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Time once again to post Jon Stewart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfejgwbDQ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfejgwbDQ8 I still don't understand how in 20

Time once again to post Jon Stewart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfejgwbDQ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSfejgwbDQ8 I still don't understand how in 2020 people were branded as racist sinophobes for saying that the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, probably originated from the coronavirus research lab in Wuhan. I know suspicion isn't fact, but that should have always been the leading theory to be disproved. Instead, IIRC Twitter and FB were flagging any post that said "lab leak."

csours 4y ago
That is the nature of a "dog whistle" - it has a legitimate meaning, and some people use the legitimate meaning. That legitimacy gives malicious people plausible deniability. Social media sites cannot tell the difference, and quite often it's very hard for people to tell the difference as well. Social media sprays weed killer on all the discussions because they don't want their app covered in weeds; not having flowers is too bad, but weeds are worse (not my personal view).
- uonpopular_th 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - slumos 4y ago
    To identify a dog whistle you must merely learn its characteristics and recognize them.
  - paulcole 4y ago
    Or you have eyes and can see somebody putting a whistle in their mouth and blowing.
    - uonpopular_th 4y ago
      [flagged]
tzs 4y ago
> I know suspicion isn't fact, but that should have always been the leading theory to be disproved The leading theory should be the thing that has never happened before (lab leak causes epidemic or pandemic) instead of the thing that has happened dozens of times before (animal virus jumps to humans and causes epidemic or pandemic)?
- ikrenji 4y ago
  lab leaks do happen. not often but a lot more than never. we were just lucky enough that they didn't result in a global pandemic...
- Izkata 4y ago
  > The leading theory should be the thing that has never happened before (lab leak causes epidemic or pandemic) It happens pretty often, we just don't hear about most of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity...
juve1996 4y ago
[flagged]
ss108 4y ago
Because we had a racist president who said stuff like "China virus" in a stupid and demeaning way--i.e. what may have been a valid and reasonable argument or position had its credibility ruined by being taken up by Trump and his ilk for their own ends.
- walkhour 4y ago
  Naming something by its origin it's not racist. The tone you're talking about is a completely subjective statement, and it has no place in a serious discussion. Using that name should've never been controversial and making it controversial was creating drama where there was none. The fact that people are still hurt about Trump saying that years ago shows how unprepared we are to have a discussion about anything.
  - ss108 4y ago
    This just willfully tone deaf as to what was going on and being implied then. The other component of it was this kind of "blame China" attitude he was trying to engender to deflect blame, and that's another reason why the theory never caught on. (Also to be clear, it's not even that the China stuff made him racist; he clearly established himself as a racist, and then he said that stuff, which I agree wasn't necessarily racist. But of course, he wasn't speaking in a vacuum, he was speaking in the context of himself and his whole presidency, which led everyone to naturally assume the worst of it.)
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - the_doctah 4y ago
      You really like using that word, racist. The problem is that's just your opinion. But you seem to be heavily focused on it. I think this is more of a you problem.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - 4y ago
yibg 4y ago
Absent of other information, why is this the most probably explanation? It’s possible sure, but the best we could’ve said, especially back then is we don’t know. Viruses from animals jump to humans all the time, and have caused other outbreaks before many times, why is this one special?
- khazhoux 4y ago
  > why is this one special? There was very clearly something exceptional about it, since we shut down much of the world for a year. > Absent of other information, why is this the most probably explanation? Again, the simple fact that the most severe viral outbreak in decades originated near a research facility for that same kind of virus, was reason enough to push lab-leak to the top of valid theories.
  - yibg 4y ago
    Correlation vs causation. The lab is where the virus is at. Lots of bats in the area.

csours 4y ago

That is the nature of a "dog whistle" - it has a legitimate meaning, and some people use the legitimate meaning. That legitimacy gives malicious people plausible deniability. Social media sites cannot tell the difference, and quite often it's very hard for people to tell the difference as well. Social media sprays weed killer on all the discussions because they don't want their app covered in weeds; not having flowers is too bad, but weeds are worse (not my personal view).

uonpopular_th 4y ago
[flagged]
- slumos 4y ago
  To identify a dog whistle you must merely learn its characteristics and recognize them.
- paulcole 4y ago
  Or you have eyes and can see somebody putting a whistle in their mouth and blowing.
  - uonpopular_th 4y ago
    [flagged]

tzs 4y ago

> I know suspicion isn't fact, but that should have always been the leading theory to be disproved The leading theory should be the thing that has never happened before (lab leak causes epidemic or pandemic) instead of the thing that has happened dozens of times before (animal virus jumps to humans and causes epidemic or pandemic)?

ikrenji 4y ago
lab leaks do happen. not often but a lot more than never. we were just lucky enough that they didn't result in a global pandemic...
Izkata 4y ago
> The leading theory should be the thing that has never happened before (lab leak causes epidemic or pandemic) It happens pretty often, we just don't hear about most of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity...

juve1996 4y ago

[flagged]

ss108 4y ago

Because we had a racist president who said stuff like "China virus" in a stupid and demeaning way--i.e. what may have been a valid and reasonable argument or position had its credibility ruined by being taken up by Trump and his ilk for their own ends.

walkhour 4y ago
Naming something by its origin it's not racist. The tone you're talking about is a completely subjective statement, and it has no place in a serious discussion. Using that name should've never been controversial and making it controversial was creating drama where there was none. The fact that people are still hurt about Trump saying that years ago shows how unprepared we are to have a discussion about anything.
- ss108 4y ago
  This just willfully tone deaf as to what was going on and being implied then. The other component of it was this kind of "blame China" attitude he was trying to engender to deflect blame, and that's another reason why the theory never caught on. (Also to be clear, it's not even that the China stuff made him racist; he clearly established himself as a racist, and then he said that stuff, which I agree wasn't necessarily racist. But of course, he wasn't speaking in a vacuum, he was speaking in the context of himself and his whole presidency, which led everyone to naturally assume the worst of it.)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - the_doctah 4y ago
    You really like using that word, racist. The problem is that's just your opinion. But you seem to be heavily focused on it. I think this is more of a you problem.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- 4y ago

yibg 4y ago

Absent of other information, why is this the most probably explanation? It’s possible sure, but the best we could’ve said, especially back then is we don’t know. Viruses from animals jump to humans all the time, and have caused other outbreaks before many times, why is this one special?

khazhoux 4y ago
> why is this one special? There was very clearly something exceptional about it, since we shut down much of the world for a year. > Absent of other information, why is this the most probably explanation? Again, the simple fact that the most severe viral outbreak in decades originated near a research facility for that same kind of virus, was reason enough to push lab-leak to the top of valid theories.
- yibg 4y ago
  Correlation vs causation. The lab is where the virus is at. Lots of bats in the area.