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The Problematic Language of “Beating” Covid-19
In a new story in The Atlantic, writer Ed Yong critiques the metaphors that Trump and others use when talking about Covid-19. Sentiments praising Trump’s strength have filled social media by his supporters, including the hashtag #TrumpStrong. Yong says this has long been the way people talk about disease, and it’s less helpful than people may think. He reports:
Such rhetoric is not unique to Trump. In the Western world, bouts of illness are regularly described as “battles.” Viruses and other pathogens are “enemies” to be “beaten.” Patients are encouraged to “be strong” and praised for being “fighters.” “It’s so embedded in our nature to give encouragement in that way,” says Esther Choo, an emergency physician at Oregon Health and Science University, “but it’s language that we try not to use in health care.”
Equating disease with warfare, and recovery with strength, means that death and disability are linked to failure and weakness. That “does such a disservice to all of the families who have lost loved ones, or who are facing long-term consequences,” says Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University. Like so much else about the pandemic, the strength-centered rhetoric confuses more than it clarifies, and reveals more about America’s values than the disease currently plaguing it.
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