*Content Warning* This episode contains explicit descriptions of racist language and acts.
Since the outbreak of Coronavirus, there has been a marked increase in overt racism toward Asian people in Australia. The perception of Coronavirus as a 'Chinese virus' has led to physical attacks, verbal abuse and racial slurs graffitied onto streets and homes.
Contagious disease causes us a great deal of fear and can easily arouse suspicion towards others. This is multiplied when we perceive that threat as coming from 'outside' of what we consider our 'group'.
Of course by the end of March it was more likely that you would catch Covid-19 from a Spanish or Italian visitor, and you were twice as likely to catch it from an American than someone from China, but that didn't stop the racial vilification.
Why? Because race had already become a signifier for disease in this crisis, and that idea stuck. The idea that disease belongs to the 'Other' is not only persistent but also provides a convenient scapegoat for irresponsible governments and frightened populations. Turns out this sort of thing has a long long history.
This week Mell and Ben (and UK correspondent Ben Man) talk about the history of associating disease with 'Otherness', all over the world. More specifically we discuss the history of Chinese immigrants being associated with disease in Australia.
Look after each other everyone.
Mell and Ben