So I figured I would be doing all of my loyal viewers an injustice if I did not comment on this swine flu "outbreak." First of, why is everyone panicking? There have been literally a handful (40) of reported cases in the U.S., even Mexico (who has the most cases) does not have many.
I once watched a 20/20 story about perceptions of fear. For example when the bird flu was the big scare, everyone was running to the doctor to get the bird flu shot, no one was actually worried about the normal flu shot. Less than ten people died from bird flu, whereas thousands die from the normal flu. Heart disease is the number one killer, yet people eat whatever the hell they want, and weigh 300 plus pounds (see my ex-wife). They asked parents if they would rather have the child go play at a house with a gun or a house with a pool. Everyone picked the gun. The numbers show less than a hundred children are killed by an accidental gun shot, and over 400 children drown in a pool every year. It's all because of media perception. The media shows all the plane accidents and not the thousands of car accidents; so people are afraid of airplanes but still drive like an idiot. That is the same thing that is happening here with the swine flu. Here is what happened in the 1970s when people were worried about the swine flu.
Editor's note: There is a chance I am wrong and this blows up into a world epidemic and we start to live like in The Stand or I am Legend. If this is what happens, I will stand corrected.
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2 comments:
Maybe it is being overblown, but me and Oinky are going to be sleeping in separate beds for a while
Tell that flu ridden swine to stop calling me.
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