Editor,
Our family has watched with horror as racist acts against Asian Americans, some violent (including a knife attack in Texas seriously injuring several small children), have increased dramatically. While our President initially insisted on calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus,” this has since changed and, to his credit, he has made it very clear discrimination and acts of violence toward Asians or Asian Americans is unacceptable.
There are more than 20 million Asian Americans. While some may have come to the United States recently, most have been here their entire lives, usually for generations. They are no more responsible or likely to spread the coronavirus than you or anyone else in this country. They fight in our wars, serve as police, firefighters, and first responders, teach our children, and work as doctors, nurses, technicians, and researchers helping us fight this pandemic.
If you encounter an Asian American in a grocery store, Walmart, or anywhere, please treat them as kindly and respectfully as you would anyone else. If you are concerned about the coronavirus and don’t want to get it or transmit it to your family, please do as we have done and follow the recommendations and guidance provided by the CDC and State and local Health Departments.
Rick and Karen Watson
Dryfork, WV
