Last week, as case numbers in San Diego County continued to rise, San Diego public health officials declared a public health emergency in response to the recent monkeypox outbreak. In a speech praising the move, Super-supervisor Nathan Fletcher offered the following statement: “In January of 2021, as part of my declaration of racism as a public health crisis, I took the bold step of condemning the coronavirus for its racist behavior: infecting, hospitalizing, and killing Blacks and Latinxes at much higher rates than whites. Sadly, it seems that history is repeating itself while at the same time moving backward, because now we face another pandemic, monkeypox, and another public emergency. This time, we have a disease that disproportionately infects gay men. Sometimes, I feel as though nature itself is not only racist, but homophobic. In that case, it is the duty of every San Diegan to take a stand against nature. Because if we don’t, then even if we defeat the monkeypox, we will have lost.”
Last week, as case numbers in San Diego County continued to rise, San Diego public health officials declared a public health emergency in response to the recent monkeypox outbreak. In a speech praising the move, Super-supervisor Nathan Fletcher offered the following statement: “In January of 2021, as part of my declaration of racism as a public health crisis, I took the bold step of condemning the coronavirus for its racist behavior: infecting, hospitalizing, and killing Blacks and Latinxes at much higher rates than whites. Sadly, it seems that history is repeating itself while at the same time moving backward, because now we face another pandemic, monkeypox, and another public emergency. This time, we have a disease that disproportionately infects gay men. Sometimes, I feel as though nature itself is not only racist, but homophobic. In that case, it is the duty of every San Diegan to take a stand against nature. Because if we don’t, then even if we defeat the monkeypox, we will have lost.”
Comments