This article is authorized to reprint from the public number feifeima-uk , author: Feifei Ma, from the cover: vision China
At a time when life and death are at stake, there are not many people in the world who “educate” more powerful than “instinct.”
When the shadow of death is shrouded, bad behavior and evil behavior are often the flowers of fear; and extreme fear will alienate extreme evil behavior.
01
In addition to the new crown virus infection, my father who is far from home has one more worry about me in the UK.
My dad sent me a message on WeChat:
“I saw a lot of news. The Chinese were severely discriminated against and beaten because of the epidemic overseas. I am very worried. You have to be careful during this time. Don’t go out.”
I understand his concerns. But to be honest, not only have I never met here, but I also gained a special warm heart.
Remember that on the first day of the Chinese New Year, I opened the door to collect the parcels, and the British uncle who often delivered parcels to our area came to me as soon as they met: Happy Chinese New Year!
I was pleasantly surprised that he was so kind, and I happily wished him back. Then, I was even more surprised that he mentioned to me the coronavirus, the coronavirus.
He said, hope it ends sooner, good luck!
I have reduced going out these days, but the supermarket still buys food as usual, everything is no different.
I didn’t feel anything strange.
Just, though I myselfAnd most of my friends I know, no one has personally experienced conflict and discrimination, but the British authoritative mainstream media BBC and FT did report on related topics.
In the comprehensive report of FT 中文 网, we have even seen that discriminatory acts against Chinese and even ethnic groups in East and Southeast Asia have occurred in many countries.
In the past two days, a 23-year-old Chinese girl was attacked on the street in Sheffield, England. Chinese circles “swipe the screen.”
On February 3, the British TV channel Channel 4 broadcast this news:
Sylvia, a Chinese girl who has lived in the UK for six years, got out of the subway on Saturday and was told by a white man: I hope you did not bring the virus from China.
After walking out of the subway station, the white man still faced the girls with a very impolite finger gesture across the street.
Sylvia said that she was very upset, and before that, she always thought she was very popular with local friends. Now she even wonders if the “friendliness” of the past are an illusion.
In the news, she said that after exchanging insults with some friends, some friends also had similar reactions.
And Channel 4’s freelancer journalist, Hong Kong girl Jessie Lau, has been collecting news on this topic on social media these days. She said she received 100 messages in just two days.
One example is when a Chinese was about to reach for the escalator while riding the subway, but was beaten by someone nearby, pointing to a new crown virus.
More Chinese say they have been snarled and even spit.
With regard to targeted behaviors that are unfriendly or even aggressive towards Chinese in the United Kingdom and around the world, the “International Fan Plus” WeChat public account has a very detailed description, which can be read here: “BBC Focusing Overseas Chinese Discrimination and bullying due to epidemic situation, British media solicited discrimination clues and spread! “ (Author: Lihong, autumn tree) .
02
I did not expect that one day, “whether Chinese can wear a mask to go out in the UK” will become a topic that everyone is worried about and hotly debated.
After the above cases were reported and fermented in professional and self-media, many overseas Chinese worry more: they are afraid of being discriminated against and attacked.
While in the UK, I never expected that one day, “Can Chinese people wear masks to go out in the UK?”Worried, hot topic.
This topic, in this context, is very “typical” because it reflects the two major conflicts and concerns of overseas Chinese today:
1. Conflicts between humans and viruses, Chinese people worry about their health and safety, and “wearing a mask” is a protection for self and others;
2. The conflict between people has caused conflicts of behaviors due to the conflict of different “mask cultures”. In the end, Chinese who want to wear a mask to go out on the street are worried about being sidelined, discriminated against, or even beaten.
Actually, there are only two patients diagnosed in the UK right now. (a Chinese student who recently came to China from China and his family members) , UK The Minister of Health also announced two days ago that the probability of infection with the new crown virus in the UK is still low, but the entire British people, including the Chinese, are increasingly panic about the new virus.
In fact, it’s not just the UK, it’s the world. Koreans even went to petition.
Why?
First, because of the attention of the media in various countries, each media is reporting intensively.
Of course the report is correct, but the intensive report did raise public panic on the objective result.
On February 1, the New York Times published a report with such a headline: “Experts say that Wuhan New Crown virus infection is becoming more and more like a global plague.”
It is reported that according to the opinions of many top global infectious disease experts, the new crown virus infection from Wuhan, China may now become a global plague.
Ah, this news is still very frightening.
Regardless of the advantages and disadvantages of right and wrong, from the perspective of communication, media reports will greatly affect people’s perception and emotions.
Leaving aside the content itself, the overly intensive reporting volume itself is sending a message to the public: this matter is very serious, very serious.
Even throughout the United States, as of February 4, the total number of people infected with the new crown virus was 11 and none died and none were in critical condition.
This data, objectively speaking, is far from being comparable to the severity of more than 13 million people infected with the flu virus and more than 10,000 people who died of the flu virus this winter in the United States.
But not many people on the planet are extremely frightened by the equally infectious flu virus that has caused many deaths.
The reasons are multiple-
Unknown, new viruses, and contagiousness are of course the key reasons; but the focus and reporting intensity of international media are probably another important reason.
In addition to the above, it has contributed to the global panic, and there have been strong reactions from countries after the outbreak.
Withdrawal of overseas Chinese from the United States, Japan, Britain, France and other countries, dozens of countries have set immigration controls on Chinese people, which are all “fuel boosters” for global panic.
The “extreme ban” of the US government has particularly contributed to the international spread of this panic.
According to data from the National Migration Administration, as of February 2, as many as 71 countries have implemented different degrees of immigration control on Chinese.
In such a situation, there will inevitably be conflicts and discrimination caused by “excessive panic”, and it also gives those who are already dissatisfied or even hostile with an opportunity to “use the subject”.
At this moment, “whether you can wear a mask to go out on the street” has become a dilemma for overseas Chinese.
03
Whether or not to wear a mask? Each has its own risks. Like an awkward life.
Both masks, whether worn or not, have their own risks to bear.
Left hard
Exit the street without a mask, increasing the chance of getting a virus.
At the moment, in addition to the risk of new crown virus, January to February is also the “peak of influenza infection” every year.
Don’t forget the US influenza infection and death data I mentioned earlier. This data was even more severe during the 2017-18 flu season, with as many as 61,000 Americans dying from the flu in that season.
I ’m in the UK, according to the BBC:
The number of people infected with the influenza virus each year is also millions or even 10 million, accounting for 10-20% of the total population;
The average number of deaths due to influenza virus infection is about 600 per year;
In the winter of 2013-14, as many as 13,000 people died from the flu.
The transmission path and protection of influenza virus are similar to the new crown virus. Subway, buses, shopping malls and other crowded places are all high-risk areas.
Nevertheless, Britain, France, the United States, and other Western European countries have no “culture” wearing masks. Even in France and the United Kingdom, health authorities have explicitly discouraged people without symptoms from wearing masks.
Just say that this outbreak is different from our country’s advocacy of wearing masks by all people to protect themselves and prevent the spread of others:
The French Ministry of Health only recommends wearing masks for people with suspected symptoms and a history of travel in Asia. They also said that it is not necessary for healthy people to wear masks to prevent the virus.
In the UK, according to the BBC, the Minister of Health Hancock also made it clear that ordinary people are not recommended to wear masks. What they recommend is to wash your hands and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze, just as you do with the flu virus.
So, under this “mask culture”:
Right to the right
Wearing a mask when going out of the street poses a potential “conflict” risk to yourself.
For example, you may be considered to have suspected symptoms, and you will be led to further questions. Why do you go out and make a “walking virus seeder” now that you have symptoms?
Not to mention that people with low quality can use this as an opportunity to deliberately criticize, insult, and even launch a personal attack on the Chinese.
Right now, the “new crown virus” is like a nightmare. With the intensive global media information bombarding “deep into the hearts of the people”, people ’s fear of the unknown new virus is deeper and less understood. When you encounter Asian faces, you go out wearing a mask. It is inevitable that there will be related associations, panic and hostility.
According to media reports, in Sheffield, UK, Chinese girls who were beaten for wearing masks are being questioned:
Why do you wear a mask?
Unfortunately, the girl didn’t answer because of panic and was chased after.
When the two parties confront each other, as long as one of them thinks that the other party has constituted a danger / threat to themselves—such as the other party is carrying an infectious virus, such as the other party is hostile to itself, such as the Chinese are considered a “yellow calamity” and endanger their own nation Conflicts of interest may detonate at any time.
Understanding and reaching consensus require full communication. But communication at various levels (such as media-level propaganda reports, folk information interaction and communication) When it is not enough, wear a mask to go out, It became an act that required a certain risk of conflict.
I saw a group of friends persistently asking everyone in the group:
Whether to wear it or not?
I can’t help but sigh.
This is a choice that I can’t give advice to; it’s also a choice that I never thought I would have to face one day.
Maybe this kind of “absurdity” that I think is the inevitable thing in life sooner or later.
04
A little reflection: Is it also rude to “package” all conflicts without discrimination with a “racist” label?
Because of the recent series of incidents targeting Chinese people, various emotions in the community have also risen.
The more emotions drive traffic, the more the media chases emotions.
But I can’t help thinking:
Under these circumstances, is it the best way to deal with intense emotions and anger?
It is particularly worth asking whether it would be too one-sided and extreme to “package” all conflicts indiscriminately with a “racist” label? Is this also rough?
The heart is better than the heart. Some conflicts may not be related to racial discrimination. It is more due to people’s fear of the virus itself.
Here is a history I read from the BBC in the past two days.
Hundreds of years ago, when the Black Death swept across Europe, many people were infected in a village called Im in the UK. In order not to spread the virus to the outside world, the villagers made a very strong decision. The entire village was surrounded by stones and voluntarily isolated from the outside.
Some people blockade and isolate themselves, and some want to flee.
A woman fled the village of Im and later went to the nearby village of Tedswil. As a result, when the locals discovered that she actually came from the “Plague Village” Yim Village, they threw mud, food, and snarled at her: the plague! plague!
The American drama “Deadly Woman”, which was broadcast some time ago, everyone still remembers Bill who was suffering from AIDS. He was discriminated and expelled collectively by residents of the town, throwing eggs and tomatoes. Such details are not from screenwriters, but from living reality.
Let ’s look back at the world from the international. After the outbreak in Wuhan, how many of our people scold Wuhan and Hubei on Weibo?
They are also Chinese, drinking a river of water and speaking the same language. In any case, it has nothing to do with “racism”.
Instead of territorial discrimination between people in different regions, it is better to say “virus discrimination” and the fear of death.
The following comment, although sharp, tells some of the truth about human nature:
The fear of life and the fear of death are probably the life instincts of the human species.
At a time when life and death are at stake, there are not many people in the world who “educate” more powerful than “instinct.”
Many times, the difference in what we think of as “education” may not come from the difference between “morality and morality”, but the difference between “knowledge and judgment”-
Some people can tell that the present is not a deadly threat. For example, in the United Kingdom at this time, the risk of infection with the new crown virus is actually very low;
Some people lack such judgment, it may be due to the limitation of knowledge or the limitation of congenital character.
Those who wrongly amplify risk are naturally more likely to panic and overreact.
Fear actually makes everyone psychologically vulnerable.
A healthy person meets what he considers to be a “carrier of the virus.” Do you think the vulnerable person is the patient? No. The really psychologically disadvantaged is actually the healthy onepeople.
A person who is psychologically in a disadvantaged position will protect or conceal his or her disadvantaged position in order to protect himself.
Under the shadow of death, bad behavior and evil behavior are often the flowers of fear; extreme fear can alienate extreme evil behavior.
We have to admit that human nature is complex and faint: some people are noble and upright and willing to sacrifice; others are fragile and fearful, and only seek self-protection when they are in distress; and some people may even beg to others for their own protection Butcher knife.
All of these are not “formatting” in a simple sentence of “racism”.
For example, the French mother who hurriedly took her child to the car next door because there was a Chinese wearing a mask in the carriage. I personally would be more willing to understand her fears and worries, instead of waving high against “racism” “Big banner, go to discuss and protest.
For example, if someone really asks me if I am sick because I am wearing a mask on the street, I will not jump up and blame the other party for “discriminating Chinese people”, and I would rather understand that he is a guard against viruses.
All of these, I think:
It is different from those racist mischief that deliberately pours dirty water on the Chinese and insults Chinese culture.
For example, Joseph Saladino, the mayor of Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, and a former member of the Ninth District of the New York Parliament, he tweeted a series of insidious tweets saying:
“China needs to relax with bat soup”
“Chinese culture seems to include eating raw and disgusting animals and bugs”
…
This kind of people, taking advantage of the outbreak of the new crown virus epidemic, seized a part of Chinese people ’s bizarre preferences for game, and arrogantly attacked and slandered the entire Chinese food culture-it seems that the Chinese people ’s eating habits are very unhygienic, Uncivilization-such inferior behavior is really very indignant, and it should be severely protested and condemned.
This deliberate wipingBlack clowns with narrow racial discrimination and cultural prejudice are truly “uncivilized” and “unsanitary”.
Think again of the Tower of Babel in the Bible. Similar plots, go on and on and on, I do not know how long it will take.
Fortunately, communication, understanding, kindness, and generosity are by no means a wishful thinking “utopia.”
Just yesterday, Britain just announced that it has donated 20 million pounds to accelerate the development of this new crown virus vaccine.
The previous two days, in the relevant push of the “International Fan Plus” WeChat account, also cited as an example:
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau appeared at the Chinese New Year celebration, shaking hands with the Chinese present and hugging, eating at the same table. He called on Canadians to pay attention to unity.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has criticized “exclusion” as foolish and illogical.
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also called on netizens not to believe the rumors that hurt the Chinese.
South Korea’s “Central Daily” also published a paper criticizing the unreasonable exclusion of the Chinese.
…
To support China ’s fight against the epidemic, buildings such as Times Square in New York, the tallest building in downtown Toronto, and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in Dubai, have been printed.
A fair and diverse perspective, looking at more comprehensive and balanced facts, thinking in more places, thinking about the bigger picture, being more considerate, and more kind. This is good for unity and is in the common interest of mankind. Although, it is really difficult to do this.
Finally, share a very touching “letter to parents” from a school in the United States:
Everyone will get sick, so don’t isolate the Chinese and anyone you think has a relationship with China;
Don’t discriminate against the sick, because it will make the sick feel ashamed of their illness, which may conceal the illness and not protect others.
We protect against viruses, not Chinese.
The more times we are in danger, the more humans need to be calm, rational, human, and united.
This article is reprinted with permission feifeima- uk) , Feifei: Shanghai-London, formerly the founder and general manager of the British subsidiary of the famous cultural state-owned enterprise , UK Chief Representative, Sino-British Film Festival, LinkedIn columnist, British FT Chinese network special contribution, etc. WeChat account non-Malaysia FM focus on female growth.