H1N1, or as it's better known, "Media Shitstorm 2009", has really gotten out of control. I'm sick and tired of people carrying around hand sanitizers and sterilizing themselves every time they open a door. And I'm even more tired of each and every news day leading with stories about swine flu. We get it! There's a flu! Just practice good hygiene and don't cough on babies and old people if you become ill. You know ... the way you should behave with every flu season.
Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you that swine flu is not dangerous, because it is. Yet so is the regular old flu. You guys remember avian flu? That was a pretty big deal for a while. So was mad cow disease. So was Y2K. For months the media fear machine was full throttle for all of those things and had the public believing that at any moment the world was going to come crashing down on their heads. And what did everyone do? They ran out and bought flashlights, face masks, and anti-bird lasers.
Today I went to an office and spoke with a woman working there. I introduced myself and offered my hand, but she shrunk away and told me she wasn't going to shake hands on account of swine flu. I have to say I felt offended. It's not like I hobbled into her office covered with boils and sores while clutching a rag filled with my own phlegm.
I suppose people have a right to be cautious in these situations, but this woman had Lysol disinfecting wipes on her desk as well as hand sanitizing gel at the ready. The way I see it, she could have shook my hand like a reasonable courteous adult and then, if the fear of cooties overwhelmed her, sanitized her hands later.
All in all, I have to say that people need to quit living such frightened lives. People get sick from time to time, and that's just the way things happen. It's called your immune system and it's there for a reason. Stop watching the news and buying things out of fear, stop scrubbing yourself like your about to perform brain surgery, and stop cowering away from other people as if they were lepers. If you live in a perfect sterile bubble, that's the first and easiest thing to burst.
4 comments:
The only thing that mkaes this flu scarier to me than normal ones is the fact that while the normal flu may kill more people, it usually kills mainly very young, very old, or people with compromised immune systems. As I am none of those things, I don't worry too much. This one is a little different, because while it's frequently so mild most people don't even know they've had it, when it does kill, it seems to frequently get fully healthy, normal adults. That's a little freaky. But the odds are still pretty slim, so I do totally agree with you. People need to chill the heck out.
look, if i'd known that people were going to freak out over H1N1 so much i never would have bothered inventing it and releasing it on the populace.
hindsight's 20/20 i guess
The only good thing to come out of this swine flu ordeal is that people are now coughing and sneezing into the crooks of their elbows, making people momentarily look like Dracula.
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