August 3, 2022

In Brief: Monkeypox See, Monkeypox Do

Democrats and the media adopt a “don’t say gay” approach to a disease most prevalent in gay men.

Joe Biden announced a task force to lead the administration’s response to monkeypox. That team includes experts “on health issues affecting the LGBGQIA+ [sic] communities.” That got us to wondering why that focus would be necessary. Biden’s statement never says. The same goes for California Governor Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency in his state while promising to “stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization.” Why? He doesn’t say.

The reality, of course, is that while monkeypox is not specifically a homosexual disease, it is disproportionately prevalent among men who have sex with men. According to the Washington Examiner:

Though anyone can be susceptible to the disease, nearly all cases are in gay or bisexual men, according to health officials. Data from New York City found that nearly 98% of cases were in men, with just 1.4% identifying as heterosexual.

Those stats aren’t limited to New York City. Douglas Blair of The Daily Signal notes:

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 98% of those infected around the world were gay or bisexual men who were having sex with other men.

Yet the media is, like Democrats, reticent to speak clearly. According to The Washington Free Beacon:

Journalists insist on using the phrase “men who have sex with men” — decades-old terminology often used during the AIDS epidemic — to explain the fact that gay and bisexual men comprise about 98 percent of more than 18,000 monkeypox cases worldwide. Some left-wing activists have argued that even pointing this out is “stigmatizing,” while more sane individuals have suggested this is “particularly important information for gay men to know.”

“Monkeypox” might also be racist, as it turns out. The Beacon adds:

Some “don’t say gay” advocates want to go even further. Earlier this week, New York City health commissioner Ashwin Vasan called on the World Health Organization to rename the monkeypox virus due to “a growing concern for the potentially stigmatizing effects that the messaging around the ‘monkeypox’ virus can have on vulnerable communities.”

As for that AIDS comparison, Blair adds:

Long before monkeypox or the novel coronavirus, there was AIDS.

The 1980s saw mass panic surrounding this new and deadly illness. Although the average American had no idea who could contract the HIV virus that causes AIDS, it was clear to many health experts that the disease disparately affected gay men.

So naturally they lied and said it affected everyone.

In a 1983 article, a younger [Anthony] Fauci declared that children and heterosexual adults were at risk of contracting AIDS, as there existed “the possibility that routine close contact, as within a family household, can spread the disease.”

How many lives affected by any of these viruses could have been better served by tailoring response to those most at risk instead of treating everyone as equal to avoid “stigmatizing” anyone?

As for monkeypox, Erick Erickson gets right down to the point:

The spread of monkeypox had mostly been confined to the gay community, mostly spread through random sexual encounters and group sex. …

The same public health community that shut down churches, beaches, businesses and schools and demanded we stop seeing our grandparents is made up of the same public health officials who cannot bring themselves to prohibit group sexual activities. There will be no “two weeks of no orgies” to stop the spread of monkeypox despite two years of shutdowns to stop COVID-19.

Maybe someone should ask these officials why they hate gay men so much that they won’t even suggest that maybe these guys should hold off on promiscuous anal sex for a while for their own good. Guy Benson, a gay conservative, agrees:

It’s not pointless"sex shaming.“ It’s not homophobic to bluntly recommend that at-risk, sexually-active gay and bisexual men scale back their sexual exploits, or even abstain from them for a period of time, until they can get vaccinated. It’s sound counsel, based on data and science.

Given that the Left is actually generally anti-science, it’s no wonder this has become a problem once again.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.