Who shouts 'Ebola' in a crowded theater?
(10-23-14) https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=882484085261576332#editor/target=post;postID=8550389805139875592
Basically, a bunch of pranksters have decided it'd be funny to "cry wolf" so to speak, telling people "I have Ebola," yelling it in crowded environments, pretending to be legitimately sick. It clears a room, for sure, but the authorities and people in the situations are not impressed, to say the least.
The article, though seemingly insignificant, does speak to how we, as Americans, do give in to mass panic occasionally. Sure, Ebola is a dangerous, nasty, virus, but why aren't we freaking out and fearing diseases that are actually deadlier, kill more people every year, and are more infectious? Diseases that really need widely distributed vaccines, and effect thousands more people, diseases like the flu, malaria, and tuberculosis. Sure, they sound more common to the reader, but each is far more likely to be spread to someone than Ebola, and more likely to kill someone too. But, the media has its mass-story to publish, and the fear of Ebola that has spread is almost palpable at times. Ebola is a disgusting virus, no one wants to catch it, but, it is far more likely we get sick from influenza or another disease. The reaction people display is a bit ridiculous. The free press, and the media are extremely vital in the retention of democracy and in protection of rights, but, the media is always about finding the best story, typically regardless of what really needs to be said, and the media is biased--you have to look at lots of viewpoints to get the real story. What we need to worry about is not being scared to the point of mass panic, but rather the fact that all it takes is one small virus and a huge, embellishing media coverage collection to cause us to act in such fear. There has been talk that yelling Ebola in a public place, i.e. an airport, could be an act of terrorism. We shouldn't scare so easily, rather we need to worry about what actually poses a legitimate threat, and look up the facts and statistics before plunging ourselves into self-induced chaos.
I find it rather ironic that Ebola has the population scared stiff, but many people today are choosing not to vaccinate their children, or themselves. It has become a common fear that shots cause all sorts other health problems, but what they don't realize is that vaccinations prevent dangerous diseases from spreading. I think I'd rather risk the shot than measles,whooping cough, flu, polio or tuberculosis.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are many diseases much more threatening to the masses than Ebola, and vaccines have done an excellent job of diminishing some of the most severe ones, like polio. However, I have experienced firsthand severe adverse reactions from certain vaccines (particularly Gardasil--which really isn't necessary in comparison to vaccines for polio or smallpox). I wish it weren't this way, but there are some pretty heavy disadvantages to both sides of the argument (severe diseases vs. adverse reactions to vaccines). Inoculation and other developments in healthcare have definitely benefitted society, but they've also left us with some pretty serious side effects, many of which we may not even be aware of yet. But I digress.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree with what you guys are saying about people freaking way too much over Ebola, especially when there are much worse, much more widespread health problems within our own country.
Emma! Thank you for saying that! I have the exact same argument. And I think, to stop panicking from occurring like that, what we really need is to be better educated about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of Ebola. The swine flu was extremely scary too, until we learned how to prevent the spread of it and how to tell when someone really had the disease. And then it quickly faded into obscurity, quite like the normal flu does every year. Hopefully someday soon the same can be said of Ebola.
ReplyDeleteYa I agree with you guys. Vaccines are important to keeping the public healthy, no parent should ever deny their kid the opportunity to stay healthy unless there is a serious reason to.
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