Bill Maher Divides People After Defending Use of 'Chinese Virus' to Define Coronavirus Pandemic
04/12/2020 08:58 pm EDT
Racism
"Yeah I hope you don't eat pork (H1N1 came from American pig farms) or beef (Mad Cow disease, England) then. Wet markets are not good but you don't get to be a huge hypocrite about this just so you can justify being racist as hell," one wrote.
Infowars
"So you're pivoting to the Alex Jones grift," another said comparing Maher to the Infowars leader.
The Rules Have Changed
"In 2015 WHO decided not to name any pandemic with name of place, country, or people. The decision is supported by almost all members including USA. Covid19 broke out in China, not necessarily originated in China. Science will have final say on that," a third dropped in to clear up the misconception about Maher's examples.
The Source Matters
"The only problem with calling the latest virus the Chinese Virus is who is using the term and why he's doing it. Trump has no interest in resolving the sources of these diseases. He's using the term to ignite the lowest of his supporters," another mentioned, noting that the source of the comment is sometimes more important than the comment itself.
Many Agree
"How many of you heard [Bill Maher]? Did you think he was being racist? I didn't. I think he made sense even though it is probably the only time he has supported a statement by 45 I no longer think Trump was a racist on this issue even though he is on many issues and policies," one person agreed and noted that Maher was on the same wave as Trump.
Why It Matters
"With specific, narrow exceptions of bio warfare, which this coronavirus is not, diseases are a product of natural phenomena. Giving them an identity label of a national, racial, or other human construct has only one result, a foreseeable result: injustice to the labeled group," another wrote, driving home the problem with connecting the virus to China or any other specific country.
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