Calling it Covid-19 is intellectually dishonest? You lost me completely.
Who lied about anything? We have to be having two different conversations.
I've posted on the virus board extensively over the past number of weeks, too much, even. I've always referred to this virus as Coronavirus, Covid, Covid-19, or just "the virus." I have no intention of changing that.
There are very few truths about this virus; there are more questions than answers. One of the questions is regarding the origin. The evidence strongly points to this virus being first discovered in China. There is further evidence that it may have been created by the Chinese government in a lab, for reasons unknown.
So far, I'm pretty sure we're in complete agreement, or at least close to it.
Our disagreement, to my understanding, is whether the term "Chinese" is allowed to be associated with this virus in any way. My opinion is that when something is created by a state actor, that state owns it, for better or worse. Labeling something as "belonging to" or "created by" is perfectly acceptable, as long as it is factually correct. In recent history, we've experienced Chinese computer viruses and Russian hackers. At no point did anyone have any issue with those labels, as they were accurate descriptions of state actors and their creations. I believe that had there been no media reports of racist and bigoted attacks against Asians recently, there would be no issue with labeling this as a Chinese virus.
The issue here is that there
were bigoted attacks. And as we look to limit that, we are inadvertently whitewashing the truth behind this virus: it may have been created by the Chinese government. To avoid this truth so we can maybe avoid setting off some bigots is where intellectual dishonesty comes into play. The truth doesn't change because people are using it as an excuse to hurt other people.
As a gun owner, I'm sure you're very familiar with the phrase, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." Words are powerful, just like guns. They need to be wielded carefully and responsibly. But we don't ban words because people are using them irresponsibly. We call out those using the words as an excuse to commit their hateful acts, and we make sure to highlight that the words are only an excuse.