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ABSTRACT
As the coronavirus pandemic exponentially mushrooms across the globe, xenophobia comes after it almost immediately. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, Asians and Asian Americans have been subject to various types of anti-Asian violence. From a pastoral theological perspective, this social phenomenon is deeply troubling because Asians and Asian Americans continue to be victimized by racial biases and social prejudices. How should we then address this communal crisis theologically? I answer this question by uncovering the hidden stereotypical, sociocultural narratives that have historically contributed to scapegoating people of Asian descent. In doing so, I critically appropriate René Girard’s social analytic framework and theological insights, especially engaging in his ideas such as mimetic desires, the scapegoat mechanism, and the sacralizing of violence. I argue that to dismantle and shift the scapegoating narrative, it is imperative for the racially victimized and socially marginalized to resist the toxic mechanism of victimization in solidarity.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Resonate, “‘Come Here, Sanitize Your Ass’.”
2 Midland Reporter-Telegram, “Report: FBI Lists Stabbing at Sam‘s as Hate Crime.”
3 Lim, “84-Year-Old Killed after Horrific Daytime Attack Caught on Video in San Francisco.”
4 New York Times, “8 Dead in Atlanta Spa Shootings, With Fears of Anti-Asian Bias.”
5 Jeung et al., “Stop AAPI Hate National Report 3.19.20—2.28.21.”
6 Kwon, “Confronting Racism and Supporting Asian American Communities.”
7 World Health Organization, “Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.”
8 Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. “Data in Motion.”
9 CBS News, “Asian Americans.”
10 Mar and Ong, “COVID-19’s Employment Disruptions to Asian Americans,” 5.
11 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Labor Force Statistics.”
12 Rubin-Miller et al., “COVID-19 Racial Disparities.”
13 Jeung, et al., “Stop AAPI Hate National Report 3.19.20–2.28.21.”
14 Ruiz et al., “Many Black and Asian Americans Say.”
15 Chiu, “Trump Has No Qualms About Calling Coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus.”
16 Rogers, “Politicians’ Use of ‘Wuhan Virus’ Starts a Debate.”
17 Boyer, “Trump Spars with Reporter over Accusation.”
18 CBS News, “Asian Americans.”
19 Cabantuan, “Coronavirus.”
20 Sheyner, “Supervisors Denounce Xenophobia.”
21 Campbell and Ellerbeck, “Federal Agencies Are Doing Little About the Rise.”
22 Hong, Minor Feelings.
23 Ibid., 55.
24 Mays et al., “Unhealthy Treatment.”
25 Ibid.
26 Lee, America for Americans, 79.
27 Ibid., 111.
28 Jeung, “SFSU’s Russell Jeung Calls for Community, Compassion.”
29 Gover et al., “Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” 653.
30 Trauner, “The Chinese as Medical Scapegoats in San Francisco, 1870-1905,” 73.
31 Ibid., 76–8.
32 Lee, America for Americans, 183–4.
33 Said, Orientalism, 5–6. Emphasis is original.
34 Girard, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, 16–8.
35 Girard, “Triangular Desire,” 39.
36 Ibid.
37 Loughlin, “René Girard (b: 1923): Introduction,” 98–9.
38 Girard, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, 416.
39 Girard, “Mimesis and Violence,” 10.
40 Watson, “Girard and Integration,” 314.
41 Hrynknw, “Girard, René, Theories of Mimetic Violence and Scapegoating,” 311.
42 Girard, “Mimesis and Violence,” 11.
43 Ibid., 12.
44 Girard, Violence and the Sacred, 2.
45 The community crisis is not always produced by identical circumstances. Sometimes the cause is external, such as an epidemic, a drought, or a flood. Sometimes the cause is internal, for example, political disturbances or religious conflict.
46 Girard, The Scapegoat, 21.
47 Girard, “Mimesis and Violence,” 15.
48 Girard, “Stereotypes of Persecution,” 110–12.
49 Heim, “The End of Scapegoating,” 23.
50 North, “Violence and the Bible,” 19.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jaeyeon Lucy Chung
Jaeyeon Lucy Chung, PhD. is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Library Director at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. She received her PhD. in Practical Theology from Emory University in 2008. She published her first book titled Korean Women, Self Esteem, and Practical Theology: Transformative Care (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) as well as articles and book chapters in the areas of pastoral care, pastoral and practical theology, and theological librarianship. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Pastoral Theology.