Last Updated on March 18, 2020
The LGBT activists group assembled and distributed posters all over the tunnel walls and inside Subway cars “reminding” commuter to not act racists because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Facts, not fear, will stop COVID-19,” the posters tell travelers “No ignorance, racism, or xenophobia allowed at this station at any time.”
The posters caught the eye of commuters because the design of the poster was made to resemble a standard announcement poster commonly used by the New York Metro. It wasn’t long before the pictures were going viral on social media platforms.
https://twitter.com/OrwellNGoode/status/1237924938469838848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1237924938469838848&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsummit.news%2F2020%2F03%2F12%2Famidst-coronavirus-pandemic-subway-posters-tell-new-yorkers-not-to-be-racist%2F
The World Health Organization has published a few different statements limited the acceptable names to use when referring to the Wuhan virus. WHO believes that the policing of language will prevent some people from the feeling of being stigmatized by the labeling of the virus.
Along with the chaos brought on by panic shoppers in a major city like New York, “Pride Train” prioritizes the fight against xenophobia, which to many New Yorkers may not seem like as important when thousands of people are spreading the Wuhan flu every day and nationally more strict quarantines are being implemented. This is especially true given The New York Attorney General’s prosecution of vendors who can no longer sell their pandemic supplies.
Don't let hate spread faster than the virus! #PrideTrain #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Uhqx43Bd28
— Pride Train (@PrideTrainNYC) March 10, 2020
The signs may not have been expressly allowed in the NYC subways, but the certainly weren’t unwelcome either.
Paul Joseph Watson says, “although previous posters were put up without the express permission of the MTA, Pride Train has described the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a “silent (very silent) partner.”
There are even a few popular mainstream narratives being pushed by people such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who claims that the extreme xenophobia is causing people to no longer frequent local Chinese restaurants because those people are just, “straight up racist.”
Ocasio-Cortez says people are not eating at Chinese and Asian restaurants right now because they are "just straight up" racist about the coronavirus pic.twitter.com/egtpRDEDhO
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 11, 2020
Big tech comments on COVID-19 are full of people who are calling each other out for supposed racist language for referring to the coronavirus as “Wuhan flu” or “Wuhan virus,” despite the fact that through history it is very common to have a disease named for its point of origin.
According to Twitter user @kavismafioso, coronavirus will teach us to be more welcoming to refugees because we had to experience national shortages of toilet paper, and that gives us a glimpse at what it is like to go without.
Think about this, refugee haters!#RefugeesWelcome #racism #coronavirus #corona #koronavirus #korona #tphakijat pic.twitter.com/Av7rkSnixV
— Kasvismafioso (@kasvismafioso) March 16, 2020
