(AllHipHop News) Meek is not the only one making racist jokes about this deadly virus that is non-discriminatory in who it affects.
Meek Mill took to Twitter to stir up a controversy surrounding the origins of the COVID-19, most popularly known as the coronavirus.
The Philly rapper questioned the origin of the virus stating: “Didn’t North Korea say that had a nice Christmas gift for us?”
Meek was referring to the widespread virus that has crippled the world.
Immediately, this seemingly natural occurrence has been weaponized, as conspiracies run wild on the Internet.
Didn’t North Korea say that had a nice Christmas gift for us?
— MeekMill (@MeekMill) March 17, 2020
What is this thing anyway?
According to the CDC, it is “an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in China and which has now been detected in more than 100 locations internationally, including in the United States. The virus has been named ‘SARS-CoV-2’ and the disease it causes has been named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (abbreviated ‘COVID-19’).”
“Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now with this new virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats.
The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir.
The Asian genesis is key because that speaks to the racist nature of the tweet.
Meek is not the only one making racist jokes about this deadly virus that is non-discriminatory in who it affects.
President Trump called it the “Chinese Virus” and immediately, critics blasted the president.
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
People like New York’s mayor, Bill De Blasio hit him for placing blame on American citizens that will be targeted because of their Asian heritage.
“If you’re looking for someone to pin this crisis on, try the guy who made up a phony Google website or promised testing kits that he STILL hasn’t delivered,” de Blasio tweeted.
If you’re looking for someone to pin this crisis on, try the guy who made up a phony Google website or promised testing kits that he STILL hasn’t delivered.
Our Asian-American communities — people YOU serve — are already suffering. They don’t need you fueling more bigotry. https://t.co/jjcO7treC2
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) March 17, 2020
“Our Asian-American communities — people YOU serve — are already suffering. They don’t need you fueling more bigotry.”
The origins of Meek’s tweet, while it just might have been a poorly placed joke, is from a December statement from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry’s first vice minister Ri Thae Song, according to CNN.
“The dialogue touted by the US is, in essence, nothing but a foolish trick hatched to keep the DPRK bound to dialogue and use it in favor of the political situation and election in the US,” Thae Song said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“It is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it will select to get,” added Ri.
Either way, Meek did not move like a champion on this one.