Do as we say, not as we do.
That’s the message (always) from the establishment media.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed a few more executive orders (he’s approaching 30 — who needs Congress?). In one, with the mouthful-of-a-title — “Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States” — the president, in essence, banned the use of the term “China virus.”
“Advancing inclusion and belonging for people of all races, national origins, and ethnicities is critical to guaranteeing the safety and security of the American people. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric has put Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons, families, communities, and businesses at risk,” the order says.
The Federal Government must recognize that it has played a role in furthering these xenophobic sentiments through the actions of political leaders, including references to the COVID-19 pandemic by the geographic location of its origin. Such statements have stoked unfounded fears and perpetuated stigma about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and have contributed to increasing rates of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI persons. These actions defied the best practices and guidelines of public health officials and have caused significant harm to AAPI families and communities that must be addressed.
One section reads: “Executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that official actions, documents, and statements, including those that pertain to the COVID-19 pandemic, do not exhibit or contribute to racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”
Before the order was enacted, CBS News wrote: “The Biden executive order is also expected to direct federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine whether there are xenophobic references like ‘China virus’ in any existing policies, directives or government websites published by the Trump administration.”
Former President Donald Trump said COVID-19 — which indisputably originated in China — originated in, uh, China. He often declared that Beijing’s early cover-up of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, led to the pandemic.
In March, a reporter asked Trump at a White House press conference why he was calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus.”
“Because it comes from China,” Trump replied. “That’s why.”
The press, of course, was apoplectic. How dare he call a virus by the site where it originated?
The White House’s Twitter account later noted that past pandemics have routinely been named just like that. “Spanish Flu. West Nile Virus. Zika. Ebola. All named for places. Before the media’s fake outrage, even CNN called it ‘Chinese Coronavirus,'” the White House tweeted.
But the hypocrisy of the MSM is never to be underestimated.
Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, caught the irony of Biden’s move right away, citing a Washington Post headline.
“Wait a minute…” he wrote on Twitter. “After months of being told it was racist to refer to COVID as a ‘Chinese virus’ the WP refers to its new strains as ‘British and South African variants.’ So you can use the name of the nation where it comes from, so long as that nation is not China. Got it.”
Wait a minute…After months of being told it was racist to refer to COVID as a “Chinese virus” the WP refers to its new strains as “British and South African variants.” So you can use the name of the nation where it comes from, so long as that nation is not China. Got it. pic.twitter.com/IlXLNbRPvx
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 25, 2021
Same as it ever was.