Coughing while Asian is crying out loud funny.
It’s funny even as it comes from a place of germophobia turned hysteria turned Asianphobia.
It’s funny even as Asianphobia, which is at the core of Coughing while Asian video is going viral because of the Coronavirus! Over 2 million people have clicked on it over the last few days.
Clearly, it’s not funny when you are Asian, coughing and suffering from the Coronavirus.
It’s certainly a tragedy when you are Asian while struggling to save yourself, friends and family from catching the Coronavirus.
But what do you do when you are simply Asian, healthy and funny?
As one myself, I got it when I saw Michael Tow, acting in Coughing while Asian. He and his co-producer Teja Arboleda saw a creative opportunity to turn a tragedy on its head, mixing irony with comedy.
Tow Arboleda Films made Coughing while Asian with a team of Asian and American actors as a response to anti-Asian sentiment across the country and around the world since the Coronavirus outbreak.
He wrote on his Facebook Page, that “Kids in schools are getting bullied and anti-Asian rhetoric is rising everywhere. An Asian male in Australia died of a heart attack when bystanders wouldn’t come to his aid because they falsely were afraid he had the Coronavirus.”
Michael knew he had to seize the moment to make a statement. This is what he wrote to me –
“We hope that Asian Americans who have experienced discrimination because of the Coronavirus understand that they are not alone in dealing with this and that there are a lot of people who support them and are outraged about this.
We also understand that fear is part of the human condition, but we hope that people will think twice before they irrationally act or prejudge others. “
Video Courtesy: Tow Arboleda Films