Hate for people based on variant

[allmixedup12]

Before I start, for context I am a mixed race brit with British-Indian parents. I live in London and think it is an incredible place to be able to live and work.

Here is my issue - My father recently died of COVID19 in India, so I rushed from the UK to Delhi to be with my mom. It was sudden and devastating, and we are slowly trying to heal. However, we are grateful he did not suffer for long and have tried to make sense of it all. The situation in the country is truly appalling with so many senseless deaths. I am with my mother as long as it will take to help her heal and then return to the UK. Dont worry I have already recovered from COVID and wont pose a risk to anyone back home!

However, I have recently noticed a trend in the UK media which I find very disturbing and it is making me very uncomfortable to read some articles. Soon after the pandemic took force in India in April, the UK government put India on the red list, which I guess was understandable to protect the public health. UK was one of the first countries to do this, well ahead of the US and many european countries. So while the UK media goes to town on Johnson and co, they were reasonably fast compared to most others.

However, i note that my iphone news feed from most major news outlets - BBC, The telegraph and guardian - have a constant stream of articles about "indian variant" - the tone of many articles smacks of racism to me and it is really bothering me.

Travel restrictions aside, more recently the amount of media noise and articles quoting the "indian variant" as the source of all evil in the UK seems to be rife. Little known detail is that the increase in many parts of the UK has nothing to do with this variant as clarified here - www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-variants-genomically-confirmed-case-numbers/variants-distribution-of-cases-data

This feels very much like a vitrolic building up against Indian-origin people to me. I guess chinese/east asian origin people may have felt this way in Feb/March 20.

Sure, there is a variant and it was first detected in India. But there is so much media reporting which constantly keeps talking the variant as being Indian, it is almost as if the Indians all got together and came up with a variant to make the worlds life a misery (rest assured it is hurting people in India more than anyone else).

The WHO have also cautioned against naming variants in this manner because it is accusatory to the country where it is first detected - it could easily have been imported into the country from elsewhere.

On top of this, why call the variants as "Indian" or "Brazilian" but the virus is not called "Chinese". Two wrongs do not make a right, so i do not think it should be the Chinese virus, but I also think "Indian variant" demonizes Indians, "Brazilian variant" demonizes Brazilians. I am also curious why the variants detected in the UK are named according to local areas such as "Kent" but not british. Ironically, I live in Kent.

There is also no sympathy for British citizens who have ties to India and who have no choice but to travel to India to fulfil their duties as sons/daughters/grandchildren/nieces/nephews etc. So many people went to India to care/grieve for their dying/dead family members - and the media seems to be baying for blood as if to never let those brits ever come back to the UK and close the shutters. See article below as context

www.lbc.co.uk/news/revealed-over-100-direct-flights-from-india-landed-in-uk-since-country-was-place/

Sure many brits may not have international ties, but so many people who live in the UK do - it is such an extraordinarily global place. In this day and age, how can people act as if having the necessity to travel abroad is frivolous should somehow be stopped/punished and it is somehow bad...brits do not come in one shape and size i.e. white british with all family in buckhingamshire ffs

Just feel completely disillusioned. is this how you all feel about the news reporting/general feel on social media or AIBU?

Doesn’t matter if the are African, Spanish, Mexican Indian..

If you're going to name countries, it would be nice to learn at least one African country's name so you don't just lump a continent in with countries. They, too deserve to be named individually.

I'm sorry for your loss but obviously YABU.
Calling it the Indian variant is no more racist than the Kent variant or the South African variant or the Brazilian variant. Just because you've had Covid doesn't mean you can't spread it so it's actually incredibly frustrating that even after being so personally impacted by Covid, you're still not informing yourself or behaving sensibly to protect others. You absolutely had a choice to travel to India - I'm not sure why you're now upset that you made that choice.
And, for the record, countries outside the UK do have the British variant and call it that. The Kent variant is called the Kent variant because it appeared at almost the same time as other variants within the UK (like the Yorkshire variant) so calling them both the British variant would imply that they're the same when they aren't.

I am sorry for your loss, my heritage is Chinese and most of my relatives live in Hong Kong and America. I get the whole family duty thing that’s really strong within both our cultures but I would not get on a plane and go to see them for any reason at all currently. I haven’t seen any of my relatives since August 2019. My brother was supposed to visit in April 2020 and I was going to travel back with him for an extended stay.

I don’t think the op is suggesting calling it the Indian variant is racist as such it’s how the press use this and how racists use this we know that will happen so why not use another term to not allow the racists a platform or press to stir them up

I think the op can judge when people are being racist or not.

I am desperate to see my dad. I miss him so much and if well that time was needed for me to absolutely be there I would be (as in ops situation) no hesitation. I can follow the rules in place to keep others safe families should not be separated in situations like this it’s cruel.

@Babbly After being infected with covid, overwhelming proportion of medical community agrees that for 6 months (at least) the likelihood of re-infection is EXTREMELY RARE. My brother is an infectious diseases doctor and works for the CDC - and this is my source - please spare me your "frustration" and upgrade your sources of information.

And this may be culturally different - which is no one's fault i guess - when my father died and my mother was alone for the first time in 50 years, I did not see going back as a choice - there was only one option - to go, as soon as i could.

And at no point did i dispute the quarantine rules - I have an issue with stigmatizing people who must travel in such situations

[quote allmixedup12]@Babbly After being infected with covid, overwhelming proportion of medical community agrees that for 6 months (at least) the likelihood of re-infection is EXTREMELY RARE. My brother is an infectious diseases doctor and works for the CDC - and this is my source - please spare me your "frustration" and upgrade your sources of information.

And this may be culturally different - which is no one's fault i guess - when my father died and my mother was alone for the first time in 50 years, I did not see going back as a choice - there was only one option - to go, as soon as i could.

And at no point did i dispute the quarantine rules - I have an issue with stigmatizing people who must travel in such situations[/quote]
You're extremely unlikely to be infected to the point where you a) exhibit symptoms or b) have a sufficient viral load to have a positive PCR test. However, you can still transmit Covid a) with a lower viral load in some cases or b) through carrying Covid on your skin, clothing, any objects you touch etc. You can be as pissy as you want that you're being called out but you're still wrong.
You feeling compelled to do something doesn't mean you had no choice. Please stop being so ridiculous. No one forced you to go - you made that choice based on a number of factors, but it was a CHOICE. No one said you should be stigmatised, they (and I) simply disagree that you should be allowed to swan around wherever you like. You're suggesting that you should be allowed to risk someone's life because you think it's more important that you have a right to travel. It's honestly baffling self-centred and entitled.
I'm not entirely sure what you're even asking in your post but, truthfully, it just reads like "here's the reason why I'm the victim of everything". You also don't seem to recognise how goddamn racist you sound repeatedly implying that white Westerners don't care about their families.

@Babbly you put it better than me and I completely agree.

OP can try and justify her actions but I can't see why swanning off to India is justifiable.

What a nasty post. Yes people have been separated but to know how much your mother/father is suffering and not go to them for many would be absolute torture and something they would not be able to move on from

It’s not entitled to act on the very powerful feeling of needing to absolutely be with someone when they are suffering so much it’s about love.

Never has the op claimed white westerners care less for their family but some cultures we are tied to our families more they expectations are higher in what we do for our families our sense of duty is conditioned in a different way it’s just the way it is. We all love each other as much

Swanning off

I think they op was doing the exact opposite of swanning off

@OhWhyNot

What a nasty post. Yes people have been separated but to know how much your mother/father is suffering and not go to them for many would be absolute torture and something they would not be able to move on from

It’s not entitled to act on the very powerful feeling of needing to absolutely be with someone when they are suffering so much it’s about love.

Never has the op claimed white westerners care less for their family but some cultures we are tied to our families more they expectations are higher in what we do for our families our sense of duty is conditioned in a different way it’s just the way it is. We all love each other as much

The difference is that many of us haven't travelled within the U.K. to be with dying family members, bereaved family members or been bereaved ourselves.

I cannot see why international travel should be ok to do this.

Never has the op claimed white westerners care less for their family

I guess it's not unreasonable to wonder. With white Europeans though, rather than all white westerners. Australia and New Zealand chose the same policy on border control as East Asia and much of Africa.

Admittedly their border restrictions (with proper quarantine for genuinely essential travel) also protect their economies, but the decision of East Asian countries including South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Vietnam was partly motivated by desire to protect their families and loved ones from a deadly and highly contagious disease.

But who would criticise anyone for being with those they love when they are really needed.

To have kept families apart in such situations is cruel and will impact many for years to come

Be it travelling within the same country or
International travel if you are following the guidelines or whatever rules are in place there are times when it absolutely should be allowed

@Babbly - you're misinformed on those who recover from covid as transmitters/at risk of re-infection - many nations are now accepting proof of recovery from covid as good enough as vaccinations for allowing people to travel for anywhere between 90-180 days after recovery - and I'm not sure why you continue to repeat this. But of course you have freedom of speech - so you can carry on

When I wrote my reply - I did not know/don't know even now if you're white - why do you think I am attacking "white westerners"

Raising an issue of undertone racism is not me "being a victim". I'm lucky in many, many ways in life and fwiw this is not how i think about myself. Nor will i stop raising issues because someone like you will try to characterize me as a moaner/victim

I agree with other posters that to my mind at least - keeping families apart (either domestically in the UK or internationally) is mad and a probably a policy made by people who have not been in that situation themselves

[quote allmixedup12]@Babbly - you're misinformed on those who recover from covid as transmitters/at risk of re-infection - many nations are now accepting proof of recovery from covid as good enough as vaccinations for allowing people to travel for anywhere between 90-180 days after recovery - and I'm not sure why you continue to repeat this. But of course you have freedom of speech - so you can carry on

When I wrote my reply - I did not know/don't know even now if you're white - why do you think I am attacking "white westerners"

Raising an issue of undertone racism is not me "being a victim". I'm lucky in many, many ways in life and fwiw this is not how i think about myself. Nor will i stop raising issues because someone like you will try to characterize me as a moaner/victim

I agree with other posters that to my mind at least - keeping families apart (either domestically in the UK or internationally) is mad and a probably a policy made by people who have not been in that situation themselves[/quote]
I'm not wrong, but thank you for your input. Your argument is like saying "you can't be asymptomatic because the guidance says to only get a test if you have symptoms". The guidance is based on a balance of factors including transmission but not solely transmission. Assuming that transmission is impossible because otherwise the guidance would ban it is flawed at best.
Whether I'm white or not is irrelevant to whether or not you're being racist... You're absolutely within your rights to raise that you feel there's an undertone of racism. However, you should do it an informed and rational way - which you haven't. You've got yourself in a tizz about the fact that there's no "British variant" when that's not true. You've also made numerous other ridiculous arguments - like that you want to travel unrestricted and that even when you're allowed to travel (like you were) you don't think other people should even be allowed to criticise it. You've used hysterical hyperbole like "to never let those Brits ever come back to the UK" to try to create a facade that you're somehow now cast out and stateless, when, in fact, you could come back to the UK anytime. You've purported you had no choice to do something that was a complete and total choice and seem to be completely unaware how privileged you are to have had that choice - many others didn't have that choice.
The only way that you've been a victim of anything at all in this situation is the death of your father, which ironically, you seem to care about a lot less than the opinions of random strangers on whether or not you should be allowed to travel unrestricted during a pandemic.

"The only way that you've been a victim of anything at all in this situation is the death of your father, which ironically, you seem to care about a lot less than the opinions of random strangers"

its sad you feel you need to become vicious when facts dont support you - i hope you can find it in yourself to be less nasty to others and ask yourself why you'd say something like this. I'm not a victim - pl don't delude yourself.

@allmixedup12

"The only way that you've been a victim of anything at all in this situation is the death of your father, which ironically, you seem to care about a lot less than the opinions of random strangers"

its sad you feel you need to become vicious when facts dont support you - i hope you can find it in yourself to be less nasty to others and ask yourself why you'd say something like this. I'm not a victim - pl don't delude yourself.

I haven't said anything vicious and the fact you've ignored everything I've said other than one comment where you've (once again) tried to make yourself a victim pretty much proves my point. If the facts don't support what I've said then feel free to present some but you've repeatedly said things that aren't true and don't seem to be able to prop up your point without those untruths. If you don't think you're a victim then what on earth is your post whinging about? You haven't asked anything, you're not receptive to anything negative that anyone can say, what were you actually expecting?

Getting personal about someone not expressing their very personal feelings about their parent dying

someone calling out the press stirring up racism is claiming victimhood

Privileged to be able to be with your unwell mother when she is bereaved

I hear what you are saying but I know from personal friends that their parents returned from India (many winter out there) when covid got bad/red list announced and didn't isolate despite their children (my friends) lecturing them that it was a legal requirement. Some had had one jab, but one friend said to me that it makes her ashamed of her heritage because her parents put everyone at risk rather than staying at home for 10 days (in that case there's no mitigation, didn't need to work etc) 1/2 my neighbours are Asian and at least 6 I know returned in the 2 weeks prior to the red list inclusion.

I couldn't care less the colour of someone's skin but you can see why people might worry (ditto having big family parties, they never stopped either)

I am also curious why the variants detected in the UK are named according to local areas such as "Kent" but not british. Ironically, I live in Kent.

It makes sense that in your own country you can refer to them by local areas. Here in Ireland, they are all referred to as UK varients.

The public and the media demanding that flights be banned from India is the exact same as the media here in Ireland demanding flights be stopped from UK in January. That strain caused absolute havoc on our health service. Of course people are scared and no one wants new strains coming in from other countries.

For information as just released by WHO tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants

www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/

WHOuse new Greek alphabet naming convention to relabel Covid 19 variants of concern to remove geographical origin where first discovered and sequenced.

Variant of concern previously known as Kent (or internationally United Kingdom variant) is renamed Alpha.

YABU.

You’re fortunate you are able to be with your mum. My husband died earlier this year - non Covid related - and I hadn’t seen him for six weeks before he died due to care home regulations.

I don’t care what they name the variants - I think the personal tragedies are much more important than tagging everything with the racism banner.

Enjoy your time with your mum and see the bigger picture.

Whether you blame Chinese people or, if like me you know that they have suffered for no reason apart from being of Chinese origin - come along and talk to someone, have cake and have tea.

Please join us in solidarity with the Chinese Community and come for @peace of cake (Facebook Peace of Cake) peaceofcaketogetherblog.wordpress.com/

All welcome, you can bring cake to share but not necessary, there will be plenty. come and have tea and a conversation

thank you, see you there, Thurs 21st October 2021, 3-5pm at the Hackney Chinese Community Centre, Ellingfort Rd, E8 3PA