Why Wuhan-Virus?
Why Wuhan-virus is the CORRECT and ETHICAL Name for this Strain of Covid-19 Virus
If you wanna skip over my rant - just go to the end and watch the great video that says it better than I ever did!
I've had several people who appear to otherwise be relatively intelligent raise objections to my use of the term "Wuhan-virus" in my updates and elsewhere. Several of these "Intellectual but Idiots" (IYI's as Nicholas Taleb describes them) even immediately proceed to attack me as being racist and a right-winger, Trump-loving, Nazi in their conveyance of their concern about my point of view. Clearly they don't know me at all and are also ignorant of the Principle of Charity which all civilized people should follow when reading something from someone for the first.
Well, these people are wrong - even the few well meaning nice ones. I've described why I use this term several times on my wall and in other comments, but I think it's time to spell it out in detail why my term is both more correct and more ethical than theirs is. Perhaps, after reading this, you'll take it upon yourself to share this knowledge to people who have no idea who you are but have taken it upon themselves to label you as a racist because they don't like a word you used. Remarkable how they can read your mind using one word, eh?
Why Wuhan-virus is the correct and most ethical term:
1) There are actually TWO versions of Covid-19 out there! There are two identified strains of Covid-19 discovered according to this paper. So how do we know which one we're talking about?!?!? There's the S strain which is evolutionarily older and less virulent, and the L strain which is far more virulent and comes from the Wuhan area of China. So it's actually more precise and accurate to refer to what we're dealing with as the Wuhan variant of the Covid-19 virus, or Wuhan-virus. That's really the kicker and there's no more discussion needed after this point, imho. But wait, there's more!
2) Holding the PRC accountable The Communist government of China is probably the most vile & evil government on the planet right now. They are KNOWN to dissect living people, generally members of the religious group, Falun Gong, to provide an on-call organ donor service to wealthy people. They are KNOWN to host Uighur Muslims in what can only accurately be called concentration camps where people are tortured, re-educated, and murdered. The litany of human rights abuses and crimes is too long to list but the one relevant to us right now is their efforts to hide the truth about the Wuhan-virus and their gross negligence that let it come out of China and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people world-wide. The government of China is directly responsible for this pandemic and needs to be forever associated with it.
3) As a filter for people who refuse to think. OK as a known curmudgeon and contrarian I admit to sometimes using terms for their provocative impact alone. :-) But in this case, it's a great way to determine the credibility and competence of people who comment on your posts that you've never heard of before. The reactionary ones who object the most strenuously never - and I mean never - have anything useful to offer constructively to the conversation. I give these people a few chances after clarifying what's going on and the rules for debate (especially the Principle of Charity) and then end up blocking them without any feelings of guilt after 3 strikes because I know they were just a waste of bits. That leaves me to make meaningful responses to people clearly interested in the subject so that we all can learn together.
4) To remind people of the first victims of the PRC, the innocent people of the Wuhan province of China. Calling it the Wuhan-virus is not an attack of anyone of Chinese origin or descent any more than Dachau is an expression against Jews. Citizens of China are the first victims of not just the virus, but also the gross government response that resulted in literally uncounted deaths all over. They deserve to be remembered - as do all the victims of this travesty.
5) Even better watch how Bill Maher says it best on YouTube.