3 ms·

Can someone please explain to me what difference it makes. AFAIK, no one is claiming this was a bioweapon or intentional assault. So what difference could it po

by HWR_14 3y ago

Can someone please explain to me what difference it makes. AFAIK, no one is claiming this was a bioweapon or intentional assault. So what difference could it possibly make where COVID originated from. I think the lab leak theory is wrong, but even if it was true I no idea how that should change anything.

NotYourLawyer 3y ago
I’m a lot more interested in how we weren’t allowed to talk about it for a couple years than whether or not it’s ultimately true.
- object-a 3y ago
  The President of the United States was claiming that COVID was engineered in China as early as May 2020. I don't know how someone can claim they weren't allowed to talk about it.
  - parineum 3y ago
    Did he claim that or did he just call it the "China Virus"? Honest question.
    - object-a 3y ago
      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52496098 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52496098
  - NotYourLawyer 3y ago
    And people called him racist for it. And anyone else who speculated that the obvious, simplest answer might be true was likewise considered racist.
    - HWR_14 3y ago
      No, people called him a racist for things like calling it the Kung Flu, and some of his positions with regard to Chinese (and Asian in general) people and other racist things he did. No one cared about the lab leak theory, or associated it with being racist, until Trump decided to morph it into a dog whistle for racists.
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    Possibly because over a hundred million links were repressed by Twitter and Facebook for this. Or because people who spoke up about received every kind of pushback - firing, demotion, smears, even death threats. That Trump posed it as a likelihood means nothing in comparison to millions of posts getting flagged, shadowbanned, repressed and completely wiped. You get that, right?
    - object-a 3y ago
      The theory (and even wilder ones, like COVID being a bioweapon) were reported all through 2020 on Fox News and other media sources. It wasn't a silent theory. There were a lot of crazier theories about China manufacturing COVID as a bioweapon, which got lumped into the "Lab Leak" bucket.
dotnet00 3y ago
Well, there's the reinforcement of the decreasing trust in media for framing anyone talking about the lab leak as an anti-science bigot. Then, more practically, if it was an accidental leak, it would mean that a much more detailed assessment needs to be performed of if what they were doing should be allowed elsewhere, if handling and disinfection methods need updating etc. Might also lead to legislation regarding the responsibilities of people hiring these sorts of labs (eg even if China refuses to take responsibility and update its own laws on the matter, other countries could ban their own researchers from contracting work out to labs which don't meet certain standards).

by HWR_14 3y ago

NotYourLawyer 3y ago

I’m a lot more interested in how we weren’t allowed to talk about it for a couple years than whether or not it’s ultimately true.

object-a 3y ago
The President of the United States was claiming that COVID was engineered in China as early as May 2020. I don't know how someone can claim they weren't allowed to talk about it.
- parineum 3y ago
  Did he claim that or did he just call it the "China Virus"? Honest question.
  - object-a 3y ago
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52496098 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52496098
- NotYourLawyer 3y ago
  And people called him racist for it. And anyone else who speculated that the obvious, simplest answer might be true was likewise considered racist.
  - HWR_14 3y ago
    No, people called him a racist for things like calling it the Kung Flu, and some of his positions with regard to Chinese (and Asian in general) people and other racist things he did. No one cared about the lab leak theory, or associated it with being racist, until Trump decided to morph it into a dog whistle for racists.
- mandmandam 3y ago
  Possibly because over a hundred million links were repressed by Twitter and Facebook for this. Or because people who spoke up about received every kind of pushback - firing, demotion, smears, even death threats. That Trump posed it as a likelihood means nothing in comparison to millions of posts getting flagged, shadowbanned, repressed and completely wiped. You get that, right?
  - object-a 3y ago
    The theory (and even wilder ones, like COVID being a bioweapon) were reported all through 2020 on Fox News and other media sources. It wasn't a silent theory. There were a lot of crazier theories about China manufacturing COVID as a bioweapon, which got lumped into the "Lab Leak" bucket.

dotnet00 3y ago

Well, there's the reinforcement of the decreasing trust in media for framing anyone talking about the lab leak as an anti-science bigot. Then, more practically, if it was an accidental leak, it would mean that a much more detailed assessment needs to be performed of if what they were doing should be allowed elsewhere, if handling and disinfection methods need updating etc. Might also lead to legislation regarding the responsibilities of people hiring these sorts of labs (eg even if China refuses to take responsibility and update its own laws on the matter, other countries could ban their own researchers from contracting work out to labs which don't meet certain standards).