Too Sensitive to Disease Names?
The deputy Israeli Health minister wants to rename swine flu to Mexican flu as swine is too filthy for them to even mention in daily conversation. Ophelia’s response made me burst out laughing:
Oh right, so they do! Therefore it’s a hell of a good idea to name a scary lethal disease after a set of people instead of after an animal that one isn’t allowed to eat by one’s whimsical deity. Yes indeedy. Sure you don’t want to name it Perez flu? Juan and Maria flu? Spic flu? Funny little brown people on the far side of the world flu? They don’t wash their hands in Mexico flu? In deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork and everything?
