Is it racist to call Covid-19 the "Wuhan Flu"?

[Deleted member 39374]

Is this one of those honeypots where anyone who answers "no" gets banned

 

[yellowfury]

It's racist AF and I'm disappointed in anyone who says otherwise.

 

[mikhailguy]

not inherently racist.

but using names like that seems to be a not so subtle way for the administration to put some of the blame on China.

the right wing/conspiratorial/xenophobic ecosystem definitely weaponized it with a heavy racist component.

also it's not a flu virus.

It's kind of like the "all lives matter" thing to me. Yeah, fine thing to believe, but the context makes it racist adjacent, if not outright racist

 

[Zekes]

It's racist

 

[Spine Crawler]

Yes. It has a proper name. Calling it "Wuhan flu" serves only to draw specific attention to the location, which contributes to the rise in hate crimes we are seeing occur against East Asian people.

Calling something "racist" is a description of effect. The effect the name "Wuhan flu" has, intentional or otherwise, is to disadvantage an ethnic group. It is, by definition, racist.

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agreed that it has a negative effect on asians and that the name is used by fascists to turn away attention. at the same time asia is the region that dealt with it the fastest. even in china the disease is under control.

not inherently racist.

but using names like that seems to be a not so subtle way for the administration to put some of the blame on China.

the right wing/conspiratorial/xenophobic ecosystem definitely weaponized it with a heavy racist component.

also it's not a flu virus.

It's kind of like the "all lives matter" thing to me. Yeah, fine thing to believe, but the context makes it racist adjacent, if not outright racist

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agreed

Covid 19
Covid
Corona
Coronavirus
The Rona

What else do you need?

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corona isnt very accurate thouh. sars and mers were also corona viruses.

 

[Deleted member 21012]

Not inherently racist, as the "Spanish Flu" still more a more common name than the "influenza Epidemic of 1918", or the Hong Kong Flu of 1962, or the Asian Flu of 1957-1958.

Unfortunately, it was weaponized as some conspiratorial non-sense.

 

[Friskykillface]

Yes.

Call it the USA flu now since we have the most cases and deaths

 

[Yataran]

Even the name "Spanish flu" is actually an error, as that pandemic didn't start in Spain. It originated out of political reasons, as the authorities in UK, France and the US censored the early reports of the disease and deaths in those countries to minimize a potentially demoralizing effect at the end of WW1, while it was OK to report what happened in Spain, which was a neutral country at the time.

I haven't heard anyone using the term "Wuhan flu" in real life... But considering the international political landscape in the last few months, I'd say it may have racist connotations. At the least it's dodgy.

 

[Deleted member 5028]

1. It's not a flu
2. It's not contained solely in Wuhan
3. Wuhan isn't even the epicenter anymore
4. The only motivation to rename COVID19 to "Wuhan Flu" is a racist one. There is no other reason to call it that.

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All this plus the fact the Trump administration is doing nothing to contain the spread so it might as well be Trumpitis

 

[the magical kitsune]

I mean, setting aside any 'technically it isn't racist' arguments, you can look at whoever's using this term nowadays and ask yourself if you'd like to be associated with them.

 

[Mariachi507]

Yes, if you contextualize the meaning behind the words the goal only has racist intentions.

 

[Deleted member 5086]

Yes it is:

1. It's not a flu
2. It's not contained solely in Wuhan
3. Wuhan isn't even the epicenter anymore
4. The only motivation to rename COVID19 to "Wuhan Flu" is a racist one. There is no other reason to call it that.

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