Honestly, I see a lot of outrageous caucacity on a daily basis as a brown Muslim woman in a white-dominated society, but if there’s one thing that really irks me, it’s white people joking about dangerous shit on planes. Especially over sensitive issues – like in this case, coronavirus.
The airport is a shitty place for a lot of us – the mistrusting stares, people glancing anxiously at you as if you’ve got an explosive under your hijab, slightly more thorough pat-downs than everyone else, etc. I mean, a man was taken off a flight for doing maths because the people around him immediately assumed he was a terrorist. And mind you, he was Italian. Imagine how much worse it could have been.
Today my son was cornered at school by kids who wanted to “test” him for #Coronavirus just because he is half-Chinese. They chased him. Scared him. And made him cry.
I was the same age when I was bullied for being Pakistani.
It’s 2020. I thought things had changed by now… 💔
— Dr. Nadia Alam (@DocSchmadia) January 30, 2020
At the moment, it’s Asian (mostly Chinese) people that are dealing with a lot of racism while being totally terorrised and harassed at airports because of hysteria around the Coronavirus. Just this week, a bunch of international students were taken away by Border Patrol in Queensland, and for a while their whereabouts were actually unknown.
So, of course, when I heard about a white guy who thought it would be funny to get up in the middle of his flight and tell everyone he may have coronavirus, I was totally outraged.
A Guy Told Passengers On A Plane He Had Coronavirus For Social Clout
The man in question, James Potok, was on a flight from Canada to Jamaica when he told passengers “I just came back from Hunan province, the capital of the coronavirus, I’m not feeling too well,” according to CityNews.
First of all, it’s the Hubei province, not the Hunan province. Secondly, what the fuck, dude?
James Potok is an Instagram influencer and SoundCloud rapper, so I guess it makes sense that his reasons for fucking up everyone’s day, abusing his white privilege and being a general dickhead are literally for social clout.
That dude has about $6 and a cool vape.
— Graeme Reaper (@ReapersPlace) February 5, 2020
When asked why he would do something like this, the Potok said “I had my camera with me. I was looking to get a viral video. I was looking to get it up on all the social media platforms.
“I figured it would invoke some type of reaction, not on the plane. More people seeing on social media, going, ‘Wow, this kid’s got some balls,’ or, ‘This kid is crazy.’”
Well, I don’t think it worked. The flight was turned around and 250 people were delayed in their travels before they got to board a new flight, he got charged with a crime, and his Instagram is currently locked down. Honestly, eat shit.
“It’s not like I said I had a bomb straped to me”-James Potok.
No, you just threatened peoples health with a prank about a life threatening disease you tool… #Whatanidiot https://t.co/7CHUuZiix3— Ryan Carroll (@Ryan_Radio101) February 5, 2020
Image Sources: Twitter
