Swine Flu or Lemming Flu?
Let me say this about that.
Americans love a good panic. The stock market is crashing!! The housing market is dead!! Terrorists aren’t putting their shoes through the X-ray machine!! A-Rod is a doper!! Brad dumped Jennifer !! Swine Flu is gonna kill us all!!
Yeah, yeah….we’re all gonna go broke, and we’re all gonna die, and probably end up some place completely devoid of virgins.
The panic du jour? Swine (H1N1) Flu. America is in a panic because the nation’s press told us that we should panic, shut down schools, stop all travel, wear your surgical masks, and huddle in the basement to await the ultimate doom.
What the hell ever happened to common sense in this country? And, when did actual facts go completely out of style in journalism?
Facts? Let’s try on a few and see if we are in a panic over a good cause. The CDC (and other credible sources) report the following statistics for annual deaths in America:
Smoking – 443,000 dead
Poor diet / lack of exercise – 365,000 dead
Car crashes – 42,000 dead
Suicide – 31,000 crazy AND dead
If we are going to panic, let’s do it over something that actually has a chance of killing us……say, a chain smoking fat guy, bent on vehicular suicide. Now there is something that would get our panties in a wad.
All of these, less a few unfortunate car crash victims, are completely preventable, without a pill, or vaccine, wearing a surgical mask, or a declaration of a world wide pandemic.
Regular ‘ol garden variety seasonal flu kills an avarage of 36,000 Americans each year. The Swine Flu Pandemic has killed (as of June 13, 2009) 44 Americans !!!
PANIC !!!!!!!!
But, through the relentless dumbing-down of America, we are in a panic over a statistically insignificant event. We’re about to jump off the cliff, simply because the lemming in front of us jumped.
Why are we in a panic over an event that has about the same mathematical chance of killing us as being gored by a unicorn? Can you say “THE VIEW”?
And, that’s all I have to say about that.
Shambo
Vickie 24th June 2009
Shambo, I think you are doing a fine job, you nevercease to amaze me with your mulititude of talent.I think maybe you should get out of that small town and head straight for the White House!You’ve been a captain and a leader as long as I have known you
Sarah 24th June 2009
Pretty good post. I just came by your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
Derb 23rd June 2009
How soon we forget … EVERYTHING like scare tactics to sell newspapers, elect politicians or market vitalis and the inexpicable need for the lemmings of the world to embrace them and feed off of the fear … they ALL have their good side!
I LOVED the Swine Flu … Cabo, Mexico was all our own, a personal playground, all the boats and beer and golfcourses and restaurants you want with no crowds, no waiting lines, no hassles, only people looking for people they could wait on. Reminiscent of Guam right after a particularly nasty typhoon blew through. Whether they are real or invented “disasters”, they seem the things to follow around!
Kinda like the “Brad dumps Jennifer” thing .. apparently there were numerous opportunists in the wings who already had this strategy all mapped out and ready to execute …
Jake 23rd June 2009
Solution: Eat more pork! Pork sausage for breakfest, pulled pork for lunch and chops for dinner. Let’s take it hard to the damn pigs and do it quick.
Phoebe 23rd June 2009
Key words, “press told us”. We need to start thinking for ourselves instead of standing there with our minds open only absorbing what the press tells us to think along with our hands out wanting something for nothing! Why do we let the press influence how Americans eat, drink, wear, think and especially vote? Where has all of this gotten americans? You said it Shambo, dumbed-down.
Billy Mac 23rd June 2009
Common sense in this country…that would mean that we would actually have to think on our own!!