The British variant of Corona

There’s a British, a South African and possibly a Brazilian (shaved?) version of Covid-19 sweeping many countries.

Are these terms equally racist as “The Chinese virus”?

@shavixmir said
There’s a British, a South African and possibly a Brazilian (shaved?) version of Covid-19 sweeping many countries.

Are these terms equally racist as “The Chinese virus”?

I think the connotations of each are different. Because the virus first emerged in China (we think), it is the intention of many people who use the phrase "the Chinese virus" to blame China for the pandemic. I don't think the same is true when people say "the South African variant" or "the Brazilian variant" - one gets the impression that this is a simple a way to differentiate between the variants.

Many people blame China for the virus's emergence there. I don't think anyone blames Brazil, Britain or South Africa. I think that says something about people's biases.

@shavixmir said
There’s a British, a South African and possibly a Brazilian (shaved?) version of Covid-19 sweeping many countries.

Are these terms equally racist as “The Chinese virus”?

President Trump often proclaims 'Blame China!' Has he ever said 'Blame Britain'?

@ashiitaka said
I think the connotations of each are different. Because the virus first emerged in China (we think), it is the intention of many people who use the phrase "the Chinese virus" to blame China for the pandemic. I don't think the same is true when people say "the South African variant" or "the Brazilian variant" - one gets the impression that this is a simple a way to different ...[text shortened]... nk anyone blames Brazil, Britain or South Africa. I think that says something about people's biases.

The first *detected* case is not necessarily where a disease originated.
Chinese doctors and scientists were the first to notice that Covid-19 was different
from influenza or pneumonia, whereas other doctors may have been less perceptive.

For the influenza pandemic of 1918-20, the earliest known case was in the USA.
Why was it not known as the 'American flu'?

Russia's one of the worst affected countries by Covid-19.
Early in 2020, Russia's government did not order a general lockdown but instead
focused on blaming and stigmatizing ethnic Chinese in Russia, nearly all of whom
had not recently been in China. It was as if Covid-19 was transmitted by physical
movement or contact but simply by ethnic kinship.

In Romania, some ethnic Chinese were blamed for Covid-19 and attacked, even
though Covid-19 was almost certainly spread by Romanians returning from Italy.

The popular Western obsession with blaming, stigmatizing, and attacking ethnic Chinese
(whether or not they are citizens of the People's Republic of China) is wrong in itself.
It also has diverted attention from searching for the real origins and connections of Covid-19.

@duchess64 said
The first *detected* case is not necessarily where a disease originated.
Chinese doctors and scientists were the first to notice that Covid-19 was different
from influenza or pneumonia, whereas other doctors may have been less perceptive.

For the influenza pandemic of 1918-20, the earliest known case was in the USA.
Why was it not known as the 'American flu'?

Russi ...[text shortened]... lf.
It also has diverted attention from searching for the real origins and connections of Covid-19.

The reason it wasn’t called the US or Canadian flu, is because most countries in 1917/1918 banned it from being mentioned to not demoralize the troops fighting in the war.
Spain did report on it and the name stuck.

There is an international team in Wuhan, as we speak (I wonder if they’re called the Wuhan Clan), who in one week (after quuarantine) will conduct two weeks of research, together with Chinese viroligists to discover, where the virus started, etc.

They can see by certain things (I presume something in the RNA, but I was only paying half attention) how original the strain is, and everything does point towards the Wuhan area. Chinese experts concur. The Chinese government is... well... the Chinese government and would prefer to blame anyone else. As they do in their propaganda.
Luckily their scientists are more knowledge driven and have convinced the government that this research is needed to see if information can be found to stop it happening again, wherever it pops its ugly crowned head.

@ashiitaka said
I think the connotations of each are different. Because the virus first emerged in China (we think), it is the intention of many people who use the phrase "the Chinese virus" to blame China for the pandemic. I don't think the same is true when people say "the South African variant" or "the Brazilian variant" - one gets the impression that this is a simple a way to different ...[text shortened]... nk anyone blames Brazil, Britain or South Africa. I think that says something about people's biases.

So it’s not the term “The Chinese virus” which makes it racist, it’s how it is used? Or who uses it?

I.e. there is nothing inherently racist to the statement, it depends on context?

@shavixmir said
The reason it wasn’t called the US or Canadian flu, is because most countries in 1917/1918 banned it from being mentioned to not demoralize the troops fighting in the war.
Spain did report on it and the name stuck.

There is an international team in Wuhan, as we speak (I wonder if they’re called the Wuhan Clan), who in one week (after quuarantine) will conduct two weeks ...[text shortened]... see if information can be found to stop it happening again, wherever it pops its ugly crowned head.

During the Black Death pandemic, some European Christians blamed the Jews for it.
Europeans have a long record of being far from objective about many things.

I already have pointed out several times at least several times that Italian scientists
have found evidence of Covid-19 in Italy BEFORE the earliest case in China.
Of course, prejudiced Europeans (like Shavixmir) prefer to ignore that evidence.

@shavixmir said
So it’s not the term “The Chinese virus” which makes it racist, it’s how it is used? Or who uses it?

I.e. there is nothing inherently racist to the statement, it depends on context?

Shavixmir has a long record of fanatically denying the existence of anti-Chinese racism anywhere.

By now, even much of the US media (not the right-wing propaganda organs)
recognize that 'Chinese virus' is racist and label it as such when Trump uses it.
Dr Anthony Fauci has said that he refuses to use the term 'Chinese virus'.

@ashiitaka said
I think the connotations of each are different. Because the virus first emerged in China (we think), it is the intention of many people who use the phrase "the Chinese virus" to blame China for the pandemic. I don't think the same is true when people say "the South African variant" or "the Brazilian variant" - one gets the impression that this is a simple a way to different ...[text shortened]... nk anyone blames Brazil, Britain or South Africa. I think that says something about people's biases.

This is another of Shavixmir's anti-Chinese racist troll threads.

Anti-Chinese racism is already completely normalized and almost universally
accepted in this forum, so Shavixmir does not have to work hard to be popular.

@duchess64 said
During the Black Death pandemic, some European Christians blamed the Jews for it.
Europeans have a long record of being far from objective about many things.

I already have pointed out several times at least several times that Italian scientists
have found evidence of Covid-19 in Italy BEFORE the earliest case in China.
Of course, prejudiced Europeans (like Shavixmir) prefer to ignore that evidence.

I don’t ignore what you are saying.
However, the general consensus (by Chinese and international experts) is that it originated near Wuhan.

It’s a WHO based group doing the research there, with an international team, including Chinese experts.

That antibodies were found in blood samples from September 2019 in Lombardie does say nothing about origination.
As pointed out by scientists, there are multiple reasons this could be. One of them being that other countries have not rechecked blood samples from before the pandemic.

There is every probability that Covid-19 was circulating through the world’s population long before it was discovered in December 2019.

As I stated, you can see in a virus if it’s mutated from A or not.
And everything at the moment is pointing towards A being the Wuhan region.

They’re not out there doing the research because they have no clue as to what they’re doing.

https://apnews.com/article/who-looking-wuhan-coronavirus-origin-fb791cfdbad2f7db643f790ae4cccc8c

@duchess64 said
Shavixmir has a long record of fanatically denying the existence of anti-Chinese racism anywhere.

By now, even much of the US media (not the right-wing propaganda organs)
recognize that 'Chinese virus' is racist and label it as such when Trump uses it.
Dr Anthony Fauci has said that he refuses to use the term 'Chinese virus'.

Yes. And I’m asking, if “The Chinese virus” is racist, isn’t “the British variant” equally racist?

@duchess64 said
This is another of Shavixmir's anti-Chinese racist troll threads.

Anti-Chinese racism is already completely normalized and almost universally
accepted in this forum, so Shavixmir does not have to work hard to be popular.

Oh please.
This isn’t even about China or Chinese racism.

It’s about context. And if you don’t get that, then perhaps you’re too wrapped up in your victimhood to actually participate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-variant-covid-b117/2021/01/16/b559d11a-5739-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

I just stumbled upon this article. It covers most of what has been written in this thread.

@ashiitaka said
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-variant-covid-b117/2021/01/16/b559d11a-5739-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html

I just stumbled upon this article. It covers most of what has been written in this thread.

I didn’t even think about how they should be named.
Obviously B117 is madness. At least call it B007...

It’s fine and dandy calling Corona Sars-Cov-2 or Covid-19.
But when you get down to mutations, how many will be recognisable with .3a or what-not added to it.

I personally have no problem naming things after places. But as you said, context is everything and if people are adding value to the name, then a better system has to be used.

I reckon I would go with dates.

So, you’d have
Covid-19 (original strain)
Covid-19.20-11 (UK variant)
Covid-19.20-11.1 (South African variant)
Covid-19.21-01 (a new variant to be found this month, as an example).

Then at least, if not origin, time-line is there for all to see.

@duchess64 said
President Trump often proclaims 'Blame China!' Has he ever said 'Blame Britain'?

My point is simply that there's an extremely strong ideological motive for many
Westerners to keep blaming China regardless of evidence or scientific findings.

Don't pretend that all Westerners approach with an open mind the question of Covid-19's origins.
As far as I can tell, few Westerners have an open mind about it.

Of course, anti-Chinese racism is popular and admired by white people in this forum.