TDG: SARS -- A Plea for Logic

[Fat Guy]

eGullet.com and The Daily Gullet stand with the international Asian-restaurant community at this difficult time of SARS-related concerns.

[torakris]

living on the other side of the world, I was quite shocked to learn of the drop in patronage of Asian restaurants, I really hope people come to their senses soon.

[Bux]

The news on the TV is reporting a noticeable drop in patronage at Chinatown restaurants. Worse yet they're reporting that rumors are floating around that cases of SARS have been found in the NYC although there is absolutely no evidence for this. I live pretty close to the growing border of Chinatown and feel a connection to that community if only because it's probably provided well over half of the meals I've had in restaurants since I've lived in Manhattan. Since we returned from Spain early this month it's served me five of my eight restaurant meals, (not counting pizza by the slice) although I have some sympathy for those who fear the unknown. At least they're not avoiding the neighborhood out of misguided hatred. For the merchants of Chinatown, who have not recovered from losses after 9/11 this is another unfair blow however.

Chinatown is not only a source of restaurant meals, but our major food marketing destination. It's the place where we buy all of our pork, fish and seafood as well as most of our fruits and vegetables, although at this time of the year we also look forward to the growing supplies at the farmer's market.

[jhlurie]

living on the other side of the world, I was quite shocked to learn of the drop in patronage of Asian restaurants, I really hope people come to their senses soon.

Kris, its a lot more understandable with all of the news coverage we are getting on our screens of people in Asia walking around everywhere with surgical masks on.

[torakris]

living on the other side of the world, I was quite shocked to learn of the drop in patronage of Asian restaurants, I really hope people come to their senses soon.

Kris, its a lot more understandable with all of the news coverage we are getting on our screens of people in Asia walking around everywhere with surgical masks on.

It is interesting because we are actually in Asia and we have the same news, images of Hong Kong residents not a piece of face visible on both the front pages of the newspapers and the top stories on the news, yet I have heard nothing about customers staying away from Chinese restaurants.

I did a search on Yahoo Japan to see if I was missing something and all I came up with was reports about this happening in Canada and the US.

[anil]

We have visited Chinatown nearly every week for the past few months, as I have been doing site visits downtown. With respect to HKG, BKK & SIN the airlines have either suspended or cancelled flights - Yet the tix prices remain high, so I have to live with a limited mobility internationally.

I have totally stopped even cooking a meal or two per week since 9/11; exclusively patronizing the restaurants on 9th Ave. in Clinton area during the weekdays after work. Heck, I have even shored up my primary airline, instead of spreading it amongst two-or-three.

The key to combating FUD factors is information - I think CDC and WHO have done a fairly decent job in dessiminating information and update about SARS. It is sad that NYC has succumbed to paranoia w.r.t to Chinatown.

Edited April 26, 2003 by anil (log)

[docsconz]

Recent thread on this topic.

[emhahn]

Ecolab and Lysol are both working right now to develop a formula that will kill the SARS virus.......

Ecolab Story

Lysol Story

[Marlene]

It 's having a huge impact on Toronto's China Town and various chinese restaurants here.

[docsconz]

It 's having a huge impact on Toronto's China Town and various chinese restaurants here.

Are restaurants like Susur and Wai Lah Heen being effected?

[Marlene]

It 's having a huge impact on Toronto's China Town and various chinese restaurants here.

Are restaurants like Susur and Wai Lah Heen being effected?

Yes they have been. A report today in (I think the Globe and Mail) had an article about this. I shall have to go search and get back to you.

[Fat Guy]

We would like to get our plea for logic out to as many people as possible. Please feel free to copy the contents of the editorial and distribute it as widely as you like. We grant permission to reproduce this particular article in its entirety, so long as you give proper attribution and a link. In addition, if you would like to send it to news media, I can provide you with a version that is formatted more like a press release. Just e-mail or PM me for that.

[Marlene]

We would like to get our plea for logic out to as many people as possible. Please feel free to copy the contents of the editorial and distribute it as widely as you like. We grant permission to reproduce this particular article in its entirety, so long as you give proper attribution and a link. In addition, if you would like to send it to news media, I can provide you with a version that is formatted more like a press release. Just e-mail or PM me for that.

Steven, send it to me, and I'll forward it to the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun

[Fat Guy]

Send me an e-mail steven@fat-guy.com and I'll reply with the file. Thanks!

[torakris]

Fat Guy

Congrats on your 10,000 post!

[Pan]

Excellent editorial, FG. FWIW, I certainly haven't decreased my consumption of East Asian food. I had a good dinner at Han Bat Korean restaurant tonight and have had several Chinese meals in the last week. It just wouldn't occur to me to stay away.

Anil, just what does "FUD" stand for? I think you must be the abbreviation and acronym champ on these boards.

[Fat Guy]

Pan, just to clarify, I was not the author of the editorial. It was co-written by several of TDG's contributors and all I did was act as editor. I fully support every word of it, but I did not write it.

[jhlurie]

It is interesting because we are actually in Asia and we have the same news, images of Hong Kong residents not a piece of face visible on both the front pages of the newspapers and the top stories on the news, yet I have heard nothing about customers staying away from Chinese restaurants.

Well in Hong Kong they just refer to them as "restaurants", not "Chinese Restaurants", right?

Just joking. I know better.

[SWoodyWhite]

I've just provided a link to the editorial over at Sondheim.com, since not enough of them would run across it otherwise. Being an AOL user, I've found the easier method for me is to mark the page as a "favorite place," and then to use the URL as listed in their "edit" function as the source to copy from, printing the URL at the site I'm linking from. Of course, I'm sending the link to friends and family via e-mail as well, and I've asked my partner to do the same. (When he read the editorial, he commented on how restaurants in Monterey Park, Alhambra, and other parts of the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County have already been forced to close.)

Edited April 26, 2003 by SWoodyWhite (log)

[Gavin Jones]

eGullet staff may wish to reconsider the line

"people of Moslem or Middle Eastern descent -- or by those who had the misfortune to appear that way --".

[Fat Guy]

Thanks Gavin. I appreciate the desire for sensitivity, but in this instance I think the context is clear:

Since September 11, 2001, restaurants owned by people of Moslem or Middle Eastern descent -- or by those who had the misfortune to appear that way -- have been in dire financial straits. This has occurred not because of the actions or beliefs of their owners, but because they were wrongly perceived as being associated with potential terrorism. More recently, French and French-oriented restaurants have suffered serious reductions in business -- not because of the actions or the beliefs of their owners (who are often not French at all, and who if French are often neither French citizens nor likely to hold any given view of international relations), but because of their perceived Frenchness.

There are always ways to misread the English language -- and I'm assuming you are making a theoretical objection rather than saying you actually concluded that this was a statement against Moslems -- but read in context it's clear to me that we're not talking about misfortune in appearing to be Moslem per se, but rather misfortune in appearing to be Moslem because that appearance is wrongly used against both Moslems and non-Moslems who happen to be almost anything but very light, very dark, or clearly Asian. It is without a doubt misfortune to be the target of bigotry.

[Gavin Jones]

No I obviously understood the intent, just that the line jarred when I read it roughly as '...those who have the misfortune to appear to be of middle eastern descent...'.

And I wouldn't have posted but for the wider audience you were looking for on the piece.

[Fat Guy]

Gavin, thanks. Had the syntax been questioned during the editorial process we'd likely have changed it for extra clarity. But now that it's out and has been distributed, I'd rather explain it than change it and have two versions floating around.

[anil]

Anil, just what does "FUD" stand for? I think you must be the abbreviation and acronym champ on these boards. 

FUD = Fear Uncertainity and Doubt. It was a classic technique used by many salesdroids during the 80s A basic conceptual article if you want to read more. It still exists in its more virulant form when you meet Micro$$oft types.

Travel and Computing is full of acronym and abbreviations - Can't help it - Ya have to seperate the jargon compliant from the clueful in my world.

[=Mark]

Had dinner at Far East Taste in Eatontown NJ last night. Chef Rich does a medly of Chinese, Thai and Malaysian dishes, and in my opinion does the best Hot & Sour soup and fried dumplings in the county if not the state.

The idea of avoiding the place due to the result of SARS never even entered my mind until reading the editorial. In my mind, even in the areas currently effected, the virulence and morbidity (or lack thereof) do not merit the hysteria that the media seems to be stirring up. In my opinion the current style of reporting is to maximize media market shares and has no bearing on the actual gravity of the situation. The only actual story in my opinion is the delay in reporting of the start of the spread of SARS earlier in the year by the Chinese Govt. But that is pretty much old news now.

This brings to mind the current state of 24/7 style of reporting national and international news that seems to foster this hysterical type of reporting. The most egregious recent example of this was when John Kennedy Jrs. Plane went missing a couple years ago. For two solid days the only information the media had was that he did not show up when and where he should have. Nevertheless, for 48 solid hours we were forced to endure aerial shots of boats sailing around aimlessly on Long Island Sound and endless repetition of total speculation as to what may or may not have happened.

"At this point we have no information, and we intend to provide continuous coverage of it."

Being that the current closest cluster of cases of SARS is in Canada, not China, I'm going to be avoiding Canadian restaurants for the near future...