 extended the ban by 10 more years. In 1902 the ban was extended indefinitely[vi]. White Americans described Chinese immigrants as “the yellow peril.” Chinese immigrants were presented as a threat to American traditional values, accused of bringing opium and drug addiction to the U.S., and seen as workplace rivals who took jobs away from white Americans by accepting lower wages[vii]. Their ban from America was a tactic to preserve white dominance.

In a similar manner, the redemption of Chinese people was also to the benefit of white supremacy. The Chinese Exclusion Acts were repealed in 1943, but only as a way of improving international relations with China during WWII, whom America sought as an ally on the pacific front of the war against the Axis powers[viii]. Their sustained celebration through the 1950s and onwards as a hard-working people void of delinquency and crime was a tactic to diminish the concerns raised by Black Americans that systemic racism was inhibiting their socioeconomic progress. This oscillating nature of disdain and admiration for Asian Americans demonstrates the precarious nature of their proximity to whiteness and helps set precedent for the events that begin to unfold in late 2019.

In December 2019, a cluster of unexplained pneumonia cases begin to arise in connection to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China[ix]. By December 31st, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted, and on January 2nd, 2020 a new coronavirus is identified, with genetic similarities to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Prior to its official naming as SARS-CoV-2, the virus is initially labeled the Wuhan Virus. In scientific communities this is common practice (e.g., 1918 Spanish Influenza, 1968 Hong Kong Flu, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, etc.). But the decision makes the virus synonymous with China, and, in turn, Chinese people. As research is performed on the virus’ origins, genetic analysis speculates the virus was a product of zoonosis (i.e., animal-to-human transmission)[x]. Further research suggests that virus originated in bats, then evolved to infected pangolins, who in turn served as intermediate vectors who transmitted the virus to humans[xi]. This is an additional parallel to the SARS outbreak in 2002–2003 where animal-to-human transmission arose from human proximity to civets in wet markets.

While wet markets are not exclusive to east Asia and can be found across the globe[xii], the public narrative on the virus became one of poor hygiene, barbarianism, and intentional evil doing by attendees at Chinese wet markets. Many celebrities and social media influencers proceeded to use their platforms to spread racist and misinformed remarks. Musician Bryan Adams notoriously tweeted “some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards” (Adams 2020) were responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic[xiii][xiv]. Conservative political pundits extended the racist tropes further to encompass political leanings. Fox News host Jesse Walters remarked “Let me tell you why it happened in China: They have these markets where they were eating raw bats and snakes. They are a very hungry people. The Chinese communist government cannot feed the people, and they are desperate. The food is uncooked, it is unsafe, and that is why scientists believe that’s where it originated from” (Walters 2020)[xv]. While epidemiological literature will make abundantly clear that zoonosis can occur from human contact with animals through a variety of mechanisms, not limited to gastrointestinal routes, the story of the “barbaric Chinese” eating raw, live animals took hold. This narrative stands in direct contrast to western coverage of zoonosis-based outbreaks, where Salmonella and E. Coli outbreaks are often depicted as the result of poor manufacturer cleaning protocols rather than American or European consumption of live animals or Nordic “barbarianism.”

The fixation on the pandemic’s origins in China took a stronger foothold in the American national government. On April 30th, 2020 President Trump associated the virus’ origins with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, arguing that it was the product of the Chinese government’s desire to expand its biohazard weaponry. President Trump anchored these claims on the fact that the lab contains samples of other lethal viruses, including Ebola, Nipah, and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever viruses[xvi]. Trump fails to acknowledge that virology labs in every nation contain samples of dangerous viruses, thereby demonstrating his fixation with vilifying China and Chinese citizens. When asked to provide evidence for these claims President Trump rebutted “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that” (Trump 2020)[xvii]. Trump’s remarks have been further enforced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national intelligence officials. All of whom begin to reference SARS-CoV-2 as the “China virus”, “Wuhan virus”, and “kung flu”, the latter of which emphasizes Western society’s interchangeability of east Asia with martial arts. The racist dialogue around the virus presented by the national government expands the bigoted narrative toward Chinese people from being unsanitary people to also being guilty of intentionally harming citizens the Western hemisphere.

Liberal leaning media outlets are no better, and associate the virus with Asian people. As the first cases of the virus begin to arise in America in mid-January 2020, news outlets fixated on the first patients’ ethnic backgrounds and travel patterns. On January 21, 2020 Washington state identifies the first American case of COVID-19, emphasizing that the case originated in an Asian man who had recently travel around Wuhan, China[xviii]. Massachusetts follows soon by stressing that the first reported case in the state was the product of a Chinese American man recently coming back from traveling to Wuhan, China.

The fixation on the virus’ connection to Chinese travelers, and East Asian travelers more broadly, was soon followed by an uptick in verbal and physical violence toward Asian and Asian American people. The Network Contagion Research Institute, an organization that monitors and studies the virulence of hate speech and misinformation campaigns online, confirmed that the pandemic had resulted in a rise in anti-Asian hate speech. A recent study by the organization found that in February 2020, the online bulletin 4Chan saw a sharp rise in anti-Asian posts while slurs toward other racial minority groups decreased or flatlined[xix]. This trend was followed by similar patterns on Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram where users wrote statuses supporting the shooting and killing of Asian people because it was the only way to end the virus[xx]. Another report, in October 2020, by the Anti-Defamation League found that in the 12 hours after President Trump announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19, the rate of language linked to anti-Asian hostility rose on Twitter by nearly 85%[xxi]. In that same period, there was a 41% increase in the rate of discussion of COVID-19 related conspiracy theories. Similar spikes in hate speech have been observed online whenever the President has publicly labeled the virus as the “China plague” or responded to the rising U.S. death toll as “China’s fault”[xxii].

The surge in hate speech was soon coupled with a rise in physical violence. In February 2020, a Chinese American high school student in Los Angeles was spat on and punched repeatedly in the face after a classmate accused him of bringing COVID-19 to America[xxiii]. The child ended up having to go to the emergency room. On March 10th, 2020, a Korean American woman was physically assaulted in Midtown Manhattan and accused of coming to America to spread COVID-19[xxiv]. On March 14th, an assailant stabbed 3 members of a family of Myanmar immigrants living in Midland, Texas. The victims included a 2-year-old and 6-year-old child. The assailant said he feared they were trying to spread the virus in America[xxv]. On April 5th, 2020, an Asian woman in Brooklyn was doused in acid by a man because he feared she was carrying the COVID-19 virus[xxvi]. The attack left her with second degree burns. In April 2020, a group of teenage girls in NYC were charged with hate crimes after physically assaulting a 51-year-old Asian woman on an MTA bus, calling her racist slurs, and blaming her for the start of the pandemic[xxvii]. But these anecdotes are representative of a larger trend. In March 19th, 2020, the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON), a coalition of organizations representing over 1.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in LA county, created a reporting hotline after the state’s attorney general chose not to track trends in anti-Asian hate crimes in the aftermath of COVID-19. Within two weeks of going live the hotline had received over 700 complaints. As of August 2020, that number has risen to 2,600 incidents[xxviii].

The surge in anti-Asian violence stands in direct contrast to the response toward other racial groups involved in the spread of the pandemic. On March 3rd, 2020 New York reported its second case of COVID-19 in a non-Asian man who lived New Rochelle, NY and worked in a law firm within One Grand Central Place in Midtown Manhattan[xxix]. Within 24 hours of his diagnoses 11 new cases were connected to this individual. By March 6th, the number of cases tied to this patient had risen to 33. While he may not have formally been the very first case, he is often recognized as New York’s “patient zero.” By March 31st, 2020, the greater NYC area had surpassed the caseload in Wuhan, China and became the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic with 83,712 cases[xxx]. And yet, despite the first cluster of cases in the U.S. originating in a non-Asian patient, media coverage shifted away from the case’s travel destinations and ethnic origins and instead prioritized coverage of statewide public health initiatives. The transition from identifying a scapegoat to prioritizing prevention efforts signaled Western’s society discomfort with finger pointing when the target no longer aligned with a white supremacist narrative. Similarly, rates of hate speech and violence toward white people and European ethnic minorities has seen minimal to no increase in recent months despite the largest outbreak in the United States being primarily attributed to white people.

As of February 11th, 2021, COVID-19, the disease attributed to SARS-CoV-2, has infected 107,458,667 people across the globe and claimed the lives of 2,357,475, making it the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish Flu[xxxi]. America tops the list of national caseloads with 27,539,217 cases and 473,223 deaths[xxxii]. Since March 2020, the number of cases in China has risen by 10%. Meanwhile the number of cases in the U.S. has increased by 27,000%. East Asian countries report some of the lowest caseloads globally, while the United States, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are all part of the top 10 nations with the highest caseloads across the globe. These trends indicate that despite the geographical origins of the virus, the super-spreaders that have accelerated the growth of the pandemic have been mainly white, European people, further suggesting that negative perceptions of Asian and Asian American people are rooted in racism and white supremacy.

The rapid decline in the prestige and privilege provided to Asian and Asian American people over the past 12 months demonstrates the fragility of the model minority myth. Celebrated identities as family oriented, high achieving, and hardworking people is almost instantaneously erased the moment white people perceive them as a threat. Past professional achievements, scholarly successes, and capitalist innovations fail to serve as currency to restore their status as model minorities. The vast violence inflicted upon Asian people across the globe this year, despite the virus’ origins in a very specific city, further entrenches the reality that entire communities are held accountable for the actions of a finite group of people — a standard to which white people are never held. Recognizing the frailty and toxicity of the model minority myth is essential to dismantling white supremacy because it helps unravel the illusion that any marginalized people of color win in a game controlled by whiteness.

[i] Sullivan, A. (2017, April 14). Why Do Democrats Feel Sorry for Hillary Clinton? Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/04/why-do-democrats-feel-sorry-for-hillary-clinton.html

[ii] Wu, E. D. (2015). Chinatown Offers Us a Lesson. In The color of success: Asian Americans and the origins of the model minority (pp. 181–209). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[iii] Wu, E. D. (2015). Chinatown Offers Us a Lesson. In The color of success: Asian Americans and the origins of the model minority (pp. 181–209). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[iv] Pettersen, W. (1966, January 9). Success Story, Japanese-American Style. New York Times, pp. 37–43.

[v] Oh, A. H. (2012). From War Waif to Ideal Immigrant: The Cold War Transformation of the Korean Orphan. Journal of American Ethnic History, 31(4), 34. doi:10.5406/jamerethnhist.31.4.0034

[vi] Lee, E. (2021). The Chinese are No More. In America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the united states (pp. 75–113). New York, NY: Basic Books.

[vii] Lee, E. (2021). The Chinese are No More. In America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the united states (pp. 75–113). New York, NY: Basic Books.

[viii] (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/chinese-exclusion-act-repeal

[ix] Hui, D. S., Azhar, E. I., Madani, T. A., Ntoumi, F., Kock, R., Dar, O., . . . Petersen, E. (2020). The continuing 2019-nCoV epidemic threat of novel coronaviruses to global health — The latest 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 91, 264–266. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.01.009

[x] Promed Post — ProMED-mail. (2019, November 26). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://promedmail.org/promed-post/?id=6866757

[xi] Wong, M. C., Cregeen, S. J., Ajami, N. J., & Petrosino, J. F. (2020). Evidence of recombination in coronaviruses implicating pangolin origins of nCoV-2019. doi:10.1101/2020.02.07.939207

[xii] Standaert, M. (2020, April 15). ‘Mixed with prejudice’: Calls for ban on ‘wet’ markets misguided, experts argue. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/15/mixed-with-prejudice-calls-for-ban-on-wet-markets-misguided-experts-argue-coronavirus

[xiii] Adams, B. [@bryanadams]. (2020, May 11). Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CADYjsonDVJ/?utm_source=ig_embed

[xiv] Kappler, M. (2020, August 15). Blaming COVID-19 On ‘Bat Eating’ And Wet Markets Is Racist. Here’s Why. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/wet-market-coronavirus-racist_ca_5ebad4bec5b6dd02e421a876

[xv] Rozsa, M. (2020, March 04). Fox News host claims coronavirus outbreak was caused by Chinese people “eating raw bats and snakes”. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.salon.com/2020/03/03/fox-news-host-claims-coronavirus-outbreak-was-caused-by-chinese-people-eating-raw-bats-and-snakes/

[xvi] Frayer, J., & Chow, D. (2020, August 11). Inside the Chinese lab central to the search for the coronavirus’ origin. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/inside-wuhan-lab-center-coronavirus-storm-n1236254

[xvii] Frayer, J., & Chow, D. (2020, August 11). Inside the Chinese lab central to the search for the coronavirus’ origin. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/inside-wuhan-lab-center-coronavirus-storm-n1236254

[xviii] Rabin, R. (2020, January 21). First Patient With Wuhan Coronavirus Is Identified in the U.S. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/health/cdc-coronavirus.html

[xix] Asmelash, L. (2020, April 10). With the spread of coronavirus came a surge in anti-Asian racism online, new research says. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/us/sinophobic-racism-rise-coronavirus-research-trnd/index.html

[xx] Asmelash, L. (2020, April 10). With the spread of coronavirus came a surge in anti-Asian racism online, new research says. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/us/sinophobic-racism-rise-coronavirus-research-trnd/index.html

[xxi] At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism: Part 3. (2020, October 08). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.adl.org/blog/at-the-extremes-the-2020-election-and-american-extremism-part-3

[xxii] At the Extremes: The 2020 Election and American Extremism: Part 3. (2020, October 08). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.adl.org/blog/at-the-extremes-the-2020-election-and-american-extremism-part-3

[xxiii] Sten, P. (2020, September 06). America’s long history of scapegoating its Asian citizens. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/09/asian-american-racism-covid/

[xxiv] Person. (2020, March 11). ‘Where’s your (expletive) mask?’: Asian woman attacked in Manhattan hate crime. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://abc7ny.com/assault-hate-crime-bias-attack-coronavirus/6003396/

[xxv] Aziz, S. (2020, April 16). Anti-Asian racism must be stopped before it is normalised. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/4/16/anti-asian-racism-must-be-stopped-before-it-is-normalised

[xxvi] Moore, T., & Cassady, D. (2020, April 07). Brooklyn woman burned outside home in possible acid attack. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://nypost.com/2020/04/06/brooklyn-woman-burned-outside-home-in-possible-acid-attack/

[xxvii] Andrew, S., & Romine, T. (2020, April 06). Teens were charged with hate crimes for attacking a woman and saying she caused coronavirus, NYPD says. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/06/us/teens-attack-woman-caused-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

[xxviii] Sten, P. (2020, September 06). America’s long history of scapegoating its Asian citizens. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/09/asian-american-racism-covid/

[xxix] Bendix, A. (2020, March 06). At least 28 coronavirus cases in New York are linked to one man — a 50-year-old attorney who works near Grand Central Terminal. Here’s what we know. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-second-coronavirus-case-attorney-law-firm-grand-central-2020-3?r=US

[xxx] COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state). (2020, December 14). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_New_York_(state)

[xxxi] COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory. (2020, December 16). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_by_country_and_territory

[xxxii] COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory. (2020, December 16). Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_by_country_and_territory