People are really up in arms about calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus”? Frances Floresca of The Salt Lake Tribune has more to say on this matter. Not only is this a new kind of ridiculous and a truly huge waste of an argument, but the point of the matter is that the coronavirus DID originate in China and it DID grow out of control in China. Did they shut things down when it was noted? Nope. Did the virus spread? Yes it did. Unfortunately the rest of the world somehow didn’t think to take precautions and we now have the mess we’re living in. That’s okay, kind of but not really, we’re learning to live with it through various methods and with a lot of patience, but the re-opening of China’s wet markets as Maher mentions is the kind of lunacy that makes a lot of jaws drop and quite a few people wonder if China is really taking this matter as seriously at this point as everyone else is. It’s ironic really that throughout the rest of the world a lot of us didn’t think this would be that big of a deal (guilty) and now here we are confined to our homes and with a lot of people not able to go back to work in the name of social distancing. China no doubt has an idea of how serious it is, be opening up the wet markets, and even opening up select movie theaters as the news has reported, is enough to get people wondering if they realize how serious it is but just don’t care.
If you need an idea of what the wet markets are, they’re basically marketplaces that sell fresh meat, produce and other perishables. The term is also used to show that the market in question is selling live animals that the vendors slaughter upon purchase. That might sound abhorrent to some folks but given that China is a completely different culture one can’t be too judgmental. Stating that the coronavirus originated in a wet market though is still a lot of hearsay since there’s no way to pin down just what happened and when the virus was released. Graham Redfearn of The Guardian has his own opinion on this topic. There is however a lot of conjecture since the idea of a virus being released and coming into contact with a human host and then spreading exponentially, particularly in a location that’s bound to be wet, humid, and perfect for spreading diseases of many kinds. Opening it at this time sounds completely irresponsible not to mention dangerous since there’s no telling just what might happen again if another disease is transmitted. The world’s already been hit with one pandemic, it’s not likely that anyone wants to experience an instant replay.
Blaming China entirely is unfortunately not the best idea since like it or not the rest of the world reacted kind of poorly to the pandemic and didn’t take it seriously enough to do anything significant in time. The only that is happening at the moment is that our government is quibbling with each other over how best to help the people instead of JUST HELPING the people that are currently feeling the pinch the worst when it comes to the effects of COVID-19. One could easily say that the virus has brought out the best in those that are trying to help and the worst in those that want to sit around trying to fight over the best course to proceed with. Carl Hulse of The New York Times has something else to add to the discussion. For many of those actually paying attention and staying home as much as possible it is frustrating to see individuals and groups still out and about going on with their day as though nothing is happening since the whole idea of ‘I’m not sick so it’s not affecting me’ has become the calling card of the selfish and the ignorant, while the daily grind of staying at home and trying to find a way to cope has become the average citizen’s life. The newscasts stating that China is already trying to act as though they’ve hit the light at the end of the tunnel and are in the clear is also quite frustrating as it indicates that they’re ready to move forward without taking time to let the virus run its course and with the distinct possibility that another outbreak could happen thanks to the wet markets being open and people being allowed to congregate again.
Of course people might state that there are many individuals wearing masks, and perhaps everyone is. It might even be that they’re wearing gloves, but it doesn’t matter. Starting up the wet markets once again is almost like a person with the flu trying to eat a full meal while they’re still sick, there’s nothing good that’s going to come of it, and it’s a risk that those taking it know full well could possibly will backfire. Normally I don’t agree much with Bill Maher, but this time I can’t help think that he’s making a lot of sense.
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