The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed “Mexican” influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.
That’s got to be one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve read lately. Whenever they try to mix religion and science it just comes out stupid. If your god has problems with pork, tell him not to use pigs to mutate diseases. Shit, tell him to skip disease altogether since he’s god.
It’s tempting to just joke about this ‘pandemic crisis’ but it isn’t funny and it is destroying many lives, 99% of whom do not have Swine Flu/Influenza/Mexican Flu/H1N1.
It’s also tempting to get caught up in the paranoia, rumors and fear mongering and general conspiracy theories that are running rampant on the internet. Everyone is pointing an accusing finger at someone and most English speakers seem to be pointing it at Mexico.
rant
What the fuck do any of you finger pointers think your country would do in this circumstance? Do you think they would handle it better? If you are from the US then I think the answer is NO! Hell No! in fact. The US would have prevaricated, denied, pretended and then run around accusing everyone else – much like they are doing now. Do you think that even President Obama would have the balls to shut down New York City? I mean, shut it down! Close everything non-essential including schools, restaurants, movies, theaters, sports arenas, and night clubs. Send everyone home and tell them to stay there for a week?
Presidente Calderon is on TV every damn day talking to the citizens about what is happening, there are special radio stations and tv channels and web pages to stay up-to-the-minute on it all. There are only a couple of labs in the US and a couple in Canada that are able to genotype a flu virus and Mexico sent this one off to Canada in early April when they realized that there could be an epidemic. They also notified the WHO and anyone else that would listen. Now, they are getting shit about not doing anything soon enough? How soon is enough? When do you notice that among the thousands that die every year of some kind of flu (more than 36 thousand annually in the US alone) that perhaps there is something different going on?
There is a lot of barely disguised racism and xenophobia flowing across the net from the US and it pisses me off. I’m no bleeding heart liberal but I am sick to death of the crap that I read in the US about Mexico. Just saying.
/rant
Now, back to the conspiracy theories. They cover everything from the G8 and a ploy by Mexico to get some money to the Aztlan believers in biological genocide. I’m not buying any of those but the thought that does keep recurring is that there has been an incredible push from the US to demonize Mexico, to use the drug war as a way to keep tourists away and to keep people in the US from seeing Mexico as the strong economy that it is – well, perhaps I should say that it was. Between the cartels and the pig flu and the resulting hysteria, the Mexican economy could take a dive not seen in more than 20 years. In the back of my mind I keep wondering if there is a reason that the US does not want a strong and equal neighbor to the south. I know, that way lies insanity and endless debates about the alien coverups in New Mexico and who really shot JFK. I’m ignoring those thoughts but… they are there.
Meanwhile, there is a huge Cerrado sign over the whole of Mexico. We are CLOSED for a week, come back later – please. Chichen Itza is closed, Cancun has no tourists, the bull ring and the soccer stadium are empty, no large restaurants or nightclubs are open, the Catholic church has even given some kind of special dispensation so that people don’t have to go to mass.
CostCo checkout
Here in Mérida, it is not so apparent. Yes, large venues are closed but small places are open. The grocery stores and CostCo and Home Depot are all open although the employees are all wearing masks. Traffic is quieter, the air is cleaner and you can park anywhere.
Mask wearing is sporadic. I was in CostCo yesterday and while all the employees had them on, customers were mainly unmasked.
I took this picture because I thought it was funny that the mother was not wearing a mask but she had one on her kid. That’s the checker in a mask talking to the kid in the cart, mom is the woman in green.
Way to go Jonna…..wish I could vent in such an explosive yet articulate manner. You crack me up.
You go girl. I agree with everything you have said.
I think you’ll like the Mexico Cooks! article for Saturday, May 2.
We’re all in the same boat, sweetie. It sucks.
Cristina
You are right on Jonna.
Gracias, amiga. I may send a link to your post to um…everyone.
I just got a text message on my cell phone from Telcel telling me to be sure and WASH MY HANDS FREQUENTLY!! I can’t imagine that there is anyone in the Republic that hasn’t gotten some kind of word from the govt about this. It’s an amazing effort that should be recognized.
I also want to add that Debi has a guest post on her blog from our friends Richard and Leslie and it is eloquent and says very clearly what I just swear and froth at the mouth about. Go and read it if you haven’t already.
Jonna, I’ve been reading the El Universal, Diario de Yucatan and other Mexican press and couldn’t agree with you more about the responsible actions of the Mexican government, both national and local. I’m thrilled to be moving there. But was pleasantly surprised to hear of a news alert yesterday that cut out the ‘sexy’ Hugh Jackman segment of Oprah throughout South Florida: Broward County Health and School Boards announcing a confirmed case of H1N1, a student at Hallandale High School (I live in Hallandale). Students sent home with a protocol, school closed down through next Wednesday, program unleashed to totally sanitize school and monitor all students for symptoms. I didn’t hear the word “Mexican” once. Finally. Now if we could just get the slobbering press to behave as responsibly.
It seems that there are fools at the top of all governments. I have never seen so much stupidity regarding a common illness. We get the flu from time to time and no one knows until after we have had it when we tell them about it. Yes some people die due to complications but to have a day by day update to the nation about it is ridiculous. Can everyone be prepared when germs are in the air and on food. Governments have taken on the role of being parents for the nation and we are allowing them to do that. I am now planning to travel and now am nervous about catching the flu……a little learning can be a very dangerous thing.
“The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed “Mexican” influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.”
This makes me want to eat LOTS of pork in public using my left hand.
“That’s got to be one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve read lately. Whenever they try to mix religion and science it just comes out stupid. If your god has problems with pork, tell him not to use pigs to mutate diseases. Shit, tell him to skip disease altogether since he’s god.”
This was coffee spewing perfection. I LOL and read it outloud to Bill. Fist bump, hip bump and elbow bump coming your way.
I have a letter to the editor that was in the paper to share with you:
“It seems that since pigs (swine) are not the carriers of the H1N1 flu strain, and coannot be implicated in its transmission, we would do well to discontinue calling it the swine flu. Yes, i know, the pig flu virus was part of the genetic beginnings of H1NI, alnong with human and bird flu. By using the word “swine” in describing the flu, we mislead people in the implication that pigs or pork is dangerous, which it is not. We therby endanger all pigs and those whose lifelihood involves pigs or pork. How had is it to say h1N1 instead, being more correct and reducing unwarranted fear of pigs. I hope or newspaper and media outlets will immediately take the lead in correcting this unwarranted misleading language. I speak for millions of pigs which stand to lose their lives prematurely and thousands of farmsers who stand to lose their livelihood unnecessarily.”
I swear this is word for word from our local paper. I love the part about pigs losing their lives prematurely. Can you use the words pigs, dangerous and farmer in the same sentence while seriously discussing pig safety?????
And I agree 100% that the US Pres. is being the typical politician. This morning the CDC said that the recommendation for closing a school that has had a positive case of H1N1 is 2 WEEKS….meanwhile, somewhere in Gotham City, the swab results, taken on Monday, on the ONE person in the school suspected of it, are still not back yet. Oh, and the local Health Dept. decided to close its door next week while it has meetings to discuss how to handle the outbreak here. Yes, you heard that right. The Health Dept in the largest South Texas city will be closed next week.
And you are right. I seriously doubt Obama has the balls to close down New York City. It is all politics here as usual. He just announced that this will run its course like “ordinary flus”………..and in the next sentence the paper says the government recommends schools with confirmed cases should close their doors for 2 weeks. So, since when have schools closed for 2 weeks with ONE case of “ordinary” flu? Did I mention that the Ft. Worth, Tx ISD, with 144 schools, completely closed down until after May 8th (or 9th, can’t rememeber). Yeah, ordinary all right. I think they know something we don’t know. All joking aside, this is to be taken seriously, health wise 1st of all (my heart is in agony for the families who have lost loved ones) and from the side of the HUGE economic impact this is having on both Mexico and the US.
I swear I see some spiderwebs in the corner of my house with the words “Yes. We. Can. Pretend. This. Is. Not. Happening.”, “Eat Chikin” and “I Tested Negative!” on them. Wilbur, I think this is Obama’s Katrina.
Whoa. We are not, that’s not, getting any Mexico bashing here. Comments we hear are complimentary about the way it is being handled. Generally, commentators are almost universal in their belief that concerns are exaggerated in the US. Caution, yes, but little more than that. We are getting a solid dose of radical right wing conspiracy talk from such luminaries as Representative Bachman from Minn., who points out that the last time we had this kind of an outbreak Democrat Carter was president and now Democrat Obama is president. She is a real nut case. Ignoring, just incidentally, that Republican Ford was in the chair when it started then. Many reactions have been pretty stupid, like not eating or even handling pork or killing all the pigs in Egypt. With the 24-7 news cycle you have to shut it off to get a break from the craziness these kooks come up with. Have no fear, your salvation is here with this pill, that balm, our injection, or an array of medications we’ve concocted to solve your ills and make us rich. That they may make you sicker or even kill you allows us to come up with something else to sell. Flu is flu whatever else they call it. It sickens and it kills. My uncle John died in the 1918 epidemic that killed millions around the world. Now they rattle cages in industrialized countries with hundreds of cases in populations of hundreds of millions. Meanwhile, thousands are sickened in undeveloped countries. Everything is relative. My principal worry is toe nail fungus. Like the flu, it too will pass. KC
You would think that the non-swine eating religions would jump on the bandwagon saying that this is PROOF that pork is bad rather than saying the name is offensive.
I changed your address on my links page, I didn’t realize you had changed it.
Well, maybe the price of pork will go down, which is good for the common people here, but not so good for the pig farmers.
This whole thing reminds me of the Y2K scare.
regards,
Theresa
I found you….love the new site and pics.
Mic
I haven’t heard the “finger-pointing” from English speakers towards Mexico, either. Granted, though, my English-language news generally comes from those bastions of fair-minded integrity, NPR and the New York Times (that’s kind of a joke, folks).
I HAVE heard, here in Mexico, that President Obama brought the flu with him, and, a variant, that it was brought to Mexico from the US by returning emigrants.
But, I don’t think any country or linguistic group has a lock on silly rumors and/or illogical thinking.
The prevention measures so far seem to be pretty reasonable, and I think that if the outbreak is stable not terribly virulent (this seems to be a very cautiously presented consensus) that things will lighten up soon.
But I do hope the rant made you feel better Jonna! Can you spell “cabin fever”?
PS — if you haven’t yet, read the Midwesterner in Mexico blog entry for April 30 http://www.midwesternerinmexico.com/ If you don’t want to read the whole thing, just scroll down to the swine flu altar….
Very nice site Jonna! Now if I could only get Google Reader to notify me of new posts…
All Right! Google Reader now recognizes WordPress!
Glad you and Mimi are doing well with the contagions. Love your opinion rants. This will be another I show Neil
Trying to get the hang of these HTML things. Suppose to be a picture showing up but didn’t on Debi’s site. Checking to see what turns up here.
Mic
Good points all of you. I think I have seen more of the xenophobic remarks because I hang out on some gardening and ponding forums that aren’t composed of a lot of people that travel much. I had to leave one of my favorite pond forums because the owner was such a racist that it made me feel like I needed a shower after some of his posts. I decided I was supporting him by staying although I miss the other members I felt they too were supporting his views by staying. It’s a hard call. The ones I’m on now are not vicious, just uninformed or only informed by the rabble rousers on TV or in their churches. It’s a shame.
I love the blog you linked to mcm, she’s a hoot and a good writer. The bacon shrine was hysterical.
Here here and rock on Miss Jonna. I too have been hearing/reading the racist and xenophobic comments, they’re hard to miss if you read your news online then make the mistake of scrolling down to the comments section. I’ve forced myself to say “No scroll!” when reading news anymore, I can’t take the ignorance. Bad enough having to read what passes for journalism, don’t need some xenophobe who has never left ButtCheek, Iowa to spread their expert opinion on the “stupid Mexicans”.
Keep up the rants girl, it’s good for the soul to let it all hang out! Elbow bumps to you and Mimi.
Take that, god.
Love the new site and that one made me laugh out loud!
Cheers and btw that nicorrette gum is awful stuff!