this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is facing widespread criticism from political leaders and civil rights organizations after a video surfaced of him making false claims that COVID-19 was designed to attack certain ethnic groups while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people — a conspiracy theory that drew accusations of antisemitism and racism.

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[–] MasterObee -3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

“COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,”

Are you claiming that there are no differences between ethnicities and the harshness of covid?

COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” he continued, adding, “We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact.”

What's wrong with that? He said we don't know the origins. That's fact. He said we do know they affect different ethnicities differently, that's fact.

You're trying to push a narrative against him for that.

Come on, dude.

[–] FlyingSquid 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] MasterObee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

select as an object of attention

[–] FlyingSquid 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Select? Attention? Hmm. That sounds like it has agency. But then a disease can't have agency, so it must be someone with agency using the disease. Almost as if it's a bioweapon.

If it's targeted, that is.

[–] MasterObee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sounds like the virus infecting an individual falls under targeting.

You're the only one suggesting it was a bio weapon.

[–] FlyingSquid 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nope. Kennedy was when he mentioned COVID "targeting" certain ethnic groups in virtually the same breath as discussing bioweapons targeting certain ethnic groups. One thing directly related to the other. He didn't have to draw a map.

[–] MasterObee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

COVID “targeting” certain ethnic groups in virtually the same breath as discussing bioweapons targeting certain ethnic groups. One thing directly related to the other.

He said 2 things:

  1. viruses can be changed by humans

  2. viruses can affect different minorities differently

In the article it even says "Kennedy later posted a video statement on Sunday, saying in part: "Nobody has suggested that these were deliberately engineered changes and I certainly don't believe that they were deliberately engineered," but calling it "kind of a proof of concept that you can develop bioweapons that will attack certain ethnicities."

is it a bad sound bite? Yeah, should he be more careful, yeah. But no, he didn't imply that it was a bioweapon created to target everyone but jews and chinese. He clarified after that he 'certainly' doesn't believe they were engineered.

People just want to latch on to bad sound bites bc his parties mad he's getting some traction against a senile 82 YO man.

[–] FlyingSquid 0 points 1 year ago

It wasn't a soundbite, it was a full video. I watched it. He was talking about the Chinese creating ethnic bioweapons and then pivoted to COVID not "targeting" Chinese people. It was not a change of subject, just a pivot. The obvious implication was that COVID was engineered. Why does he have to literally come out and say that explicitly? Does everything have to be literally spelled out to you?

I'm starting to think you didn't watch the video and are trying to tell me what I saw and heard with my own eyes and ears was not what I saw and heard.

[–] Mostly_Harmless 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He was talking about covid in the context of engineered bioweapons. That the virus has been more severe with people of color can, and has been explained by racial inequity and access to care.

"The overrepresentation of African Americans among confirmed COVID-19 cases and number of deaths underscores the fact that the coronavirus pandemic, far from being an equalizer, is amplifying or even worsening existing social inequalities tied to race, class, and access to the health care system." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7762908/#:~:text=Approximately%2097.9%20out%20of%20every,Asians%20(40.4%20per%20100%2C000).

[–] MasterObee 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What makes you think he was talking about covid in the context of engineered bioweapons?

He said "there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact."

You provided one such paper that shows that there are differences in how covid impacted different communities. Whether that's due to obesity rates, socioeconomic status or healthcare access.

"Kennedy later posted a video statement on Sunday, saying in part: "Nobody has suggested that these were deliberately engineered changes and I certainly don't believe that they were deliberately engineered,"