In early February 2020, I witnessed a Chinese American woman get assaulted and spat on by a complete stranger in the middle of the day in downtown Chicago. She told me and some other bystanders who intervened that she had been attacked because the assailant blamed her for the coronavirus. The experience shocked us both, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. For many people of Chinese descent in the United States, along with those of many other ethnicities who “look Chinese” by the standards of mainstream American culture, the news of a dangerous new coronavirus emerging in China quickly led to fears of an increase in racism and racist acts.
What America’s Fear of China Really Says About Us (newamerica.org)
