You tell a lot about people by examining how they react to something terrible.
COVID-19 is a perfect example because so many emails from people have listed this as an excuse for various incidents of bad behaviour.
The latest is a racist attack that took place on a Burnaby bus in recent days and posted to TikTok by the victim, Danilo Jimenez, who was just minding his own business when he verbally accosted on the 123 bus.
That’s when Jimenez, who moved to Canada three years ago from the Philippines, began filming to document the episode.
You can watch the video here if you want, but it’s ugly and vile. It’s so full of racist insults and profane language that I was unable to bleep it out so I decided to not actually embed it into this column.
It also includes a deadly threat.
“You wanna get shot in the head, buddy?” the man can be heard threatening before spewing more racism and then finally getting off the bus.
Transit Police are now investigating the incident.
In reaction, I’ve seen a couple of people making vague references to “pandemic fatigue.”
“It’s no wonder when so many people are suffering pandemic fatigue,” I read an acquaintance post on Facebook.
Sorry, but no.
Sure, people are being worn down by COVID-19 and all that it has wrought, but “pandemic fatigue” has nothing to do with this.
It’s just straight racism. Stop trying to make excuses for racism. I’ve read all kinds, like “he probably has a mental illness.”
Another beauty is some folks need to see what happened “before the video started” as if that will somehow justify a racist attack.
I appreciate the strain that COVID-19 has put on people, but I knew the moment someone gave it a name – “pandemic fatigue” – that this would be used to make excuses for a variety of things, from racism to why people refuse to wear masks to their refusal to follow any other basic rules.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
