Corona Virus and The Blame Game

Unless you live under a rock on an uncharted island, you’ve heard of the corona virus, COVID-19. You might also know or suspect The Blame Game is alive and well in the virus’s wake. The former has created quite the global stir while the latter is a knee-jerk reaction to it. I’ve seen evidence of both in my own corner of the world lately.

Corona Virus Unmasked

I went in search of dust masks at Home Depot because I’m spackling and sanding walls at home. They were wiped out. All I found were bare shelves where dust masks should be and a handwritten sign stating “Limit 10 per customer”. When I checked with HD staff, they confirmed the corona virus mask frenzy extended to dust masks in home improvement stores.

Really!? Dust masks. Huh. So, of course, I had to check other stores in the area because now I’m just curious. Walmart, Target, Meijer, CVS, Walgreens, Giant Eagle, Kroger. None had face masks of any kind in stock. The rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizers, and Lysol all looked like they’d also taken a hit. And then I found out all too soon that hits were being aimed at people. East Asians, to be exact.

The Blame Game

I began hearing stories in the news of bad behavior aimed at East Asian people. Taunts or name-calling. In some instances, even physical bullying or violence. Or the avoidance of any person of East Asian descent. Empty Asian restaurants or other places of business run by Asian proprietors. Xenophobia in full swing. The Blame Game is on.

Then it came closer to home. I talked with Asian friends who personally experienced this mistreatment or who were afraid to leave their homes because they didn’t want to experience it.

I’m not going to lie and say that a virus with a two week incubation period during which the infected person is both asymptomatic and contagious isn’t scary. The climbing infection rate and death toll are alarming. This is no small thing. We shouldn’t take it lightly, and we should exercise caution.

But exercising caution is one thing. Allowing our fear to take over is another thing altogether. It is this fear that blossoms into the ugly anger that’s been pointing the finger of blame at Asians.

Shouldn’t Asians Take The Blame for the Corona Virus?

This virus started in East Asia. In Wuhan, China, to be exact. So shouldn’t we be blaming them for starting this whole, scary mess?! Ok, let’s say we blame them. Now what? What have we accomplished? What positive thing comes from this exercise in futility? Besides, they’re getting sick and dying by the thousands in China. Haven’t they suffered enough?

In his book “Stop Doing That Sh*t”, Gary John Bishop has a thought-provoking quote: “Ultimately, who is to blame solves nothing. All it does is explain and keep you stuck.” Let me say that a little louder:

“Ultimately, who is to blame solves nothing. All it does is explain and keep you stuck”

So do we stay stuck? Do we keep exhibiting bad behavior and pointing fingers because we’re scared and angry? Like Mr. Bishop’s book title says, we need to “Stop Doing that Sh*t”! Why not educate ourselves on the facts of this virus and how to keep ourselves safe instead of running scared in ignorance? How about we put away our pointing fingers, band together, and figure a way out of this mess? Strength in numbers and all that. We’re all in this together, after all.

Maybe we can’t come up with the vaccine for this virus. That’s up to the scientists. Maybe we can’t heal those already sick. That’s up to the medical community. But we can raise money for medical supplies. Volunteer at an organization packing medical supplies. Start a blog and write a piece reminding people to be their better selves. Right. Check that box. At the very least, we can be decent to one another, show compassion, and lend a helping hand.

Jeff Coombs gets it. He has a Go Fund Me page and is raising $50,000 for medical supplies to aid medical workers in Wuhan. Wuhan native and Pittsburgh, PA resident, Dr. Xiaoming Li, says that helping Wuhan is helping the world. Accordingly, the Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, The Pittsburgh Hubei Fellow Association, and the Pittsburgh chapter of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology have launched a Go Fund Me page. They are collecting money for medical supplies for Wuhan (as of this posting, however, the organizers have disabled donations to this page which has collected $58, 888). Charity Navigator can help you find any number of organizations providing financial support and/or medical supplies to communities affected by the coronavirus. Check out Heart to Heart and learn what they are doing and how you can get involved in the relief effort.

How we decide to respond to this crisis is up to each of us. I know one thing, though, we’ve already got a coronavirus out there that spreads too quickly. Do we really need blame going viral also?