Thread by @alexdschiller

Why calling it the "Chinese Virus" is, in fact, racist. A quick thread:

MERS: Literally called Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. Started in Jordan. Not called "Jordan Virus."

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SARS: Started in China. Not called "China Virus." Probably, in part, because it might be confused with another virus sure to eventually originate from the same country of ~ 1.4 billion people.

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Ebola: Comes from Africa. Sub-labeled by country/region of origin. Ebola-Zaire, for example. Not called "Zaire Virus."

Swine Flu: Originated in U.S. according to CDC. Not called "America Flu." (But the name is pretty close, if we're being honest.)

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Mad Cow: Originated in U.K. Not called British Hamburger Virus.

H1N1: Also originated in U.S. Also not called "America Flu." Because, confusing.

Bird Flu: Originated like 5 times on 3 different continents over a century. Not called "Everywhere Virus."

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Zika Virus: First discovered in Zika Forest, Uganda in 1947. Has popped up a half a dozen times in a half dozen countries since. Still not called "Uganda Virus."

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Spanish Flu: Okay this one I'll give you. It is named after a country. But it is worth noting that Spanish Flu started in Brest, France, but Spain hadn't implemented a gag order on their press due to the war like France and the U.S. (who also got it before Spain), so...

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...all the international news about it was coming out of Spain. Calling it Brest Flu would be weird tho.

See, I can count off at least 7 different friends who, in the last 48 hours, have engaged in arguments about the hygiene of Chinese markets, the civility of their diet...

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...and the absolute "fact" that "every disease in the last century came from China."

Those are the same people who argue that it isn't even remotely racist to call it the "China Virus."

It may or may not be inherently "racist" to call it that.

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Regardless, it is otherwise totally pointless to do so. Actually, worse than pointless, because it lacks the necessary specificity to differentiate it from other viruses that may emerge from China, and it has encouraged a whole bunch of people who don't know shit about..

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.. any of this to declare that "China is where diseases come from."

So, in my opinion, the people now defending the phrase because "China deserves to be called out for it," are the walking, talking, Facebook-ranting proof that it is, in fact, racist.

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And - whether you believe it or not - if you're defending this purposeless and damaging trope, you're being racist too.

You just are. Deal with it.

END/ #CoronavirusPandemic #ChineseVirus #Covid_19 #CoronaCrisis #RacistInChief #Racism #SpanishFlu #Zika #H1N1