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I'm mildly annoyed by journalists calling "Spanish Flu" where the 1918 Flu Pandemic had no relationship with Spain. The author could have titled the piece as "C

I'm mildly annoyed by journalists calling "Spanish Flu" where the 1918 Flu Pandemic had no relationship with Spain. The author could have titled the piece as "Covid-19 overtakes 1918 flu pandemic as deadliest disease in American history" and later, inside the article include some kind of note about that in that time, it was called (mistakenly) "Spanish flu". I'm not advocating for "cancel culture" or auto-censorship but it is tiring to have to remind some users that the source of the disease was not Spain.

jasonlotito 5y ago
The way we name these things was in fact recently changed for precisely this reason. I forget where I read this, but yes, this is why it’s COVID 19 and not any of the other bad names that people tried to give it. Unfortunately, names for things in the past are harder to change, because people know it as the Spanish Flu, so even if you said the 1918 flu pandemic, you’d still have to clarify which one at this point in time.
- happy_path 5y ago
  Like the Cleveland Indians (founded in 1894)? If your thesis is true, why are they changing their name?
  - pwinnski 5y ago
    Effective communication is a negotiation between speaker and listener. You are welcome to refer to the 1918 flu epidemic by any name you wish. In doing so, you will be causing confusion in some number of your listeners who do not recognize that name in the way they would the more traditional "Spanish Flu." That might be worth it to you, and over a long enough period of time, perhaps your preferred name will be more widely known, but make no mistake: it's not what most people know today. And to your point, I already can't remember the new name of the Cleveland team. I think it started with a V?
    - happy_path 5y ago
      You have to start somewhere. If a name is not a good name, society should be pushing for a change of that name. It doesn't matter if it's because racism (Cleveland Indians case) or bad taste (Spanish Flu).
CountDrewku 5y ago
You might have a good point but changing it now would just be confusing. Historically it has been called the Spanish Flu and I assume everything referencing it during that time uses the word Spanish. I think a mention of how it wasn't actually from Spain is plenty good, there's no reason to alter the name. I think it's good that everyone knows it was historically called the Spanish Flu.
- happy_path 5y ago
  In the same way that Native-Americans are not called redskins anymore, I'd expect more empathy towards Spaniards.
  - emerged 5y ago
    Or just stop bleeding modern society to death with endless identity politics.
    - happy_path 5y ago
      I'm not sure how being more precise when calling a disease is related to "identity politics". I'm asking for being more rigorous when naming things, not second-hand guessing like this article.
  - CountDrewku 5y ago
    Are you suggesting the word Spanish is a slur? Would you like the word Redskins wiped from all history? Can I flag your comment for removal then? Stuff like this is such a waste of time for everyone. Do you really think any significant amount of people are holding prejudice towards Spaniards because they attached a disease to their name over a century ago? I mean really, you must have better things to worry about.
    - happy_path 5y ago
      I'm suggesting that calling a disease with the name of a nationality is as bad as a slur. The same can be said by calling Syphilis "the French disease". You can flag my comment if you want, I simply don't care. I have many things to do. However, I think that naming things in a better way is important. Calling a disease by a nationality is disgraceful.
Jtype 5y ago
That is what is is known by. If they wrote 1918 flu pandemic more readers would be confused.
- happy_path 5y ago
  How many pandemics did happen in 1918?
CodeGlitch 5y ago
It does have a relationship with Spain - because Spain was the 1st country to widely report it. Other countries were too busy fighting over trenches in France.
- happy_path 5y ago
  No, Spain was the only country that did not censor the press. The virus did not have origin in Spanish territory. USA, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and UK all had a strong grip on the news.
  - CodeGlitch 5y ago
    .. Yes, what I said. Spain where the only ones to report on it.

jasonlotito 5y ago

The way we name these things was in fact recently changed for precisely this reason. I forget where I read this, but yes, this is why it’s COVID 19 and not any of the other bad names that people tried to give it. Unfortunately, names for things in the past are harder to change, because people know it as the Spanish Flu, so even if you said the 1918 flu pandemic, you’d still have to clarify which one at this point in time.

happy_path 5y ago
Like the Cleveland Indians (founded in 1894)? If your thesis is true, why are they changing their name?
- pwinnski 5y ago
  Effective communication is a negotiation between speaker and listener. You are welcome to refer to the 1918 flu epidemic by any name you wish. In doing so, you will be causing confusion in some number of your listeners who do not recognize that name in the way they would the more traditional "Spanish Flu." That might be worth it to you, and over a long enough period of time, perhaps your preferred name will be more widely known, but make no mistake: it's not what most people know today. And to your point, I already can't remember the new name of the Cleveland team. I think it started with a V?
  - happy_path 5y ago
    You have to start somewhere. If a name is not a good name, society should be pushing for a change of that name. It doesn't matter if it's because racism (Cleveland Indians case) or bad taste (Spanish Flu).

CountDrewku 5y ago

You might have a good point but changing it now would just be confusing. Historically it has been called the Spanish Flu and I assume everything referencing it during that time uses the word Spanish. I think a mention of how it wasn't actually from Spain is plenty good, there's no reason to alter the name. I think it's good that everyone knows it was historically called the Spanish Flu.

happy_path 5y ago
In the same way that Native-Americans are not called redskins anymore, I'd expect more empathy towards Spaniards.
- emerged 5y ago
  Or just stop bleeding modern society to death with endless identity politics.
  - happy_path 5y ago
    I'm not sure how being more precise when calling a disease is related to "identity politics". I'm asking for being more rigorous when naming things, not second-hand guessing like this article.
- CountDrewku 5y ago
  Are you suggesting the word Spanish is a slur? Would you like the word Redskins wiped from all history? Can I flag your comment for removal then? Stuff like this is such a waste of time for everyone. Do you really think any significant amount of people are holding prejudice towards Spaniards because they attached a disease to their name over a century ago? I mean really, you must have better things to worry about.
  - happy_path 5y ago
    I'm suggesting that calling a disease with the name of a nationality is as bad as a slur. The same can be said by calling Syphilis "the French disease". You can flag my comment if you want, I simply don't care. I have many things to do. However, I think that naming things in a better way is important. Calling a disease by a nationality is disgraceful.

Jtype 5y ago

That is what is is known by. If they wrote 1918 flu pandemic more readers would be confused.

happy_path 5y ago
How many pandemics did happen in 1918?

CodeGlitch 5y ago

It does have a relationship with Spain - because Spain was the 1st country to widely report it. Other countries were too busy fighting over trenches in France.

happy_path 5y ago
No, Spain was the only country that did not censor the press. The virus did not have origin in Spanish territory. USA, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and UK all had a strong grip on the news.
- CodeGlitch 5y ago
  .. Yes, what I said. Spain where the only ones to report on it.