Rolling Stigma: COVID-19’s Lasting Legacy

After categorizing most countries into five broad approaches to COVID-19 pandemic management, this chapter defines “rolling stigma” as a core concept arising from COVID-19 protocols. This term is significant as it denotes a stigma that was not associated just with race or with behavior, but instead, it was positioned against groups who were seen to be “out of place.” This included persons from abroad and even health workers themselves. The chapter also recounts the history of Western Samoa and American Samoa enacting quarantines. This comparison has been highlighted in medical literature, often praising American Somoa for imposing a strict quarantine. However, the nature of governance and trust between colonial governments and local village leaders mattered enormously in ensuring success against the 1919 flu. The chapter gives the reader an understanding of the porousness of borders and why stigma is grounded in the irrational rather than the rational.