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The problem is that it was being referred to as the Spanish Flu up until some people in the media took offense to Trump's coining of the phrase "Chinese Flu", s
by Nuzzerino 7y ago
The problem is that it was being referred to as the Spanish Flu up until some people in the media took offense to Trump's coining of the phrase "Chinese Flu", so Spanish Flu needs to go if we're not wanting to look like hypocrites.
- standardUser 7y agoI don't see how striving for consistency by avoiding nation-shaming labels is a "problem". Trying to not be hypocritical is generally viewed as a good thing.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tathougies 7y agoCCP trolls are out in full force today. Best not to engage.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoExactly - it's society going "You're right, that's not cool." then trying to be better. I fully encourage it.
- catalogia 7y agoRevising terminology seems to run contrary to a strive for consistency.
- standardUser 7y agoTell that to World War I
- throwanem 7y agoWhy is this a problem?
- tathougies 7y agoBecause it confuses people and ostracizes those who are not following along actively. It's like calling water dihydrogen monoxide. Not problematic, just not what it's called.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoBut languages evolve over time due to societal pressure. Words used a generation or two ago to describe some race are now largely gone, for good reason. When you see someone trying to weaponize a word - and it feels incredibly dishonest to say Trump's insistence on "China Flu" is anything but an attempt to generate an adversary, as he hasn't shown any sort of insistence on using the "right" word for anything before this - it only makes sense to try and react against it.
- tathougies 7y agoTrump says China virus, not "China Flu". This is not an influenza strain. > say Trump's insistence on "China Flu" is anything but an attempt to generate an adversary Trump is just calling it what everyone called it before WHO decided to call it COVID 19 or nCov-SARS2, or whatever the virus is called according to them. The rest of the media was using Wuhan coronavirus or Chinese coronavirus since December.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoSorry, China virus. So you're telling me instead that the president can't keep up with the modern word choice? Clearly the world and its leaders have moved on from that, but the US is willing to hold diplomatic relations up in an attempt to re-frame the conversation. https://www.axios.com/wuhan-virus-pompeo-g7-statement-coronavirus-b416d6df-f902-4685-961f-4744b3d19d06.html https://www.axios.com/wuhan-virus-pompeo-g7-statement-corona...
- danek 7y agoI wouldn’t blame trump’s blatant racism on some people in the media
- Nuzzerino 7y agoCalling it the Chinese Flu because it comes from China is only racist when you move the goal posts to redefine racism as such. There is evidence that this was what happened due to pandemics traditionally being named after where they originated. You can't move the goal posts without the media being on board with it.
- zamfi 7y ago> There is evidence that this was what happened due to pandemics traditionally being named after where they originated. This is just false, most pandemics are named for where they had their greatest effects, or for really old ones, who wrote about it / was king at the time. Before modern history, we had no idea where pandemics originated.
- mrlala 7y agoWhat do you think Trump would be calling it if it originated in the US... the "US Flu" or "COVID-19"? You know 100% why he is calling it the chinese flu. Don't try to be so naive that he is trying to "properly" name it, even though every other person on the planet calls it the scientific name. You know he calls it the chinese flu to distance himself AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE from any responsibility for the effects of it. He blames someone else 100% of the time no matter what. 3+ years into his presidency have you seen how much he blames the obama administration for trumps lack of initial response?
- LiNeXT 7y agoActually, Trump calling it "Chinese Virus" seems to track exactly with the CCP planting those silly stories about the virus being created by the U.S. military. Now that they seem to be toning that rhetoric down, he has also stopped calling it "Chinese Virus."
- 7y ago
- lg 7y agoI remember seeing it widely called the 1918 flu when there was a flurry of articles discussing it in November 2018.
- Nuzzerino 7y agoIt was referred to as either one until very recently. There was recently an attempt to rename this article on Wikipedia, in March 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Spanish_flu#1918_flu,_not_Spanish_flu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Spanish_flu#1918_flu,_not...
- zamfi 7y agoFor the record, Spanish flu was not named so because anyone believed it came from Spain, but because, in the midst of WWI, Spain was neutral and the only heavily-affected country that allowed reporting on the severity of the flu. One hypothesis of its origin was the UK or USA. Maybe you should instead be calling it British flu or American flu.