(Well, if it’s like the one here and has a giant wet section. The giant open display meat & produce sections of Costcos are probably closer)
FTR, I don’t disagree with the Webster usage note. I disagree with the implication you appear to draw that it gives the user an unconstrained license to use a highly loaded insulting word any way he or she feels like. To give an example of the specific word you cite, I was once in a long lineup for tickets to something or other – a really long lineup. A couple of black kids tried to cut in at the front of the line. People objected and there was a small ruckus until a security guard came along and shooed them away, pointing out where the end of line was. As they ran off they yelled “racists” at the crowd in general. Now, is that an example of “how words are … actually used, not how some may feel that they should be used”, or was it completely inappropriate usage?
With regard to Maher, the major part of the Real Time show is the panel discussion, where accomplished and well-informed people hold intelligent and insightful discussions and sometimes arguments that can occasionally get quite heated. As I said before, around half of them are women, for the simple reason that we are well into the 21st century and there are a great many distinguished women in prominent positions who have important things to say and important arguments to make. In my view the panel discussion is the centerpiece of the show and is the major reason that the show is now in its 18th year on HBO, a network that prides itself on the quality of its original programming, and has a long string of awards and nominations.
To call someone who hosts such a panel, and gives intelligent articulate women a platform to voice their opinions, a “misogynist” because you don’t like something he once said is extreme hyperbole at best, and an abuse of language at worst. Like the “racist” example above, it becomes simply a meaningless gratuitous insult.
How many US farmer’s markets have caused worldwide pandemics?
The farmer’s markets in my local area are perfectly fine places, often with produce and meats that are of better quality and available in far greater variety than in a typical grocery store. Your experience may be different.
I agree that “Chinese virus” as a name is both useless and tinged with racism. It is, however, both appropriate and vitally important to understand the origin of the COVID-19 virus. My understanding, which may not be accurate, is that the wet markets in question consist primarily or entirely of live animals in filthy conditions, stacked in cages on top of one another, many of them exotic and in this case, likely infected with the virus, possibly from bats – conditions that have been described by virologists as a “time bomb” for a pandemic. Making excuses because criticizing certain cultural practices in China seems vaguely racist is counterproductive. People are dying and we need to know why, and how to prevent it from happening again.
First off, you’re describing Trump’s appeal. “Yeah, he says horrible, nasty things, it’s only the stuff I agree with.” This is not a good argument. You shouldn’t have different reactions to the same behaviors by people depending on whether you agree with them or not. That’s a double standard, hypocrisy, etc.
But, more importantly, he’s said a lot of horrible things. If you agree with him most of the time, then you agree with some evil things, like his antivax, his anti-comic nerd, anti-trans, anti-Muslim, anti-Christian, pro-[n-word] usages, and so on.
It’s not adding adjectives. It’s discussing all the bad things the guy has done. If you disagree with them, then you can argue they didn’t happen, that they were misunderstood, that they aren’t actually as bad as they seem, etc. But you haven’t.
Instead, you have offered the “some people disagree” defense. And that is useless. Of course disagreement exists. People like the guy, after all. But it’s up to you to explain why you disagree, not just act like the mere existence of disagreement makes you possibly correct.
I do not understand why anyone offers this defense.
Maher’s main thing is that he says controversial, shocking bullshit under the guise of “not being politically correct.” The reason he says anything he says is to try and troll and shock. He’s a shock jock. He knows that he’s not “supposed” to say something, so he’ll say it, as long as it won’t be so far to hurt his brand (though, sometimes, he’ll actually apologize to try and deal with that, like the n-word situation).
He knows that we’re all discussing why this is racist, so he’s being the token “liberal” to disagree. He’s creating controversy to get into the news, and to get ratings.
Once you realize that, he makes a lot more sense. It’s why we can bring up all these bad things he’s said just to have someone show other stuff he’s said that doesn’t fit. He’s not working out a consistent world view. He’s a provocateur. A shock jock. A troll.
Now, i’m not saying he’s so bad that he has no views. I’m sure he does, and what he says in public is a decent approximation of those. I’m saying that his actual beliefs aren’t important when he’s trying to be provocative. Viewed that way, it’s easier to just sigh rather than get upset at what he says.
Oh, isn’t this lovely: China begins to censor coronavirus research papers:
China has imposed restrictions on the publication of academic research on the origins of the novel coronavirus, according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities, that have since been removed from the web.
Under the new policy, all academic papers on Covid-19 will be subject to extra vetting before being submitted for publication. Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials, according to the now-deleted posts.
^What we have here is research with Chinese characteristics, friend. What’s wrong with that?
China has contributed to a steady stream of pandemics over the decades (as Bill rightly points out). Much of this (if not all of it) relates to China’s appetite for exotic animals both for food and “Chinese medicine” - homeopathy with Chinese characteristics. While I abhor meat-eating in general, the Chinese system of wet markets, live slaughtering of animals, and eating some animals alive is particularly abhorrent, and also apparently enables viruses to jump the species barrier more efficiently. China, please leave wild animals the fuck alone. They do not belong on the dinner table, or in that bottle of “Chinese medicine”. Think about how your propensity to start off global pandemics squares with your great power ambitions.
Not to mention some of these animals are endangered, which increases their “value” in the black market of Chinese “medicine.”
Since Maher is on HBO ratings are not as important since they are not selling ads based on his ratings. But if his ratings were to tank he would likely be out of a job just like shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.
They’re not selling ads, they’re selling themselves – i.e.- subscriptions. There’s a reason that they’ve devoted a lot of money and effort to the strategic goal of creating quality original programming and have been very successful at it. Bill Maher would not be in his 18th season on HBO if he didn’t add significant value to that goal.
If Maher were axed by HBO another network would hire him pretty quick like Conan went to TBS. Or he might just decide to do more standup shows , he’s still very good at that.
There’s plenty of stupid to go around here. Our Federal response was/is shambolic and haphazard at best, and dismantling Bush 43’s pandemic-related stuff was an act of supreme retardation.
But that doesn’t mean that the Chinese government is absolved of all responsibility. Had they cared that wet markets breed diseases like this, and so do other Chinese cultural practices, they could have shut them down, or done other mitigating actions. And there was no need for them to try and cover it up/obscure the truth either once the outbreak had begun.
BOTH of those were terribly irresponsible, and self-centered in a national way. And the Chinese government should be held to account by other governments for that kind of thing- they let the disease start and they let it get a firm foothold and start spreading before the other nations of the world were even particularly aware of it.
And mostly because the Chinese government is notoriously untrustworthy and seems to have an attitude of “You can’t tell us what to do, nyah, nyah!” about everything.
Personally, I think this is one of a myriad of things the US/NATO/EU needs to check China on- this business in the South China Sea is another. They’re acting in bad faith, flouting international conventions, and generally being bad actors in the world.
Bill Maher is the “equal-opportunity offender,” tell-it-like-it-is type. He blasts all targets reasonably, sparing none via double standard. For instance, he criticizes Islam just as toughly as he does Christianity. Like South Park, he is also one of the few entertainers/outlets willing to criticize China in this Beijing-wields-PR-and-economic-influence era.
Trump saying something doesn’t make it automatically wrong; a blind squirrel finds a nut here and there and a broken clock is right twice a day.
Calling an organization in the pocket of a relatively insignificant source of funding ($44 million compared to $400 million) makes no sense unless there’s an ulterior motive.
Surprised nobody claims Maher eats dead babies for breakfast. He’s been accused of almost everything else bad.
OK, sure. And no doubt the Chinese government deserves blame for that. I’m no apologist for them- I’ve felt for many years we were selling out 1.5 billion people for cheap televisions and toaster ovens.
However, the same criticism could be levied against most western governments.
… and that bitch Anne Murray too!
… Wait.
The head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is an Ethiopian politician and former foreign minister; the Chinese have made major financial investments in Ethiopia, to the point that Addis Ababa is called “the city that China built” because China’s annual contribution to the WHO is dwarfed by the billions China has spent on roads and railroads and high-rises in Ethiopia ($200 million for the new headquarters of the African Union, $3+ billion for the Ethiopia-Djibouti railroad, $800 million for a six-lane highway, etc.). The argument is that WHO is in the Chinese pocket because WHO’s leader is in China’s pocket because said leader’s party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, and his country owe the Chinese a lot of money entirely unrelated to WHO’s finances. Whether that’s true or not is unclear, but it’s not a nonsensical argument.