Outrage over government tweet linking Pride Month with rise in monkeypox cases

[webfact]

A now-deleted tweet from Thai health officials trying to link a rise in monkeypox cases with Pride Month has prompted outrage from disbelieving netizens. The tweet from the Department of Disease Control was posted on Thursday evening, June 1, according to a Coconuts report.

 

“The Department of Disease Control advises people to be vigilant against monkeypox as 21 cases were found in May.”

 

On the surface, the words seem okay, but it was the imagery chosen to accompany the tweet that has netizens shaking their heads in disbelief. The tweet was posted with photos from previous Pride parades, leading to the obvious assumption that the government was trying to make a connection between the LGBTQ+ community and a rise in monkeypox cases. The response on Twitter was swift and furious.

 

By Peter Roche

Top picture: iStock/Marina Demidiuk

 

Full story: https://phuket-go.com/phuket-news/national-news/outrage-over-government-tweet-linking-pride-month-with-rise-in-monkeypox-cases/

 

-- © Copyright Phuket GO 2023-06-02

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

On the surface, the words seem okay, but it was the imagery chosen to accompany the tweet that has netizens shaking their heads in disbelief. The tweet was posted with photos from previous Pride parades, leading to the obvious assumption that the government was trying to make a connection between the LGBTQ+ community and a rise in monkeypox cases. The response on Twitter was swift and furious.

Rather than unbelievable I find it quite believable that they still come out with this utter rubbish.

[sqwakvfr]

If this had happened in the US somebody would have resigned or been forced to resign by now.  

[klauskunkel]

at the end of the article was this screen shot from the government's website (this happens when one does not understand what was translated)

Screenshot (translated) from www.ddc.moph.go.th

 

Lost in Translation: In 1980, the World Health Assembly declared smallpox eradicated (eliminated), and no cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since.

 

[brucegoniners]

What freaking morons!

[ikke1959]

From the same man who accused the foreigners of bringing Covid in the country...the man who said Covid is just a flu, and  made the mess with vaccinations.. and so on.. So hard to believe this news, as it is from someone with no idea

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

If this had happened in the US somebody would have resigned or been forced to resign by now.  

If they had linked it to a black gay pride event they would have been lynched or never seen day light again !

[WHansen]

The story is about monkeypox

[Caldera]

I don't get the outrage. Just as Songkran was a major driver of the current Covid wave, Pride Month has the potential to be a major driver of monkeypox infections. That's just a fact, as people will come from afar and mingle.

 

Get over the PC aspect, get vaccinated if you're at risk.

[sidneybear]

3 minutes ago, h90 said:

They could have linked it to white conservative Christians and they would get applauded for it.

It's great that freedom of speech permits people to hold differing opinions. 

[h90]

1 minute ago, sidneybear said:

It's great that freedom of speech permits people to hold differing opinions. 

Of course I am a freedom of speech absolutist.....Every opinion should be allowed, even if it is hurtful, racist, misogynist, etc...as long as it is not a direct call for violence.

Unfortunately we don't have that neither in Thailand nor in the west....not even on trivial topics, vaccines, history, etc....

[sidneybear]

11 minutes ago, h90 said:

Of course I am a freedom of speech absolutist.....Every opinion should be allowed, even if it is hurtful, racist, misogynist, etc...as long as it is not a direct call for violence.

Unfortunately we don't have that neither in Thailand nor in the west....not even on trivial topics, vaccines, history, etc....

You're absolutely right. Freedom of speech is fast disappearing in the west. Let's hope that it doesn't disappear in Thailand too.

[proton]

Surely a case of monkey hate, or simianphobia ????

[Pedrogaz]

I'm not sure that I understand this. I thought monkeypox was associated with gay and gay sex, not that I have followed this closely at all. Was that all bunkum put out before any facts were known? Are gays definitely not associated with monkey pox?

[BangkokReady]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:46 PM, sqwakvfr said:

If this had happened in the US somebody would have resigned or been forced to resign by now.  

If half of the stuff that happens in Thailand happened in the US, most people would be sacked, locked up or have no driving licence within a day.

[sidneybear]

18 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

I'm not sure that I understand this. I thought monkeypox was associated with gay and gay sex, not that I have followed this closely at all. Was that all bunkum put out before any facts were known? Are gays definitely not associated with monkey pox?

They are associated with it, owing to the irrefutable fact that gay sex is indeed a risk factor for monkey pox:

 

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/monkeypox.aspx#:~:text=Who is at risk of,or sex on premises venues.

 

Woke zealots who rail against warning gay people about a serious disease are the problem here.

[Pink Mist]

A post using a discriminatory slur has been removed along with a troll post, a covid misinformation post and a moderation comment.

[Screaming]

More likely would be linking monkey pox with Juneteenth Day celebrated in the United States.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 6/2/2023 at 2:51 PM, ikke1959 said:

From the same man who accused the foreigners of bringing Covid in the country...

If you're referring to Anutin, you are wrong (again), he did not say that.

 

But you think that foreigners didn't bring covid (now generally agreed that it came from China) to Thailand (and every other country)?   Which country did it come from, then?

[Bday Prang]

4 hours ago, sidneybear said:

They are associated with it, owing to the irrefutable fact that gay sex is indeed a risk factor for monkey pox:

 

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/monkeypox.aspx#:~:text=Who is at risk of,or sex on premises venues.

 

Woke zealots who rail against warning gay people about a serious disease are the problem here.

         Kind of predictably ironic isn't it    The wokies overcome with outrage on behalf of a group of people who have been advised that they may be at increased risk of contracting a disease. Presumably they think that becoming infected with this disease is preferable to being "offended"

         What is concerning is how quickly what was effectively   sensible  public health policy advice was cancelled   purely in response to the virtue signalling of a disturbed and vocal minority

          What would have been the outcome following the outbreak of AIDS had wokeism and social media existed in the 80's

           Further evidence in my opinion that Wokeness needs to be stamped out at least as much as any of the prejudices it claims to stand against  As another example, the wokies were outraged when they found out that in the UK police had stopped and searched slightly more black people as part of an anti knife crime crack down.  The cries of racism were deafening, even though the majority of the perpetrators of stabbings were black,  as indeed were the victims

       So again it seems to their way of thinking, better to have a black kid stabbed than to offend the feelings of others. (namely themselves)  

[sidneybear]

9 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

What is concerning is how quickly what was effectively   sensible  public health policy advice was cancelled   purely in response to the virtue signalling of a disturbed and vocal minority

That's the most worrying part: even Thailand is struggling these days to stand up to the woke outrage mob. Gay people might not realise that they are at risk of catching a serious disease because of this virtue signalling wokist nonsense. 

[Jingthing]

14 hours ago, sidneybear said:

They are associated with it, owing to the irrefutable fact that gay sex is indeed a risk factor for monkey pox:

 

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/monkeypox.aspx#:~:text=Who is at risk of,or sex on premises venues.

 

Woke zealots who rail against warning gay people about a serious disease are the problem here.

Define woke.

[Jingthing]

My take.

Pride Month is NOT Songkran.

It represents a global movement to promote LGBT equality in civil rights.

It's not problem for a health department to highlight known risk groups and what behaviors are risky.

I don't think it was a good idea to bring Pride Month into it.

[sidneybear]

38 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Define woke.

Try this: An ideological and false state of awareness achieved only by those hypocrites who find injustice in everything except their own behaviour. 

 

In this case, a well meaning public health message was withdrawn and people may suffer as a result. I know lots of gays and they don't go around shouting about injustice all the time - they're integrated into society, balanced and nice people just like anyone else, who would welcome well meaning public health messages that advise them to take precautions during an epidemic.

 

[Jingthing]

4 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Try this: An ideological and false state of awareness achieved only by those hypocrites who find injustice in everything except their own behaviour. 

 

In this case, a well meaning public health message was withdrawn and people may suffer as a result. I know lots of gays and they don't go around shouting about injustice all the time - they're integrated into society, balanced and nice people just like anyone else, who would welcome well meaning public health messages that advise them to take precautions during an epidemic.

 

You custom created a narrow definition tailored to your opinion of this one situation. 

[Jingthing]

Again the problem here is conflating Monkey Pox to Pride Month.

Pride Month is a political cultural phenomenon.

A health department has no business going there.

The pushback was deserved

 

Again it is completely correct for a health department to clearly talk about high risk groups and high risk behaviors. So in this case yes it is true gay men are a high risk group for Monkey Pox.

 

Gay men are gay men all year not only a month.

 

Instead of alienating messages they would be advised to do something that would actually help. Promoting vaccination to high risk individuals. 

 

That includes some gay men. Not all.

[sidneybear]

41 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Again the problem here is conflating Monkey Pox to Pride Month.

Pride Month is a political cultural phenomenon.

A health department has no business going there.

The pushback was deserved

Isn't a gay pride event is one where gay men will converge in festive mood and meet other gay men, so more sexual interaction is likely to occur than when such people are not attending this event? It's not a conflation to say that risk of passing on infections is higher at such a time, in the same way that risk of road accidents is higher during holidays, when people travel more. 

 

All this confected woke outrage has achieved is suppression of a valid and well intended public health warning, which will in turn result in more people catching this horrible diseases. 

[sidneybear]

30 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You custom created a narrow definition tailored to your opinion of this one situation. 

So please indulge us with your definition of woke then.

[Jingthing]

14 minutes ago, sidneybear said:

So please indulge us with your definition of woke then.

Just a generic attack word now of the right wing to attack anything they don't like.

It did have an original very positive meaning coming from Black Americans but that has been so perverted by now as to make the original meaning irrelevant. 

[Jingthing]

18 minutes ago, sidneybear said:

Isn't a gay pride event is one where gay men will converge in festive mood and meet other gay men, so more sexual interaction is likely to occur than when such people are not attending this event? It's not a conflation to say that risk of passing on infections is higher at such a time, in the same way that risk of road accidents is higher during holidays, when people travel more. 

 

All the woke pushback has achieved is suppression of a valid and well intended public health warning, which will in turn result in more people catching this horrible diseases. 

You think sexualiy active gay men hibernate for the other 11 months?

You think Pride month is just a cover for an orgy?