Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

blase

5y

One of the first name it was given, if not the first was "Wuhun Coronavirus" when it hit the US in January.

ROVO

5y

IIRC spanish flu was a propaganda campaign by essentially every country

A bunch of countries denied that they had infected civilians except for Spain who admitted it

So other countries turned around and acted like it started in Spain as a result

ROVO

5y

IIRC spanish flu was a propaganda campaign by essentially every country

A bunch of countries denied that they had infected civilians except for Spain who admitted it

So other countries turned around and acted like it started in Spain as a result

Scratchin Mamba

5y

I know that people mentioned that it came from Wuhan but I'm not aware of any organization calling it the Wuhan virus

Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

ROVO

5y

Because it already has a name

It’s not comparable to Ebola or MERS bc that was the name given to them off top. If it was called China Virus off top it’d be fine. And no one is denying it came from China

But it has a formal name. It has an informal name. Neither is China Virus, and continuing to insist on calling it China Virus seems racially driven, otherwise what’s the point? Why not just call it by the name given to it like a sane human?

Flosh

5y

· edited

Actually, it was being referred as “Chinese Coronavirus” and “Wuhan virus/Wuhan Coronavirus” months earlier before we started used COVID-19. Once Trump started using it is when it became an issue.

Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

bagool

5y

the leader of the free world racializing a pandemic may be a bigger deal than you realize

Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

Scratchin Mamba

5y

If you're actively trying to change the name from a racially neutral one like "COVID19" to a racialized one like "Chinese virus", you're obviously just a racist and simply rationalizing your bigotry by comparing it to other diseases, when those situations are obviously different since they were given those names at the beginning.

(Except for Spanish flu, for which the name was the result of an American propaganda campaign to cover up for the fact that the virus came from Kansas.)

Swz3000

5y

Two very valid opposing arguments to this imo.

As your link points out it’s not at all uncommon for a disease to be named after it’s (presumed or real) location of origin. So in that sense this disease being named after China or Wuhan wouldn’t break with normal naming conventions, so in theory couldn’t be offensive or racist.

However, when new concepts/things appear in the world, they are usually referred to either by a technical/ official name, or some other name that falls into the public conscience and becomes the standard accepted nomenclature.

Examples - ISIS / Islamic State being used much more commonly in the West than ISIL or Daesh. Brexit becoming the commonly used word for UK’s process of leaving the EU - this media coined phrase becomes so ubiquitous that it’s effectively used as the official term by the Government as well.

In regard to this virus, afaik from the very outset in the West this has been referred to as either Covid(-19) which is the technical term, or more commonly Coronavirus - this doesn’t really make sense but has become the common phrase in public and media, so is generally accepted.

While there’s been no attempt to cover up the fact that it started in Wuhan, at no point has any name for this disease mentioning a location been used as a technical term, or filtered in to the public as an everyday term. So in this context, suddenly adding in a reference to China, repeatedly and deliberately - seems like a concerted effort to change the narrative and create some sort of tension / attribute some blame to China. This is particularly true as the attempts to shoehorn this in don’t come in any official capacity (like trying to call it “Chinese Acute Respiratory Syndrome”), but are just labelling it “the Chinese virus”.

So in that context you open the door for public anger, bigotry and mistrust towards China as a country. If you (I.e Trump) have any shred of common sense, it will be clear that this risks having a knock on effect of the same s*** being directed by stupid people to people of Chinese (or other Asian) descent within the US

TL;DR naming a disease after a place isn’t in itself racist, but the way Trump has gone about it seems a deliberate move to break with convention in order to assign blame and stir up bigotry and hostility towards China, opening the door for the same to happen to Chinese (or more generally East Asian) people within the US.

ROVO

5y

I guess you have the moral ground then

But I’m certainly not condemning someone for eating bats when I eat pork

Nozuka

5y

Why are white people so hellbent on calling it the Chinese virus?

Swear y’all go outta your way to be racist