The WHO Renames Monkeypox to What?

BUCK: Monkeypox, which you’re supposed to be terrified of even though there have been I’m making up the number like a handful of cases in the U.S., whatever. It’s not a lot of cases in the U.S. I don’t even know what the number is it’s so few that the fact that you’re reading about it seems ridiculous. And they’re changing the name, they say the name is racist. You know what they’re changing the name to? They say the name is racist because the association with the origins of it in Africa, the origins of the monkeypox virus, and they’re changing it to hMPXV.

CLAY: That will definitely be a lot easier to remember.

BUCK: Yeah. This is what society is going toward, though, because I think it’s fascinating. I’m reading a fantastic book Undaunted Courage and I think about all these place names that are associated with Native American tribes. Is that good or is that appropriation? ‘Cause let’s just say we change… You only have a few options here. Are we gonna change Washington, D.C., to be Iroquois City or something? Or is that appropriation? And then on these viruses are we gonna just start calling everything CDXPLTQ359? I mean, no one’s gonna know what infection they have.

CLAY: I know. And, honestly, as you well know, historically where a virus is recognized or may come from is a big part of trying to diagnose how it spread, why it’s significant. And, obviously, “the China Virus” was wildly racist, you couldn’t refer to the fact that covid was from China. And, by the way, that it likely came from a lab, thanks to Dr. Fauci’s gain-of-function research, which also was not allowed to be discussed — which is why many reasons this is the most least-trusted man in all of America right now I think, Fauci.