Chinnophobia spreads faster than coronavirus
The Chinese community has been installed in our country and around the world for years and they continue to arouse certain misgivings. Now more, because the fact that the first news we had of the coronavirus was in China has made the chinophobia spread faster than the virus itself . The Chinese are in the spotlight and, although it is not something new, we are concerned that tempers will rise to the point of endangering part of their population. Are you scared of the Chinese ? We explain everything about chinophobia .
What is chinophobia
Chinophobia is the fear of the Chinese . Although more than fear, we could speak of rejection and, therefore, it is a phobia that is more in the field of sociology than in that of psychology. In the style of aporophobia or fear of the poor , chinophobia is a social problem that every day becomes more dangerous combined with racism and xenophobia .
Today the Chinese are in an even more difficult situation. Because they have always raised certain suspicions in our society and now with an alarming terror towards the coronavirus , which began precisely in China, chinophobia is on the rise. The Chinese food restaurants and shops for everything that we have used so much have seen their clientele shrink in recent weeks.
But, where does this chinophobia come from? This rejection of the Chinese is not new, although now it is more noticeable. We cannot look for the cause in the fear of the coronavirus because this already comes from before. And the cause is found in that fear of the different and unknown . Indeed, Chinese communities are part of our neighborhoods but they always maintain a certain distance. We do not know their culture while they live without showing integration problems but without integrating at all. And that is what causes suspicion.
Chinophobia as a consequence of the coronavirus
But in reality, is there an increase in citizen insecurity caused by the Chinese? No. They are only surrounded by mystery, myths and urban legends. If before a large part of the population took the Chinese with certain precautions but continued to accept them as part of their daily lives, today things are changing due to the coronavirus.
This virus that is causing so much alarm worldwide and of which we still do not know its scope, is placing chinophobia among one of the most important social problems . Now suspicion of the Chinese is mixed with fear . Any Chinese person is suspected of being a carrier of the coronavirus even if no one in his family has moved from his neighborhood in recent years.
People are afraid of going to Asian food restaurants due to an alleged danger of catching coronavirus through food and avoid Chinese shops at all costs. Social networks have been filled with dangerous xenophobic comments as if they had some guilt and intention in spreading the fashionable disease. And it does not seem to be too much to insist That the coronavirus started in China does not make all Chinese carriers of the virus, much less responsible for it.
Chinophobia before the coronavirus (causes)
But before the coronavirus, chinophobia already existed . We speak of an ancient and distant culture surrounded by mystery. And it is true that Chinese communities live at a distance in our society. Inbreeding may seem obvious, but it is overlooked that the Chinese have not been in our country long enough to establish close ties with the locals.
Chinese families, like all families, want the best for their children and that is why it is increasingly common for members of the second and third generation to be in universities sharing studies and social life with our young people. If current chinophobia does not stop this trend, we will be less and less surprised that our children bring home their friend of Chinese origin and they will be more and more integrated.
The chinophobia can find one of its causes in envy . As you read, Chinese families move to our country with an entrepreneurial spirit, set up their business and, based on a joint effort by the whole family, make it prosper. This raises suspicions and creates theories of all kinds that place the Chinese on the margins of legality.
Myths about the Chinese: overcoming chinophobia
As if that were not enough, Chinese products are suspected of poor quality and it seems that many people associate it with a lack of scruples on the part of the Chinese themselves. And myths also influence, and a lot, when it comes to that chinophobia spreads like a virus. Let’s look at a few of the myths about the Chinese that we believe to be a dogma of faith and that are actually false .
+The Chinese do not pay taxes . This belief is due to the amount of Chinese businesses in our neighborhoods. How can they do it if it is not on the basis of tax benefits? Perhaps because they have a different concept of family work.
+Why are there no Chinese burials? This question gives rise to much speculation to the point that some people think that the deceased Chinese end up on their restaurant menu. You have to think that the Chinese came to our country in the 80s, it is not that they have had a long time to die and the truth is that no one walks through cemeteries counting graves of Chinese.
+There are no old Chinese . This absurd mystery about the death of the Chinese is complemented by that other belief that there are no Chinese senior citizens or, at least, we do not see them on the streets. It is not so difficult to think that a person from another country wants to return to their land in the last part of their life.
+The meat is from cat . It is said, it is said that in Chinese restaurants the meat that is presented to us as beef, chicken or duck is actually from a cat, a dog or even a rat . Finding a coherent explanation for this type of absurd myth is mission impossible.
+The Chinese don’t have a dog . The theories complement each other. A widespread myth is that you will not see a Chinese walking a dog . Don’t the Chinese have pets? Have you noticed the nationality of all the dog walkers? Perhaps by tradition they are not very given to having pets because the truth is that we do not know much about Chinese culture.
