then the camera panned to a bagpiper, like an alarm bell of lunacy

Loved this description.

We got any other Trypophobics in? all the images on the news articles give me the shivers.

I thought the answer to this was yes but I was unsure of the word so I googled it and DO NOT GOOGLE TRYPOPHOBIA JESUS CHRIST SINCE WHEN DID GOOGLE START SHOWING IMAGES ON THE NORMAL SEARCH PAGE!!!????!!!

I feel sick and unclean and it won’t go away.

Not such mindless, meaningless, empty gestures maybe?

I think initially it was a brilliant idea for exactly the reasons you state. However it quickly turned into a virtue signalling exercise, there were posts on the forum at the time from folk who were being guilt-tripped by their neighbours for not taking part every week.

DO NOT GOOGLE TRYPOPHOBIA JESUS CHRIST

Yeah, I’m not particularly phobic, but you really don’t want to do that.

Not good news for the local ‘bath house’ 😀

Good monkeypox vs bad monkeypox?

We need to bring back Brass Eye to properly investigate.

You do know they’re covering it all up so we don’t find out how it started…..

The disaster fappers will be along in a moment, the usual suspects…

Aged like fine milk, that one.

Yeah that was a great line 🙂

Yep,it’s all fun an jolly japes until it’s your nads with the monkpox.

It doesn’t’ really register on my disaster fapometer and I’d be hedging my bets on a ground nuke going off as the next disaster.
(I think it’s pretty unlikely now thou)

My sister messaged to say she had contracted monkey pox, I didn’t believe her. Then I saw her face…

Is there such a thing as dog whistle homophobia…. because I think there’s a few comments being couched in such a way that they aren’t actually explicit, but I’m in little doubt how they are supposed to be interpreted.

In which case, grow up, have we learned nothing in 40 years.

Depressing, isn’t it.

I’m not saying anything..

@theotherjonv

It seems that group is the primary vector though.

It seems that group is the primary vector though.

Monkeypox was first identified in humans over 50 years ago, have you got evidence which “group is the primary vector”?

I can’t find any, other than apparently the natural reservoir for the virus are rodents in West Africa.

Good monkeypox vs bad monkeypox?

There are two, so the lizard overlods say.  Seems you don’t want the one from the Congo Basin

It seems that group is the primary vector though.

low prevalence, moderate infectivity, newly observed disease.  Likely to be observed to spread first in a definable group.  AIDS was the gay plague – except it wasn’t, was it, and the gutter press had to stop celebrating

newly observed disease

Is it? Apparently it was first observed in 1958.

Edit : Apparently the current strain is not thought to be any different to previous strains.

It’s a bit like saying ‘Chinese people are the primary vector’ for Covid in early 2020. Just because cases are being detected by enhanced surveillance of the LGBT community via sexual health clinics, doesn’t mean it isn’t being transmitted elsewhere, or that hetero sex will be immune to passing it on.

@martinhutch

Even the WHO said the leading theory for the spread of monkeypox into developed countries (Europe) was linked to two raves attended by gay and bisexual men.

That’s not a value judgement, just what is theorised to be, and supported by some evidence no doubt.

@scaredypants

A bit off-topic I know but the prevalence of HIV and AIDS was significantly higher in the gay community (especially in the states) compared to the heterosexual population. That’s simply a fact even though it’s not a good reason for stigma or prejudice.

was linked to two raves attended by gay and bisexual men.

Monkeypox has been known to infect humans since 1970, how the **** does “two raves” define the virus?

And surely the sexual transmission of the virus is as irrelevant as the sexual transmission of Covid, or even the common cold for that matter?

Yeah viruses are spread by people getting close up and personal, so why the particular focus on monkeypox when the same could be said about the common cold?

the WHO said the leading theory for the spread of monkeypox into developed countries (Europe) was linked to two raves attended by gay and bisexual men.

That’s not a value judgement, just what is theorised to be, and supported by some evidence no doubt.

That’s my point. The first bit is a fact, no-one disputes that seems to be where this outbreak is / has been spreading from. That can be said without prejudice.

But the snide dogwhistle comments of some posts on here is absolutely a value judgement cloaked by just enough deniability.

It’s always nice when more than one prejudice can be combined at the same time, especially when it can also whip up a reasonable level of fear mongering.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/did-monkeypox-leak-from-wuhan-

And when you add the caveat “the initial evidence suggests not” the potential to place ill informed ideas into people’s minds is limitless.

Feb and March 2020 – people were ostricising those of Asian descent, even if they had never left Britain.
People were avoiding chinese (and a little later, Italian) food.

We could be about ot undo decades of progress here.

Those raves could have equally been frequented by predominantly heterosexual people and the result would have been the same.

Anyway I don’t think there is a lot to worry about here, unless you go around cuddling everyone at work or in the supermarket there’s not a very high chance of transmission.

I believe that the greatest fear is that monkeypox will infect wildlife through human transmission via pets and establish a permanent natural reservoir outside Africa.

A bit off-topic I know but the prevalence of HIV and AIDS was significantly higher in the gay community (especially in the states) compared to the heterosexual population.

Was being the operative word – heterosexuals now make up the majority of new HIV diagnoses.

I’d see monkeypox as potentially a more equal opportunity infection than HIV – I don’t think it requires bodily fluid contact, simply close contact, which is a feature of most sexual encounters.

We mustn’t fall into the trap of not making it clear to the heterosexual population that this could be their problem too.

My sister messaged to say she had contracted monkey pox, I didn’t believe her. Then I saw her face…

This deserved more recognition. Ha ha

A bit off-topic I know but the prevalence of HIV and AIDS was significantly higher in the gay community (especially in the states) compared to the heterosexual population.

Was being the operative word – heterosexuals now make up the majority of new HIV diagnoses.

I’d see monkeypox as potentially a more equal opportunity infection than HIV – I don’t think it requires bodily fluid contact, simply close contact, which is a feature of most sexual encounters.

We mustn’t fall into the trap of not making it clear to the heterosexual population that this could be their problem too.

I’m not sure that’s strictly true.

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/policies/hip/risk.html#:~:text=Gay%20and%20bisexual%20men%20of,new%20HIV%20infections%20in%202009.

https://www.nat.org.uk/about-hiv/hiv-statistics

With the LGBT+ comminity in the UK representing less than 3% of the population, you have to accept that HIV is a much, much bigger problem for Gay men in the US and UK than any other group.

I’d see monkeypox as potentially a more equal opportunity infection than HIV – I don’t think it requires bodily fluid contact, simply close contact, which is a feature of most sexual encounters.

Yes, but amongst the various groups, MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) are by far the most promiscuous group. Hence their greater suffering from HIV.

Those raves could have equally been frequented by predominantly heterosexual people and the result would have been the same.

Gay men go through more sexual partners than your average hetreosexual.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/09/hiv-infects-heterosexual-gay-bisexual-men-uk-testing-virus

Yes, gay/bisexual men remain at significantly higher risk of contracting HIV, but every individual case is a lifelong burden, and and there are well over a thousand heterosexual transmissions every year just in the UK.

Everything I’ve read about monkeypox suggests that it may not require the same level of high risk contact to transmit as HIV – there is talk of droplet infection and just ‘close contact’. Which makes it far more likely to spread during heterosexual contact.

So, while it’s understandable to focus on gay transmission right now, sending out the message that this is likely to be confined to gay men is wrong.

“These cases are recorded in Europe,” Tomori said. “Why are you using a picture of an African? Those are your pox.”

A fair comment imo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/24/africa-europe-monkeypox-virus-outbreak/

I don’t think it requires bodily fluid contact, simply close contact, which is a feature of most sexual encounters.

This will affect a distinct group of people whereas something live Covid (which is also clearly more easily transmissible) had scope to affect everyone.

Highest risk are going to be under 40s (or whenever smallpox vaccination was stopped) who are very social, i.e. very close to others, touching, promiscuous etc,.

newly observed disease

Is it? Apparently it was first observed in 1958

Just to be clear, I meant “newly observed” as in “in a new population/region” i.e. in relation to the UK cases.  Same way that UK COVID wasn’t a disease of skiers, after all