All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (4 Viewers)

[Maxp]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

 

[MT15]

One of my team members is Asian American. She told me she is getting glared at in the stores to the point it is making her uncomfortable. Thank goodness that’s all so far, but what BF insists on doing (and more importantly, political and media members, not actually him, he’s just parroting) is causing American citizens to be targeted. We just don’t need more hate in this country.

 

[samiam5211]

One of my team members is Asian American. She told me she is getting glared at in the stores to the point it is making her uncomfortable. Thank goodness that’s all so far, but what BF insists on doing (and more importantly, political and media members, not actually him, he’s just parroting) is causing American citizens to be targeted. We just don’t need more hate in this country.

People suggesting things like NYC having a “Chinese” parade, or Pelosi telling people to go to Chinatown in February, like either of those situations were more likely to cause the spread of coronavirus than a baseball game or Mardi Gras is racist.

People who repeat those talking points are racists. Many of them are in denial about it, like they can’t be a racist because they don’t agree that they are racist.

I’m getting pretty sick if this shirt.

 

[Beach Friends]

So I largely agree that the prohibition of some Chinese travelers helped and was justified. However I don’t think Trump was motivated by public health. I think it was related to the trade differences. I also think it is considered racist to call the virus the Wuhan virus, which Trump loves to do. Nobody called the Swine flu the American flu, even though it started in America.

Come on man. - Joe Biden.

There are plenty of diseases named after the place of their origin or their perceived place of origin. I know you could probably list off several yourself. But, have you ever heard of Lyme disease?

Hell, I just recently heard of someone getting Corona and lyme at the same time.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

We also I used to segregate whites and blacks and people felt normal about using the slur for gay people as a casual insult in public, or ’gay’ as something lame and worthy of derision.

Doesn’t make it any less inappropriate today simply because people did it 10, 20, 50 years ago. Especielly when the motive for doing so has been exposed so fully. There is no scientific reason people are doing this, at best it is a political diversion tactic and ignorance, at worst it is malicious. And in all cases it simply signal boosts a negative associaiton that enflames rising prejudiced sentiment toward people perceived to be Asian immigrants.

 

[Lapaz]

Come on man. - Joe Biden.

There are plenty of diseases named after the place of their origin or their perceived place of origin. I know you could probably list off several yourself. But, have you ever heard of Lyme disease?

Hell, I just recently heard of someone getting Corona and lyme at the same time.

Perhaps there are some diseases named after their place of origin, but the official name of this disease is Covid-19, and people are calling it Wuhan to be provocative or racist.

 

[Intensesaint]

Perhaps there are some diseases named after their place of origin, but the official name of this disease is Covid-19, and people are calling it Wuhan to be provocative or racist.

Or to remind everyone it's China's fault we have to deal with this. Not the Chinese people mind you, but the Chinese government, along with the complicit acts of the WHO.

 

[Beach Friends]

Or to remind everyone it's China's fault we have to deal with this. Not the Chinese people mind you, but the Chinese government, along with the complicit acts of the WHO.

Exactly. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge it was the CCP who first screamed that it's "racist" to refer to the virus as the Wuhan virus. IMO, they did that because they know that part of our culture in recent years has been that you can control the narrative if you label something racist. It doesn't matter whether it really is racist, there is power in the accusation. It's a weakness in our society and the CCP exploited it.

Prior to the CCP playing that card, the use of the term "Wuhan virus" was common, even among media outlets who have since bought in to the CCP narrative and now play along with it.

To hell with the CCP and their Orwellian newspeak. I am not about to go along with that evil regime's gameplan.

 

[SystemShock]

Perhaps there are some diseases named after their place of origin, but the official name of this disease is Covid-19, and people are calling it Wuhan to be provocative or racist.

To be pedantic, the official name is actually Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

I think there are at least two other possibilities, besides being provocative or racist.
One, just simply calling it from the place it originated, like Ebola, MERS, or more recently Sika, like it's been done forever.

The other is backlash from being called racists because they call it the Wuhan virus.
I mean, if they were calling it the Chink virus, ok, but...

 

[N.O.Bronco]

To be pedantic, the official name is actually Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

I think there are at least two other possibilities, besides being provocative or racist.
One, just simply calling it from the place it originated, like Ebola, MERS, or more recently Sika, like it's been done forever.

The other is backlash from being called racists because they call it the Wuhan virus.
I mean, if they were calling it the Chink virus, ok, but...

I know you are not outright defending it, but mostly offering some possible less nefarious motive.

But the thought exercise works either way.

So what is the purpose of insisting upon calling it the Chinese virus or the Wuhan flu as opposed to its more scientific names? What benefit is there? This is setting aside we have already heard from people on this site why they are in fact doing it(so that people will in fact associate the disease with the Chinese), but I am coming up pretty empty for why we should do it otherwise?

Becuase my post on the other page demonstrates the downsides, so what upside is there? And what makes that upside worth dealing with the downside? Like, what are you going to go tell those minority business owners in Atlanta or the woman accosted in the park for why it is important to call the virus the Wuhan Flu or Chinese virus?

 

[Lapaz]

To be pedantic, the official name is actually Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

I think there are at least two other possibilities, besides being provocative or racist.
One, just simply calling it from the place it originated, like Ebola, MERS, or more recently Sika, like it's been done forever.

The other is backlash from being called racists because they call it the Wuhan virus.
I mean, if they were calling it the Chink virus, ok, but...

I don't think it is going to hurt anyone to call it Wuhan in this forum, but using that publicly causes harm to Asians, because people don't dissociate the Chinese government from people of Chinese dissent. Even if the CCP initiated the objections, the reality is that it isn't going to change anything about the way the Chinese government behaves, nor is it going to change any epidemiological assessments, nor add anything constructive, nor educate anyone, so I still believe that people only use that term to be provocative or racist.

 

[Beach Friends]

I don't think it is going to hurt anyone to call it Wuhan in this forum, but using that publicly causes harm to Asians, because people don't dissociate the Chinese government from people of Chinese dissent. Even if the CCP initiated the objections, the reality is that it isn't going to change anything about the way the Chinese government behaves, nor is it going to change any epidemiological assessments, nor add anything constructive, nor educate anyone, so I still believe that people only use that term to be provocative or racist.

Well, Wuhan is not a race so there is that. Provocative in the sense that I refuse to go along with the CCP's efforts to water down their role in this global mess? Okay, fine.

How many times do we have to see these viruses originate in the same or similar manner before we hold the CCP accountable? Whether this virus originated in the Wuhan wet market or escaped from the Wuhan lab, China needs to take precautions that they have simply not been taken.

We as individuals may not be able to directly change how China conducts itself, but we can exert pressure on our government and corporations.
We have to reevaluate how deal with China and appreciate the many ways that they are a threat and proceed accordingly.

 

[RobF]

To be pedantic, the official name is actually Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

To be more pedantic, that's the name of the virus, not the name of the disease caused by the virus. @Lapaz is correct to say "the official name of this disease is Covid-19". It is.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dis...ase-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

 

[lurk]

To be more pedantic, that's the name of the virus, not the name of the disease caused by the virus. @Lapaz is correct to say "the official name of this disease is Covid-19". It is.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dis...ase-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

This is accurate. COVID-19 is the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 in the same way that chickenpox and shingles are the diseases caused by the human alphaherpesvirus 3 (colloquially called the varicella-zoster virus) or AIDS is the disease caused by the HIVs (there are two).

 

[samiam5211]

Oh well, I don't really care what you think after yesterday when you said you would vote for Biden even if he molested children every day.

Did you think my post was about you?

 

[samiam5211]

Or to remind everyone it's China's fault we have to deal with this. Not the Chinese people mind you, but the Chinese government, along with the complicit acts of the WHO.

Then we should say “Chinese government” instead of China.

There is a huge difference in the perception it creates, and that matters.

 

[Heathen]

I'm interested as to why it seems that only in Democratic states is it 'overreach' when GOP states are doing the same thing in many cases, just not being as forthright in their conveying of the message to try to stay home as much as possible.

We can all bicker about who we think is right. Maybe most are. Maybe nobody is. Maybe a little of both.

My question..How would you (general you) do it differently if you were governor? What would you allow people to do vs. what you may view as 'too much' from other governors?

I also want to know if someone would be fine being one of those people on the beach right now, having a virus outbreak traced to you, knowing it killed many innocents...Would you be able to live with yourself? Brush it off? Certainly something to consider, right?

I think the assumption here is that there's some sort of nefarious narrative in keeping people from gathering as much as possible. It's something nobody takes lightly, but has to be done to protect innocent lives. Someone's 'freedom' to gather in large groups for a few months isn't more important than the life of others that could be threatened by it.

Otherwise, would many here be ok with the whole 'social darwinism' theory? Go ahead and let people live and interact and go on like there is no virus and those who die (probably tens of thousands more at least) just weren't strong enough anyway? I mean we might as well entertain that thought because I get the vibe i'm not too far off in some cases on that prediction.

 

[SystemShock]

To be more pedantic, that's the name of the virus, not the name of the disease caused by the virus. @Lapaz is correct to say "the official name of this disease is Covid-19". It is.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dis...ase-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

My mistake. I read @Lapaz 's post wrong.

On second thought, we were talking about the virus itself. That is why I responded as I did.

 

[SystemShock]

I don't think it is going to hurt anyone to call it Wuhan in this forum, but using that publicly causes harm to Asians, because people don't dissociate the Chinese government from people of Chinese dissent. Even if the CCP initiated the objections, the reality is that it isn't going to change anything about the way the Chinese government behaves, nor is it going to change any epidemiological assessments, nor add anything constructive, nor educate anyone, so I still believe that people only use that term to be provocative or racist.

Crying racism and shaming people because they say "Wuhan virus" doesn't add anything constructive either. On the contrary.

Racists are going to be racists no matter what you call this thing. And stupid people are going to be stupid no matter what you call this thing, as evidenced by the rash of physical assaults on nurses because of fear for the virus.