My Take: By Michael Boriero

I read a headline today calling out the ‘Indian variant’ and I’m left wondering whether we’ve learned anything over the past few months.
The former U.S. president, he-who-must-not-be-named, continuously called COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus’, increasingly turning the population against Asian minority communities.
Hate crimes started to spike. We watched videos, read articles, and maybe even witnessed it ourselves, as people berated Asian community members, with no rhyme or reason.
They weren’t responsible for the pandemic. And yet this rhetoric seeped into Canada. Now we’re seeing another minority community unjustly singled out.
This type of language is harmful to everyone. It sends the wrong message. And if you’re wondering, it’s actually called the B.1.617 variant.
It’s one thing to explain where it was first reported.
But it’s an entirely different thing when we use language that fuels prejudice.