Tae Yong Kim

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The common phrase “the Monster under the bed” is nothing more than a fear tactic that parents use in order to ensure that their kids sleep during their bedtime and not roam around the house past 8 P.M; however, the fear of the unknown is all too real, even for adults. What is under our beds when we are not looking beneath it? What lurks beyond our vision, in the darkness beyond our vision? Xenophobia is the fear of the unknown or the fear that we experience when placed in a foreign situation or place. Not being able to know, for certain, your own safety is truly something to be scared of. We have never experienced a global pandemic of this scale in our lifetimes. Covid-19 has torn families, friends, and lovers apart. The xenophobia caused by the fear of this foreign situation has cost much more than the virus itself. Taking a step outside your own house has become a trek of fear. Touching any surface outside your home has become a risk. Being near anybody in this dire circumstance has become an extreme danger. To overcome this fear of the unknown, we must first wait out the virus. In our dimly lit room, even if we peer under the bed to check for monsters, we will not be able to see under the bed for the room is too dark. We cannot overcome the fear of the unknown during this corona situation when corona is still rampant. We must wait for the virus to stop. When the virus stops, we, as a society, community, and human race, must recover. We must learn not to cast what is already known as “the unknown” and we must make efforts to grow closer together. We cannot treat others as if they are the “monsters” under our bed, the creatures of fiction and fear. When the light has turned on, we will peer under our bed, and we will not find any monster.