ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

I obviuosly can't speak for anyone else but my mother in law has worked for Mount Sinai Hospital for over 25 years. And yes people at Mount Sinai died from Sars. And yes I had to argue with the hospital when her job description changed from an administrative role to being asked to stand at an entrance to help screen those entering the hospital.

My 2 year old daughter at the time was refused entry onto a flight to the UK because she had a high temperature.

My second child was also born during that time frame at a different hospital. It was a very scary experience to be anywhere near a hospital but even more so when you could not have family and friends around you to support you.

Sars was a real wake up call for many.


Being afraid and being prepared are two completely different things. I strap my kids into a child seat in the mornings to be prepared for the worst case scenario not because I am afraid.

Why wouldn't you take a few moments to prepare yourself for other remote possibilites in life?

GREENMAN!

iTrader: (5)

I'll be looking for you on the news.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

It is so easy to throw up a one liner on a forum. Try stringing a few sentences together for me to respond to.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

I'm immune from swine flu because I don't believe in it...

36,000 people in the US die yearly from regular flu.

But yes, loaded shotgun under the bed as always.

Feds

Charn is right to be armed. As Shakespeare said, approximately: First, we kill all the lawyers.

Joking aside, arming yourself becomes a numbers game. How many bullets do you have? How many people could walk to your house to raid it in 1 week? THAT is how long you're going to last with the armed to the teeth attitude.

If you really want to survive post zombie-pocalypse, you are going to need a group of people of various skills, and a location with limited access. There are 4 access points to my town. The bank, the hardware store, and the grocery store are all beside each other, and easy enough to secure. The properties of myself and my neighbours are not fenced, and on their own are large enough to support a single family, and can be easily joined into a communal farm. As an engineer, if anyone in the town wants electricity or clean water, they’d better keep my *** alive.

But, looking at what the legal profession has to offer the community in a lawless society, Charn is taking the right tact

TalkSick

i have no doubt of that at all. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome please excuse my spelling, but dont excuse the definition of those words as used to describe... nothing. I will save you the break down and let you discover for yourselves the horrible truth. SARS is by definition, breathing problems. Im not saying there is no such thing as SARS, or any of the other things used to make people afraid and get em buying things they dont need. at the same time, that some people died from a poorly described severe acute respiratory syndrome by no means is evidence of an epidemic. put less faith in government, bullets, and canned food. hell most of you should have plenty left over from the Y2K scare as i dont recall anyone gettin to use thier weapons an stockpiles of canned food. canned food for canned thought i guess.

if i had to pick something out of all of this to be afraid of, and dont get me wrong, im a hunter and i love guns, it is the fact that the same people who take the media that seriously, the people who lose sleep and spend money because of things they saw on CNN or even better "heard from so-an-so", the same people that tend to over react to other peoples ideas, are the same ones buyin guns and bullets

and was all that being scared justified in the end? there is more to terrorism then flyin planes into buildings and blowin up highways. you have beautifully illustrated how you have been made a victim of domestic media terrorism.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

This part above I just didn't have the patience to read. I just see a sea of words.

So I skipped to your last paragraph and I'll respond to it.

Being scared at the hospital that my newborn was in a dangerous environment seems justifiable to me. Had I has more faith in midwifery we would have had him at home.

Being refused on an aircraft is not something reported by CNN but rather my reality.

Having someone cry about possibly having to quit her job due to the danger it placed her in was also not on CNN. It was at my kitchen table.

Nowhere in my posts did I mention even once being influenced by media. I was influenced by experiences and the opinion of someone that I found more intelligent than I.

Being prepared for the unexpected is far from what the "sheepish" citizens are doing. I do what I think is best for me and mine, simple as that. Burying one's head in the sand to hope an apocalyptic event never occurs is not best for my family.

But to each their own.

Battle Cat

iTrader: (78)

ROFl

TalkSick

and as i said above, all of those problems and fears turnd out to be over reaction to media stimuli. as you said to each a zone, good luck.

edit : ill clarify

being scared at the hospital is you yourself over reacting to media

your moms issues at work are a result of the workplace over reacting to media

being refused onto an aircraft is the transportation industry over reacting to media

in all cases you and those around you are victims of media terrorism. if u cant see it for what it is, bullets wont help you.

2Fierce

iTrader: (7)

I usually agree with scrappy, but not on this one.

knowledge > guns (in this case)

The last real outbreak the world has seen is the spanish flu of 1918. Read up on it. If that ever comes back around, yah...take it seriously.

But I have to go with toxic on this one, turn off the news and read.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

I completely agree with you about the existence of media terrorism. I disagree with your assumption that this is what is at play in my reasoning for feeling the need to be more prepared for calamity.

You're mistaken to characterize the hospital policies during the sars outbreak as being an over reaction to media reporting. In all of the studies after the outbreak complacency on the part of doctors and hospitals in general was the reason for the successful spread of sars.

The action taken by hospitals was too little too late!

You asked me how Sars affected me personally and I answered. Please do not try to minimize what was happening in Toronto at that time.

I can understand your perspective as I am quite detached from what is occurring in Mexico today. You may feel that sars was just an over reaction due to your distance from "sars central"... my nickname for Toronto during that period.

I think many reading this thread are assuming that I am worried about getting the swine flu, which is incorrect. My frustration is with my total lack of being prepared for disaster, disease, war or what have you.

I don't think I could even get to a flash light if the power went out. Being armed is far down the list of things I need to organize but it is on my list and will stay there.

Maybe your list is not as extensive as mine but I still think one should make an emergency plan.

And please don't assume that having a plan means you are living in fear. I enjoy my life to the fullest and consequently have been taking it for granted., which I now hope to rectify.

Maybe I am becoming a control freak in my older age.

TalkSick

for what its worth its not a personal attack on you Doo, i dont know you, its just a generalization that you took the time to comment on. i just felt that i had some perspective to offer, wasnt tryin to disagree with anything people are doing, just tryin to get em to ask themselves why they are doing it. it is never bad to be prepared for potential problems, but it is also good practice to keep things in focus. be prepared but in a time of recession ask yourself if spending money on survival food stores and weapons and batteries and the hundred other things people (not you scrappy, just people) go nuts over when you scare em is a good idea. i find it not surprising at all that these global scares tend to occur conveniently at opportune times. there is currently a recession, and previous to swine flu people were afraid to spend money, now with swine flu, people are afraid NOT to spend money, whenever someone profits from calamity its a good idea to be suspicious.

Snrub

iTrader: (1)

I'm actually suprised it's that low.

On one South Park episode the townsfolk are infected with SARS. Randy tells his son Stan that it's all over and that Stan must take care of the family now because he only has a 99% chance of survival. I'm not trying to trvialize these things, but I don't understand why people panic. Authorities and hospitals need to take reasonable percautions, but beyond that people need to continue living their lives unless it gets much worse. If for some freak reason it does turn into 1918 all over again, in the mean time everyone has become desensitized by fake hype that they likely will not react properly.

londonmazda

iTrader: (2)

I don't know what else to say other then.


WHAT THE ****??

http://bouncewith.me.uk/europe/8027043.htm

thewird

iTrader: (8)

LOL

thewird

londonmazda

iTrader: (2)

hahaha, what, its real.... right...? :p

TalkSick

half expected to see national enquirer at the top, not BBC

my personal favorite

"oh ****... im dyinnnnnn.. the swine flus got meh... oh lawwwwwdy lawd im ... wait.. is that the light at the end of the tunnel.. i feel so weak.. so tired.. i think ill **** the wife and paint the house. then.. i think ill go see how the guy next doors brains taste."

but the ever important question still remains
Why have you got red on you?

rd_turbo

iTrader: (4)

Ironically, I was just reading about swine flu earlier this morning before seeing this thread. During the 1976 swine flu outbreak in the US, more people died from immunization than from the flu itself. So let me put another twist on this....to immunize or not. My family is polarized when it comes to immunization.... those who are vehemently against immunization and those who are not. I'm on the fence, leaning a bit toward no immunization and mostly against mainstream medicine and drugs.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

The trick here folks is to not be so damn clean. Wash your hands after you ****, sure, but leave the hand sanitizer on the shelf, and the dust mask at home. I rarely get sick, which I believe is due in part to my lack of "givin' a ****" about being ridiculously careful. I put coins in my mouth, I eat food with grease from the car still fresh on my fingers. Thus with all the little bacteria constantly entering my body, my immune system has built up to make me virtually indestructible. ("No, Mr. Burns, even the slightest breeze could....."). Drives me nuts that after my vacation I came back to work and went into the dispatch office, only to see two big jugs of hand sanitizer sitting on a desk with a sign saying to use it before entering. Jesus H Christ they got to us too. Shockingly enough, once you turn off the TV you have the sudden realization that, hey, I don't have the flu. I just might be ok. Grab a new novel from Chapters. It's more entertaining than the so called "News" and your brain will appreciate it. I suggest Christopher Moore.

TalkSick

well here we are a month later, and i cant recall the last time i heard about swine flu.
couldnt help it, had to say atoadaso

Righty

iTrader: (4)

Listen to George Carlin.... Your right on the money.

I've always thought about things like this happening, and how military training would help..... Then I realize the odds, and continue on with my day.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

So far two Americans have died from the swine flu (last I heard). One was an old fat principal or teacher at a school, and one was a 16 month old baby. Both had other complications and the swine flu just pushed them over the edge. It's the flu, just like that other pesky flu that kills 10s of thousands each year. If your generally healthy you'll survive if you catch it. If not, well.... that's called natural selection. I hope you all draw the long straws.