Why context matters so much in regards to techno's "covid joke," a thread by an asian who still watches and enjoys his content.

But also why you are valid for being hurt by it regardless.

first things first: if you DO NOT know what I am talking about, this thread is not for you. due to the progression of the pandemic, what was formerly a joke can and has started hurting people, and I do not want anyone subjecting themselves to harm that can avoid it.

if you do know what I'm talking about, you've probably seen the clip, transcript, and people's very real and valid reactions to it. if you are one those hurt by it, I am sorry you had to see it.

I hope you're willing to let me provide you context for what exactly it was you saw.

On Feb 5th, 2020 (I said Feb 1st to ppl; I mixed up the dates, sorry!), skeppy uploaded a vid where he was in a call with techno & bbh. As they were conversing and joking around, techno at one point made the covid joke of which the transcript and clip is being spread rn

Feb 5th, 2020 is important. Quarantine started up in the U.S in mid-March. Italy, which was one of the first heavily impacted, had 150 cases on Feb 23rd. Lockdown in Italy started MARCH 4th, 2020!

techno made the joke AT LEAST a month before quarantine (it takes time to edit vids!). he could not have predicted the future!

In early Feb, the vast majority of the asian community's response was either indifferent, or they actively liked the joke.

Here are some screenshots from other members of the asian community (there are a lot more from twitter, the open letter vid, & techno's reddit (dm if you want links), but they are a bit meaner). my own reaction included:

The joke was NOT anti-asian. This is an aside, but this applies to the hitler & lesbian tweet as well. Let me quickly give you a contrast:
ACTUAL DEMONIZATION //WARNING:
"are lesbians hitler?"
"if i saw an asian coughing i would run away."
can you tell the difference?

BUT! you are not wrong for being hurt. If ANYONE tells you this shut them down. because while techno could not see the future context to which this joke could be framed, we are living in that future right now. here's a quick rundown on why it hurts ppl NOW:

- covid has caused a LOT of tragedies. the association of asians (& also the generalization of all asians as chinese) with covid is extremely harmful in light of recent attacks on asians, and will always continue to be from here on out

- some people have actually BEEN attacked for the above reasons. they have ample reason to dislike a joke resurfacing that makes light and trivializes the real and actual pain they have gone through

this likely does not cover all of it, and I cannot claim to be able to speak on this with the thoroughness it deserves. feel free to share your own opinions in the replies! i'd like to hear your thoughts too!

But please remember: techno is NOT making this joke now. he has not made anything RESEMBLING this joke once quarantine started. people went into his history in order to take this joke out of its very specific context and show it to you all in 2021 JUST to prove a point.

if it was a problem, we would have long spoken about it. trust that techno's asian community had their own back in February 2020. trust that we're not all "simps" and "willing to ignore societal issues for our favorite cc."

trust in us. we stand together.