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Monday, March 23, 2020

Chinese takout

Due to the pandemic, many of the businesses where I live are closed. There's isn't a mandatory lockdown. 

There's a ban on dine-in, but takeout and delivery are still permitted. In that regard, two of the Asian-American takeout joints I frequent are now closed indefinitely. I find that odd. Although they had a dine-in option, I assume that was a small part of their business. Moreover, I'd expect whatever they lose in dine-in would be offset or more than offset by increased demand for takeout at this time.

So I'm wondering if all the hysteria about the coronavirus has fomented a backlash against Asian-American restaurateurs. One joint is run by Chinese immigrants. It's not like they just got off the boat. They've been here for years, long before the virus. They didn't bring it with them. The other joint is Japanese. Maybe it's just a coincidence, or perhaps the apocalyptic scenarios have scared customers into boycotting Asian-American takeout/delivery joints. 

While the coronavirus is dangerous, there's the danger of collateral damage to the innocent by all the hype and fear-mongering. 

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