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WHO Renames Monkeypox to ‘Mpox’ Because Racism

WHO Renames Monkeypox to ‘Mpox’ Because Racism

I have no idea how this solves anything. It’s still a disease that has affected chiefly Africa until this year and men who have sex with other men.

The World Health Organization (WHO) renamed monkeypox to mpox because the original name “could be construed as discriminatory and racist.”

WHO opened a forum in August to focus on a new monkeypox name.

From the press release:

Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will begin using a new preferred term “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.

When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO. In several meetings, public and private, a number of individuals and countries raised concerns and asked WHO to propose a way forward to change the name.

Assigning names to new and, very exceptionally, to existing diseases is the responsibility of WHO under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the WHO Family of International Health Related Classifications through a consultative process which includes WHO Member States.

Scientists named the disease monkeypox in 1970 when they discovered it in captive monkeys in 1958.

People still don’t know the exact origins of it, though.

Monkeypox didn’t become a known virus around the world until this year. Well, Legal Insurrection readers knew about monkeypox before the outbreak because our fabulous Leslie Eastman keeps us updated on all virus and bacterial matters around the world.

Anyway, before 2022, the virus mostly stayed in Africa. The world has seen 80,000 reported cases in countries that never had a reported case of monkeypox.

Most of those cases involved men who had sex with other men. Scientists believe the spread came from “sex at two waves in Belgium and Spain.”

Rename all you want, but you cannot erase the facts: It started in Africa, and most patients are men who had sex with other men.

The Associated Press even mentioned how WHO hadn’t given a second thought to renaming other diseases named after their geographic origin: Japanese encephalitis, German measles, Marburg virus, and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome.

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Comments

A second advantage of this move is to conceal the origin of the recent epidemic, as well as the drivers for it.

The Chinese did this with the Wunah flu, too.

I still think it should be renamed to f***-a-monkeypox.
Otherwise, leave it alone. It’s marginally more useful to retain old names so the chain of causation can be more easily traced.

    Olinser in reply to GWB. | November 28, 2022 at 1:58 pm

    You’ve accidentally touched on WHY they want to rename it.

    The normies know too much about monkeypox and how it affects ONE PARTICULAR GROUP OF PEOPLE ENGAGING IN A SPECIFIC ACTIVITY, so now they’re suddenly going to discover M-POX and talk about it like its a brand new disease to try and con the rubes.

    Paula in reply to GWB. | November 28, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    I don’t like the old name strychnine. It sounds repulsive. I prefer to call it “Honey Butter”.

Dolce Far Niente | November 28, 2022 at 11:14 am

I will note that its always leftists who hear the word “monkey” and automatically translate that to “black person”… and then accuse someone else of racism for saying “monkey”.

Let the “Mmbop” parodies begin.

F that. I’ll still call this affliction “Monkeypox,” just as I refer to “Wuhan virus.” I staunchly refuse to follow the virtue-signaling, obnoxious and idiotic linguistic diktats of Leftist/Dumb-o-crat globalists. I don’t invoke the similarly idiotic “people of color,” “BIPOC,” “black and brown people,” “Latinx,” “trans,” “undocumented immigrant,” or any other Leftist/Dumb-o-crat euphemism and/or linguistic contrivance.

    Milhouse in reply to guyjones. | November 28, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    Very much this. I too still call it “Wuhan Disease”. I also still say “Bombay”, “the Ukraine”, and “the Triborough Bridge”, and refuse to speak of “Palestinians”, “West Bank”, or of “settlements” once they’ve outgrown that term. I refuse to allow other people to dictate my language for their own political purposes. Nobody but me owns the words that I use.

      My sentiments exactly, and while I do get over-ruled in post titles on occasion, I refuse in the body of my posts to refer to men as women (or vice versa), to use ridiculous pronouns that are just wrong (I won’t call a man “she/her”) or to call illegal aliens anything but illegal aliens. Words have meaning, and I will not use Orwellian language to describe perfectly normal things like “woman” and “man.”

I think “The Who” should sue the other “Who”, this useless so called health authority and force them to change their name.

What does the M stand for if not Monkey?

Seemed like the pox was discriminating against cis men because their infection rates were lower than gay men. I suggest calling it the Gay Monkey Pox just to be cautious about origins and infection rates.

They should have called it monogamypox. Maybe then, high-risk groups would make an effort to avoid it.

Person A: It’s not monkeypox, it’s called Mpox now
Person B: What’s the M stand for?
Person A: Monkey
Person B: Oh, OK

Belgium was also the main conduit for HIV intro into Europe, then Haiti and US.

“If you call a dog’s tail a leg, how many legs does it have?”

“5”

“No, 4. Calling it a leg doesn’t make it one.”

It would be nice if the WHO would pay less attention to people feeling bad about things, and more to giving people fewer things to feel bad about.

They won’t do it, of course. That would take understanding, and effort, and doing what it takes to fix the problem that might not feel good. In the really, real world, the problem gets the deciding vote on what will fix it.

Government by hot take doesn’t get you much in the long run.

I see a human. WHO sees, what, a monkey? Rabid diversity (e.g. racism), probably.

I prefer calling Monkey Pox “Adorable Skin Bump Syndrome”. Some cultures cut their skin to make themselves beautiful, but it is very painstaking and time consuming. I recommend Monkey Pox. It is much quicker.

Monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox, monkeypox.

Thank you, Florida groomers, for showing all the rest of us The Proper Response.

Fromage Du Nord | November 28, 2022 at 10:46 pm

“Sodomypox.” FIFY.

A Punk Named Yunk | November 29, 2022 at 10:51 am

So the word “monkey” is racist? OK, I’m taking my kids to the zoo when it gets warmer. After the elephants we’ll go see the M’s. And let’s rename Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Welcome to the M House”. And before too long, we’ll ban the letter M because M is for m….

Hey, while we’re at it, let’s ban that whole species or primates ’cause they’re RACIST!!!

Ah, the joys of Newspeak! (Read 1984 before it gets banned also!)

Voice_of_Reason | November 29, 2022 at 3:48 pm

No one is crying about the names “legionnaire’s disease” or “Rocky Mountain Fever”, yet they get all butt-hurt by Wuhan Flu and Monkeypox.

Homosexuality is not a race.

I know how to resolve this:

1. Just call the monkey a less racist name. Such as chicken, for example. It’ll be FINE.

2. Or “THE pox

3. Or “A pox on your house” pox.

The possibilities are endless.