Time to Ban Wet Markets • Hacker News Board

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#21

Post by Traster » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:18 PM UTC

The phrase I really liked for these sort of articles are 'Intellectual zambonis". Here come the right wing intellectuals to buff over the rampant xenophobia and put a sheen of intellectual justification behind it.

Let us be clear about this: A 'wet market' is

> a market selling fresh meat, fish, produce, and other perishable goods as distinguished from "dry markets" which sell durable goods such as fabric and electronics

Fish & Meat counters exist at literally every large supermarket in the UK, is she planning on banning Billingsgate Market? Or, have we just come up with a term 'wet market' - that no one actually has heard before, dressed it up as some asian odity and then decided we need to ban it?

Wet markets aren't a particularly likely place for pandemics to spawn from (let's ignore the fact that there a literally hundreds of thousands of them operating every day). We're not fighting off dozens of epidemics. The thing that enables these outbreaks is bad food hygeine standards, and that doens't improve by banning anything we've decided is vaguely foreign and scary.

Here's a Michelin starred chef going to a wet market to find you the highest quality fish to cook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GTTXJKZ08Q

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#22

Post by asdfadsfgfdda » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:19 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #19

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

Got any info on point 6? Did they really start that rumor?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lij...

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#23

Post by trentnix » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:19 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #19

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

Got any info on point 6? Did they really start that rumor?

The Chinese media spread the rumor, and they are an extension of the Chinese government. Whether they started the rumor is immaterial.

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#24

Post by jsjddbbwj » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:19 PM UTC

Doesn't look like at this point we should be caring too much about not offending. You know, after thousands have died because some undomesticated people eat bats and stuff.

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#25

Post by donaldihunter » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:20 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #19

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

Got any info on point 6? Did they really start that rumor?

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us...

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#26

Post by askl56 » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:20 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #19

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

Got any info on point 6? Did they really start that rumor?

They certainly brought it to prominence:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-13/chinese-o...

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#27

Post by TazeTSchnitzel » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:20 PM UTC

derefr wrote: post #15

So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market of butchers/fishmongers/etc. that five-star restaurants source from all over the world? This article seems to be doing a motte-and-bailey of grossing you out with things that are just “regular meat wholesaler things” (e.g. fresh meat sitting out on ice without refrigeration) and then moralizing about the specific kinds of meats…

> So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market

1) The wet market is full of live animals in close proximity and very unsanitary conditions. So pathogens are more likely to still be alive, and can jump between diverse hosts, not just to humans.

2) The wet market is full of non-domesticated, exotic animals which carry pathogens humans are not acquainted to.

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#28

Post by Traster » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:20 PM UTC

beamatronic wrote: post #8

Why does anyone think these markets are okay?

Wet markets? Do you want to be able to go to a market and buy fresh fish? Do you think that's an option that should be available to you or to your favourite restaurant owner? Because if so, then well done, you're one of the people that think these markets are ok.

Edit: Here's Gordon Ramsey giving you a guide on how to buy good fish (spoiler: he's at a wet market) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GTTXJKZ08Q

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#29

Post by spking » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:20 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #19

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

Got any info on point 6? Did they really start that rumor?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lij...

Re: Time to Ban Wet Markets

#30

Post by BubRoss » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 10:21 PM UTC

heldupathome wrote: post #13

I think it’s a disgrace that the Chinese government hasn’t apologized for 1.) keeping wet market open 2.) silencing whistleblower doctor that would have stopped a pandemic 3.) letting 5 million people leave Wuhan 4.) pressuring WHO to not recommend border shutdown against China - Conjecture 5.) silencing whistleblowers inside China and around the world 6.) at one point, was surfacing propagandas that the virus didn’t…

They have a million muslims imprisoned and are stealing their homes and letting soldiers rape their wives. You think they should apologize for wet markets first? Every country in south east asia has wet markets. China is wiping out minorities they don't like. Maybe the outrage should be focused somewhere else.