At first, I was going to do a remix video about Asian discrimination and the true origin of COVID-19. But the more I researched, the more I felt enraged. I wanted to just shout to the world.
Thus, this PSA was born.
Since mid-March, more than 1,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents have been reported. Many of the assailants, according to the news, have claimed that Asians are bringing the coronavirus and need to go away. On YouTube, there are videos of two women getting spat on, an elderly man in San Francisco getting harrassed after his neighbors stole his groceries, and a man ranting on the subway about how “Everything bad comes from China.”
But to get original videos of these attacks, I had to turn to Twitter. There is where I found videos of a man pouring acid on a woman’s neck, and another man beating up an Asian woman wearing a face mask in a subway station. Both of these videos occurred in New York, where there are more than 300,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
These attacks have especially been on the rise in the U.S. since President Trump started calling the coronavirus “the Chinese virus.” A photo of his speech, on which he crossed out “coronavirus” and replaced it with “China,” has gone viral on Twitter.
When confronted by an ABC reporter about why he insists on calling the coronavirus “the Chinese virus,” President Trump merely replied: “It’s not racist at all. It comes from China.”
In response to the callousness of this press conference, I found multiple news reports and YouTuber commentaries that pushed against Trump’s dismissal. NBC gathered a group of Asian adults who have experienced blatant discrimination and call for kindness and empathy, while on the National Film Society channel, Patrick Epino emphasized how much the words of an authority figure matter.
Even Asian youth have been standing against this discrimination. A high schooler documented how Asian discrimination infected her school (when schools were still open), and another young teen posted a campaign video, urging people to speak up. People all over Tik Tok and Twitter are posting videos of them washing their hands, calling on people to #WashTheHate.
When I came upon these videos advocating for change, I was inspired to contribute something to this advocacy pool. So, I sent texts to multiple Asian people I knew and asked them to film themselves (and their family, if possible) saying one simple phrase: “We are not a virus.”
(Some of my friends and family even agreed to say it in their native language! Which was so cool!!!)
It was important for me to show the faces of Asian people in my life because I wanted to emphasize that this issue is hitting close to home. It might even hit closer to home for many of the students in our class!
And that’s why I chose to take this stance: “We, the Asian community, are NOT a virus!”
List of videos and audio used
NOTE: The original Tweet of the girl saying “I urge you to speak up” was deleted! 
ABC News, “Asians facing discrimination, violence amid coronavirus outbreak” and “Asian Americans face discrimination in the wake of coronavirus“
National Film Society, “Don’t Be Racist: Vincent Chin and Why You Should NOT Call Coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus’“
Headlines:
- Vox, “Wuhan pneumonia outbreak: What we know and don’t know“
- Live Science, “1st known case of coronavirus traced back to November in China“
- Al Jazeera, “Alarms raised in China as pneumonia outbreak infects dozens“
NowThis News, “Sisters Attacked in Anti-Asian, Coronavirus-Fueled Incident in Australia” and “Asian Man Attacked in San Francisco in Possible Hate Crime“
New York Post, “Brooklyn woman burned outside home in possible acid attack“
NBC News, “Anti-Asian Attacks Surge Since The Start Of The COVID-19 Outbreak“
Twitter, Tony He’s status of a woman hit at a subway station
TODAY, “Threats Against Asian Americans Are On The Rise Amid Coronavirus Crisis“
New York Times, “How coronavirus racism infected my high school“
Tik Tok, Traci Lee’s #WashTheHate and Joy Cluff’s #WashTheHate
Rafael Krux, “Moments of Tension” and “Inspiring Emotions“
Girl Meets The World of Media 