Asian hate? Seriously?
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
Has anybody else noticed that we’re not allowed to call it the Wuhan Virus or China Virus because racism, but everybody is talking about the UK Variant, the South African Variant, the Brazil Variant....
Money controls the message...
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
but everybody is talking about the UK Variant
There was a Tweet by some right-wing talking head in the UK, complaining that it was unfair to refer to it as the UK variant as it was adversely affecting British reputation abroad (!). He posted this completely seriously, despite previously referring to Covid-19 as the Chinese virus, and getting into an argument with some other armchair warrior for justice about it.
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@lufins-dad after all this time, you expect consistency?
C'mon, man!
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
Has anybody else noticed that we’re not allowed to call it the Wuhan Virus or China Virus because racism, but everybody is talking about the UK Variant, the South African Variant, the Brazil Variant....
Great point.
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@89th said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
Has anybody else noticed that we’re not allowed to call it the Wuhan Virus or China Virus because racism, but everybody is talking about the UK Variant, the South African Variant, the Brazil Variant....
Great point.
No, not a great point; actually the point is entirely wrong.
Here's the difference: when the likes of Trump say "China virus," they mean to lay blame on China for manufacturing or otherwise deliberately releasing a plague on the world; when the world says "UK variant" or "South African variant" or "Brazilian variant," there is no accusation or hint of blaming the British or the South Africans or the Brazilians for creating the variant. Instead, there is universal understanding that the Brits, the South Africans, and the Brazilians are also victims just like the rest of us.
That is why such terms as "China Virus" (or "Wuhan Flu" or "Kung Flu", etc.) runs into problem while the other terms like "UK variant", "South African variant", and "Brazilian variant" do not.
Historically, there are also terms like the "German measles" or the "West Nile virus" that do not run into trouble, for the same reason.
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@axtremus said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
when the likes of Trump say "China virus," they mean to lay blame on China for manufacturing or otherwise deliberately releasing a plague on the world; when the world says "UK variant" or "South African variant" or "Brazilian variant," there is no accusation
Mind-reader, you are, LOL.
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CNN ran an "analysis" piece this morning which stated that the media "rushed to downplay racism against Asians as a motive". It blamed Trump for his "china virus" rhetoric, which then apparently gave rise to wordplay such as "the Kung Flu". I'd never heard of "the Kung Flu" before. I have no doubt that the author of the piece wants the political opposition to be seen using such terms. So why not publicize them as much as possible, "to remind everybody how awful those terms are"?
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Wow, Ax, project much?
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@horace said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
I'd never heard of "the Kung Flu" before. I have no doubt that the author of the piece wants the political opposition to be seen using such terms.
Not saying the term originated with Trump, but the first time I heard it, it was Trump who said it.
I'm not grinding an axe. I wouldn't be surprised to learn it didn't originate with Trump. His talent for originality seemed to be restricted to pejorative names for people he didn't like.
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
Wow, Ax, project much?
He's not wrong. When I hear "Coronavirus," it's almost always coming from someone who is talking about, or wants to discuss, SARS-CoV-2. When I hear "Wuhan Flu," it's always and I literally mean always from an asshole who (1) blames China for the spread of a (2) trivial virus that no one should pay attention to because it's just like the flu and the lamestream media are blowing it out of proportion because they hate Donald Trump.
My own personal experience is admittedly a small sample size, but so far it's always been the case. I'll allow that there are almost certainly outliers.
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I'm pretty sure Kung Flu was used jokingly on the forum in the early days. Might even have been the old place...
@Aqua-Letifer I'll agree that has become the case lately, BUT go back 13-14 months and China Virus and Chinese Flu were in the general lexicon and even in the media to no small extent. The phrase didn't carry a racist connotation until people started claiming it did. Then you had a fair number of people on the right use it specifically because it was annoying to the woke left.
Beyond that, it is right and appropriate to be critical of China, the international entity, in this instance without it being racist. The nation did hide the severity of the outbreak, the government did make important information and individuals which could have helped the rest of the world prepare disappear. The Chinese government should be sanctioned and there should be repercussions. But that's against the government. Not against your neighbor that you've known for 15 years and you get together for 2-3 barbecues a year. It's allowed to be critical of a nation and not be racist towards their people.
Are some people going to act like dumbasses? Sure are. But dumbass is going to dumbass no matter what, and trying to go all PC is just going to dumb them up even more.
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
I'll agree that has become the case lately, BUT go back 13-14 months and China Virus and Chinese Flu were in the general lexicon and even in the media to no small extent.
If winning points is important, and pointing out that the liberal media called it a flu allows someone to feel like they're on the right side of politics because liberals make more mistakes, I honestly do not give a shit. Absolutely, those people should make their tallies and feel happy about themselves.
If the liberal media called it a flu then I'm going to blame them for shitty reporting at best and at worst, contributing to the death count by failing to educate the public. I don't care about the points.
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@Aqua-Letifer It’s not about points, liberal media, or calling it a flu. It is about recognizing that it was generally identified as such with no malice and the phrase was adopted widely. It wasn’t until later that people recognized there were political points to be won that it became an issue.
Me/rry/Christmas
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@lufins-dad said in Asian hate? Seriously?:
@Aqua-Letifer It’s not about points, liberal media, or calling it a flu. It is about recognizing that it was generally identified as such with no malice and the phrase was adopted widely. It wasn’t until later that people recognized there were political points to be won that it became an issue.
Okay, fine. But you can't play games like use it as a dig, and then hide behind the explanation you just gave to get away with it. That shit goes on, too.
Basically I will continue to reserve judgment on those who call it a "Chinese flu" and use my own personal discretion when deciding whether or not they're an asshole. More often than not, that's the conclusion I continue to draw. Not because #stopasianhate but because they're being an asshole.
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I have no doubt that many are purposely trying to be assholes. I just think that a lot of those are not trying to be rude towards Asians, I think they are trying to tweak those that are annoyed by the phrase.
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Just saw a post on NextDoor that there will be a "Stop Asian Hate" rally in my neighborhood on Thursday. Never a better excuse to have a party than a bunch of people being murdered. I didn't have the heart to post that the rally should probably be "Stop Massage Parlor Prostitution Hate".
