The Spanish flu, as the 1918 pandemic was known, didn’t originate in Spain or have the greatest impact on her people. Spain was neutral in the First World War and could forego wartime censorship, leading to more open and accurate reporting of the health crisis. For the world, this created an association that remains to this day.
Labels aren’t merely artefacts, they’re stories in and of themselves. When associations are made, it’s worth asking why – what narrative is being perpetuated and what’s left out of the telling.
What else do we repeat without context or accept without questioning?