I don't think I made my point very clear. And don't assume I did no research before you offer nonconstructive insults. Let me clarify.
Sure the term, in and of itself isn't racist. It's the way it was used in our media, and the negative connotations that were implied by it. Especially under the Trump administration.
A good definition: "A wet market is an open marketplace with stalls of vegetables and other food items presented for sale. Many wet markets are found in China and the Philippines. The name is based on the fact that these informal market environments usually have wet floors. Shoppers tolerate sloppy floors and items piled on mats or boards as the foods sold at wet markets are known for their fresh quality and low price. The moisture is created by market workers regularly spraying the produce and floors with water."
Now if that's the way it was presented to us in Western media, there would be no problem. But that's not how it was portrayed. They tried to make it sound like some horrific place. Some god awful disgusting place, where people are eating bats and other weird animals. And it's dirty, really dirty. "If only those dirty Chinese people weren't eating disgusting animals in their 'wet' market, we wouldn't have this pandemic!"
How many times did we hear this repeated by people early on last year? And how many people still believe this depiction of the market? Probably a lot, even in this comment thread it was parroted. Meanwhile in the real world, that market isn't any different than most other markets in another country in the world.