The same news media that spent the entire new year referring to COVID-19 as the “Wuhan virus,” the “Wuhan coronavirus,” or the “Chinese coronavirus” have decided this week that those terms are racist now that Republicans are using them with greater frequency.
I guess we are supposed to forget about all those times that newsgroups referred to the virus by the name of the county and city where it reportedly originated and blindly accept that it is probably racist when Republicans do the same.
“Some conservatives, including Mike Pompeo, Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Paul Gosar, are using the term ‘Wuhan virus’ to describe Covid-19,” the New York Times reported Tuesday. “Critics accused the term, which goes against the recommendation of health officials, of being racist and xenophobic.”
Uh-huh.
I would love to know what those same health officials thought when the New York Times reported on Jan. 21 that, “The first U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus has been confirmed in Washington State.”
The press’s attempt this week to legitimize claims that these terms are racist comes not long after House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy shared a CDC fact sheet on social media, saying, “Everything you need to know about the Chinese coronavirus can be found on one, regularly-updated website.”
Democratic lawmakers weirdly decided at that moment that terms like “Chinese coronavirus” are now problematic.
“I’m embarrassed to be his colleague,” Democratic National Committee Vice Chairwoman and New York Rep. Grace Meng said Monday evening. “I’m so disgusted. We await his apology to the nation, the Chinese-American and [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community and to his own constituents.”
Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California said later that same day, “One reason [POTUS] & his enablers failed to contain COVID2019 is due to the myopic focus on China. … Calling it Chinese coronavirus is scientifically wrong & as stupid as calling it the Italian coronavirus.”
“Viruses don’t have nationalities,” anti-Semite and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said the next morning. “This is racist.”
And, wouldn’t you know it, members of the press decided somewhere around that time that, actually, terms such as “Wuhan virus,” which they had been using all along to refer to COVID-19, may actually be pretty problematic.
Thank you, GOP, for opening our eyes!
“Republicans face backlash over racist labeling of coronavirus,” the Guardian reported Tuesday. There is no mention in the report of the Jan. 20 Guardian headline that reads, “A man lies dead in the street: the image that captures the Wuhan coronavirus crisis.”
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona is “coming under fire for calling the coronavirus the ‘Wuhan Virus,'” NBC News reported late Monday, “a reference to the Chinese city where the outbreak started that some critics say is racist and evidence of anti-Asian bias.”
It is weird that NBC would humor these nonsense criticisms of Gosar considering NBC published a report on Jan. 24 that used both the term “Wuhan virus” and “Wuhan coronavirus.” It is doubly weird considering NBC’s sister network, CNBC, published a headline on Jan. 17 titled, “The CDC and Homeland Security begin screening for Chinese Coronavirus at three major US airports as outbreak spreads in Asia.”
The Washington Post meanwhile published an op-ed Tuesday titled, “The two reasons administration officials and Trump allies are linking the coronavirus to China.” Its author, Philip Bump, claims the “sudden push” by Republicans to identify the coronavirus as coming from China is part of “a geopolitical hedge” and also a way “to deflect blame away from the administration.”
A separate Post commentary article published on March 9 said in its headline, “Is it racist to call coronavirus the ‘Wuhan Virus’? GOP congressman’s self-quarantine tweet sparks a debate.”
That is funny because I remember when the Post published a hard news report on Jan. 21 titled, “First U.S. case of potentially deadly Chinese coronavirus confirmed in Washington state.” I also remember the Jan. 24 Post report titled, “Scientists are unraveling the Chinese coronavirus with unprecedented speed and openness.”
The Sacramento Bee even published an editorial Tuesday morning titled, “Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s coronavirus tweet echoes anti-Chinese racism. He must apologize.”
As a reminder, here are a handful of headlines published earlier this year by the exact same news outlet:
- “Deadly Chinese coronavirus spreads easier than thought. Here’s how to protect yourself”
- “What is Chinese coronavirus? CDC is screening passengers at two California airports”
- “Second case of deadly Chinese coronavirus confirmed in US”
- “Texas A&M student being tested for Chinese coronavirus, Brazos County officials say”
- “240 evacuees from Chinese coronavirus epicenter to land at March Air Reserve Base in California”
The Chinese Communist Party thanks you all for your efforts.
There is no great mystery as to why President Trump and his allies refer to COVID-19 as the “Chinese coronavirus” and the “Wuhan virus.” They use those terms because the virus reportedly originated in China, in Wuhan specifically. They also use those terms because that is how the virus was branded from the very beginning by the same newsrooms that claim now that those terms are highly problematic.
These reporters and pundits know we can see what they are doing, right?
(h/t Drew Holden)
