The Lying Cathedral: Monkeypox Edition

A reader suggested that I use the NRX term, “Cathedral”, instead of “Regime,” because it highlights “its missionary impulses, absolute certainty and self-righteousness as well as eagerness to kill heretics.” Yes. However, Josh Barro who is homosexual and disapproves of the way public health officials talk about monkeypox has a post with an example. This is a radio interview that he did with an Oregon official. Barro said that the problem is

He fails to include developing knowledge about an ongoing outbreak in his public communication about how this outbreak is happening. He allows woke ideology to get in the way clear communication.

He withholds information as he does not trust that the public will use the information the way he wants.

He alarms people unnecessarily about diseases with specific risk factors while failing to highlight the most vulnerable.

Quote from the interview with Dr. Tim Menza, who refuses to use the term “monkeypox,” like the woke Oregon public radio person:

Chavez: Right now my understanding is that many of the cases in Oregon have been found in cisgender men who have sex with men. How do you approach public health messaging about this? Is it possible to avoid stigmatization, shame, and blame but still target those who are most vulnerable right now using resources.

Menza: It’s quite the challenge. We’ve tried to stick with the facts as much as possible.

According to the United States we know that hMPXV has affected people who were born male and those who sex with them. We know that the hMPXV affects cisgender, non-binary and men. Most people identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual. However, there are cases where they also report having close contact at times with those assigned to them as a gender.

It is difficult because, as you have pointed out, our data will be used to help us prioritize and direct our response to outbreaks. Oregon Health Authority must provide support services, vaccinations, and other tools to the most vulnerable, including gay men and non-binary people. This is especially important when prioritization of resources is required.

We also know that hMPXV can affect anyone. We want to raise awareness for those not affected by hMPXV to the same extent as gay men and lesbians who have had sex with them. We sometimes feel stuck between communicating to the public and providing another means of communication for those most directly affected by hMPXV. Our strategy was to use community partners as a way to engage the communities and communicate with those most directly affected by hMPXV. Because… people and organizations that know their communities best can best deliver the message. Our task was to find ways to support these communities by working with as many partners as we could.

Chavez: I understand there’s a push to change the naming convention for the virus itself and move away from calling it monkeypox. We’ve been calling it hMPXV during this conversation. What is the reason for this push?

Menza: The term monkeypox is problematic in a couple of ways. This term puts blame on others for the source of the disease, even though it is not currently affecting any other places. The virus is also called Monkeypox, but that’s a misleading name. We believe that rodents are the natural host of the virus and not human primates. This virus was first discovered in primate laboratories. It may not sound the best scientific term.

A number of African scientists have written a wonderful article promoting a naming system. That’s the OHA hMPXV. It doesn’t seem to roll off your tongue. We’re trying not to contradict the assertions of the African scientists and the message they sent to the world about how to communicate about an epidemic that isn’t affecting countries where it is most common.

Douthat argues that contemporary liberalism’s prissiness is a hallmark of woke obscurantism and woke ignorance. This is why liberalism fails to meet political challenges.