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.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        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.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            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 Master/King@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              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.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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                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.