Meaning & Perception of "Invasive"
From a Historical, Social, Political, and Scientific Context
Human Perception
Particularly, at an individual level, perceptions are often through the lens of preexisting knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and values [7].
Figure 16. Black and white picture of a chinese mitten crab caught in the harbour of antwerp. Image by Woodwalker / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
Origin of "Invasive" as War Metaphor
From the Online Etymology Dictionary [8].
Invasive
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"Tending to invade"
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"Aggressive"
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From the mid-15th Century Old French., "invasif"
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Or directly from Medieval Latin invasivus "invasive" (from invas-, past-participle stem of invadere)
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"Go into"
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"Attack"
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"Invade"
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Invasion
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"An assault, attack, act of entering a country or territory as an enemy," (mid-15c., invasioun)
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"Attack, assault" (from 12c Old French)
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"To go, come, or get into"
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"Enter violently"
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"Penetrate into as an enemy"
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"Assail, assault"
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"Make an attack on"
COVID-19 "Invasive" Rhetoric
Reignites Anti-Asian Sentiment
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The current administration has dredged up tried and true ‘fear-mongering’ tactics of “invasion by illegal aliens” [9].
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Mexican immigrants crossing the border have been called "invaders"[10].
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President Trump publicly referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus”, which has inflamed anti-Asian sentiment reminiscent of historic times of fear and prejudice [11, 12].
COVID-19. Free Wix Image
Charissa Cheah, who is leading a study examining coronavirus-related discrimination against Chinese Americans, called the language “reckless and irresponsible” [11].
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Certain political leaders and media figures continued to use non-neutral terms on television and social media such as "Wuhan virus" and "Chinese Corona virus," which further propelled xenophobic or racist behavior towards those of Asian descent [11].
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Throughout North America people of Asian descent have been spat upon, threatened, and have been victims of hate crimes [12].
Asians as Foreign "Invaders"
History of Xenophobia, Prejudice, and Racist Sentiment
"The Chinese Invasion"
Propaganda & Anti-Chinese Sentiment
Figure 17. The Chinese invasion Abstract: Composite of nine cartoons, each separately captioned, on Chinese immigrants in the United States, including New York City and San Francisco. By Joseph Keppler / Public domain under the digital ID cph.3c03143
“THE CHINESE INVASION! They Are Coming, 900,000 Strong.” This was on August 27, 1873 in the San Francisco Chronicle, which included, “What are you going to do about it? Nations of the earth take warning” [10].
Chinese people were labeled as “dangerous to the white,” living in “most unhealthy conditions” with a “standard of morality immeasurably below ours [12].