"The Chinese Virus" Revisited
This is the image I wanted to accompany this piece (but, copyright and all).
I will try to get back to real philosophy soon (hey, this is politics, qua moral philosophy on a societal level), and hopefully even talk about God (well, his cultists believe he is, anyway).
I wrote about this a little while ago but I want to return to the prevalence of these terms:
- Chinese Virus
- Wuhan Virus
- Kung-Flu
Let me very quickly map out the problem. Everyone knew the virus was called "coronavirus" and "Covid-19". It had a well-established name. It needed no other name for pragmatic reasons.
Next thing is that everyone knew where it originated - China, and Wuhan specifically. This was common knowledge and was and is reported widely without issue.
Whilst there is precedence for calling diseases after their origination, this is sometimes incorrect and at other times deeply divisive. As a result, the WHO warned against such geographically associated nomenclature, as Dr Ryan, Chief Executive of WHO stated:
Viruses know no borders and they don’t care about your ethnicity, the color of your skin or how much money you have in the bank. So it’s really important we be careful in the language we use lest it lead to the profiling of individuals associated with the virus.
Using such wording seeds blame and stigmatises and otherises people concerned.
“Because it comes from China, it’s not racist at all. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.” - Donald Trump
Accuracy? Trump? Don't get me started.
We could call HIV "Kinshasa HTLV", or perhaps "American HTLV-III". Let's start calling AIDS "American AIDS" and see how the right-wing like it. Throw in a bit of "gay" for short measure - really poison the well for them. Let's think about every bad thing that has ever come out of America and just preface it with "American". Diseases mutate and origins for different strains change. Don't start this strict naming rule because it will end up biting you on the arse.
Despite being warned not to name it such, Trump is doubling and tripling down.
It gets worse, though.
As has been variously reported, Trump's press conference notes have seen him cross out speechwriters' efforts and replace "coronavirus" with "Chinese" virus. This is a concerted effort not to call the virus by its correct name but to overtly and explicitly call it "Chinese".
The question is why. Why do this?
Republican Tom Cotton seems to think it is about holding the Chinese accountable:
“I have every confidence America will once again marshal the resolve, toughness, and genius of our people to overcome the serious threat to our health and well-being posed by the Wuhan coronavirus. We will emerge stronger from this challenge, we will hold accountable those who inflicted it on the world, and we will prosper in the new day."
This is a position exclusively taken by Republicans, and we know that it is pejorative (hence "Kung-Flu"). Why do only Republicans do this?
The naming it "Chinese Virus" does not add any informational content. There is nothing in that phrase that the intended audience don't already know.
The only reason that makes any sense at all as to why this is being used is:
- To stigmatise, blame and otherise the Chinese.
- To annoy liberals/Democrats.
As the most important and influential man in the world, 1) is highly irresponsible, and juvenile to boot. For a man who has just reported he is the best in the world at bipartisanship, 2) is hypocritical, pathetic and juvenile, again.
Anyone who defends this is displaying the most cultish of cognitive dissonance, as one commenter did to me on one of the last pieces. He said that the "rest of the Brits" (other than me) were calling it "Chinese virus". I called him out on it, and could only find one reference in the three media sources he also mentioned - the BBC. It was an early piece written by the BBC World Service (i.e. for world audiences and possibly not written by an English national) months previously. Despite being called out on this time and again, he didn't back down. So, one use of "Chinese virus" in one singular media source in 4 months of reporting on it represents "the rest of the Brits" using this term.
This kind of disingenuous thinking sums up Trump's worshipful minions to me. Which is why you get obsequious reporters like this (this makes me want to vomit):
There is definitely a political narrative to this naming battle, as we can see from what The Independent report in looking at what the above video details:
It prompted the president to go into full campaign rally mode by continuing his rant against major media outlets he had just called "dishonest" and "corrupt news."
"Well, I think that they do. I mean, they are siding with, they are siding with China, they are doing things that they shouldn't be doing," he said. "They're siding with many others. China is the least of it. So why, why they're doing this, you'll have to ask them. But if we had an honest media in this country, our country would be an even greater place."
Like father, like son.
Hours after the president made those remarks, his eldest son doubled down.
Donald Trump Jr responded to a NBC News report about Chinese officials worried about international travellers bringing the super bug back onto their soil by posting this on Twitter: "It's like they all work for China."
It’s like they all work for China. https://t.co/HNdr7gT4Q7
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 19, 2020
The oldest son of the president has developed his own following in conservative circles, appearing frequently on Fox News and even acting as a warm up act for his father at his signature campaign rallies that are now on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
I am yet to see any decent, coherent reasons as to why Trump and some of his fans insist, later in the day, and for no apparent informative reason, on calling the coronavirus "the Chinese virus".
EDIT:
In fun further Republican news, 3 Republican senators have been found to have carried out insider trading. This is well worth watching or reading about. You know is bad when Tucker Carlson of all people, demands the resignation of the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr (who had been one of only three Senators who tried to vote down the law!). This is bad. As Bryan Tyler Cohen states:
"But watching these Republican senators get filthy rich while the rest of us are enduring an economic crash and losing jobs and going broke is beyond the pale. It's absolutely depraved."
Making money out of a natural disaster, eh!
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