By Solomon Son

I’m 17 years old and a junior in high school. The coronavirus has impacted me far beyond inconveniencing my family’s access to toilet paper or entertainment, or my ability to hang out with friends. It has threatened to limit even more of the little freedom I have left.

The Internet and news in America are all about the cost and hoarding of toilet paper, but I don’t see much about the most frightening issue to me — the loss of freedom. As a Korean-American student in high school, it is difficult to feel free in the first place. The divide of expectations between my Americanized friends and my Korean culture and household creates a vast disparity between two personas that I am forced to live: the “chill,” “cool,” teenage American and the humble, quiet, and studious Korean.

Past that, I face judgment simply for being Korean. Often I am the victim of racist remarks, and am labeled a range of races from “filthy Jap” to “dirty Chinese.” The latter is a sentiment that is sadly heard much more often now with the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The fear of the virus has driven many to turn against the Asian community, as some of the public believes that, simply by being Asian, one can spontaneously form the virus and pass it along. People will stare at me when I go outside and make an effort to avoid me and my Asian friends when we are walking around town.

Just last week, a passing stranger in town sneered at me and asked me why I wasn’t wearing a mask. I tried to tell him that I was feeling perfectly healthy, and thus had no reason to wear a mask, but he swiftly cut me off by saying “all you dirty Chinese people have to wear a mask.” He spat at my feet and quickly took off. Something that was so easy, and probably even satisfying for that man, left me feeling so upset, bewildered, and most importantly, attacked. Not only did that compel me to rush back home, but also left me with a feeling of vulnerability that extends even to today. I no longer feel safe walking around alone. It seems increasingly more dangerous to go outside.

With the shutdown of all schools in my county (Bergen County), everything from grocery shopping and hanging out with friends seems dangerous. Masses of people running to stores as if it’s the next apocalypse makes me wonder if it maybe is. After all, isolation is forced, and human contact is scarce.

Worldwide I see businesses, schools, libraries, bars, restaurants, parks, and places where my friends and I used to be able to gather being shut down. We take freedom of movement for granted until it is taken away. The loss of the freedom of movement, of where you can go, when you can go, and who you can gather with is very frightening. Will we get that freedom back? It seems like that is the question to ask.

The American obsession with toilet paper and hand sanitizer seems so trivial when you consider what is really happening to citizens in every country. How will this affect my future or your future? Have you even thought about it? I urge you to. My friends and I think about it every day. Freedom is a far more important possession than toilet paper.

Solomon is a high school junior who lives in Palisades Park.

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