After the San Antonio City Council in Texas unanimously passed a resolution calling use of the terms ‘Chinese virus’ and ‘Kung Fu Virus’ to describe COVID-19 “hateful speech,” writing that the city would “prosecute and curb hate acts related to COVID-19,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a fiery tweet condemning the action, writing, “This is NUTS. SA City Council behaving like a lefty college faculty lounge, triggered by Chick-fil-A & the words ‘Wuhan virus.’ If they want to investigate someone, start with NYT & CNN who both repeatedly (and rightly) referred to it as ‘the Chinese coronavirus.’ #NoSpeechPolice.”
This is NUTS. SA City Council behaving like a lefty college faculty lounge, triggered by Chick-fil-A & the words “Wuhan virus.” If they want to investigate someone, start with NYT & CNN who both repeatedly (and rightly) referred to it as “the Chinese coronavirus.” #NoSpeechPolice https://t.co/a10BZAvleQ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 7, 2020
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg wrote a letter to council members in which he stated:
This coronavirus has held no regard for race, religion, creed, or political boundary. As such, our efforts must meet the indiscriminate nature of COVID-19 with empathy and compassion for all our neighbors. I ask that you consider adopting the attached resolution – which declares that our COVID-19 response efforts will be free of hate and discrimination – at the next Council A-Session.
The resolution itself stated that COVID-19 “was not created or caused by any race, nationality or ethnicity, and the World Health Organization has cautioned against using geographic descriptors that can fuel ethnic and racial discrimination.” It added, “COVID-19 is a public health issue, not a racial, religious or ethnic one, and the deliberate use of terms such as ‘Chinese virus’ or ‘Kung Fu virus’ to describe COVID-19 only encourages hate crimes and incidents against Asians and further spreads misinformation at a time when communities should be working together to get through this crisis …” – READ MORE
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