›
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.

Swine Flu: The (non)Apocalypse of 2009

misakyramisakyra
edited May 2009 in Everything Else
It seems like this deserves it's own thread at this point.

I'll kick things off with the best swine flu reality check yet.

Of course the rest of this experience has left me with the feeling of clinging to a sane boat that's swiftly sinking into a sea of crazy. My insistence on not panicking and my suggestion that closing schools is over-reacting a wee bit has been roundly dismissed because I don't have children. My childed co-workers are absolutely convinced that I would buy into this media-driven panic if I had children to care for.

My parents live in Houston. I called my dad a couple days ago to let him know that I'm actually an emotionless automaton because I'm not demanding that they seal themselves in their house with a shotgun.

Okay, now that that's off my chest:

What craziness (if any) have you encountered, and what are you doing to combat it? I'm primarily sticking to emailing/tweeting articles like the one linked above to people and advising them to forward it.
«134

Comments

  • DkongDkong
    edited May 2009
    What I've encountered? Hmm...there was one school in Lorain, Ohio (which is like 45 minutes away from me) that got closed for a week. OSU has sent about 3-4 swine flu emails over the past week, one saying that a doctor there might have it. My mom bought extra lysol and purell for around the house. Acme grocery stores (where I work at) put purell bottles at every register and moved a few purell dispensers around.

    I think it's all ridiculous. It's like the SARS and bird flu scares all over again. Stupid disease, only kills people who are in poor health, has common flu symptoms, kills less people than the real flu does. Fuck the media and America in general for blowing this far out of proportion.

    I think 4chan said it pretty well with this image:
    image
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • JasonJason
    Lorain, Ohio
    The school was actually in Lorain County, but in the city of Elyria, where I live. Matter of fact, the school is three minutes from my house.

    I just wrote on the ol' blog about how I just finished reading World War Z this week, and the timing, along with Sonic's frantic AZONS reports, is creepy.
  • ErwinErwin
    I am only worried that for some reason the swine flu gets mixed with the avian flu inside a pig.
  • AprecheApreche
    I am only worried that for some reason the swine flu gets mixed with the avian flu inside a pig.
    That's not how that works.
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    I am only worried that for some reason the swine flu gets mixed with the avian flu inside a pig.
    That's not how that works.
    HOW DO YOU KNOW! ARE YOU A SCIENTIST?

    I don't trust scientists! I go to my acupuncture for my medicine!
  • SailSail
    My Physics teacher sent a kid home who was coughing in class.
  • gomidoggomidog
    HOW DO YOU KNOW! ARE YOU A SCIENTIST?
    Luckily we have a scientist who is currently studying the flu virus among the FRC ranks. Zibblecoot will tell you guys the whole story about what to worry about or what not to worry about on the Monday show, if things go well.
  • ErwinErwin
    edited May 2009
    I am only worried that for some reason the swine flu gets mixed with the avian flu inside a pig.
    That's not how that works.
    Didn't you know that pigs are the mixing bowls of type A influenza viruses, and that RNA mutate at a higher rate than DNA?
    Post edited by Erwin on
  • Double ZDouble Z
    Lucky you have not being affected by this, here is what I've experience:

    Mexican government has issue that all no essential activities to be shutdown till may 6. No work, sure sounds like fun. Not when it means that I have to go back at 5:30 am on Wednesday to turn on and validate all critical equipment that was shut down for this 5 days. And don't forget about the not getting paid part. This also means no clubs open, no bars, no movie theaters, no restaurant,s no parks, museums, concerts, cultural events, no book fairs, no sports events. No fun.
    Never mind the amount of cash being lost by business for having to shutdown for 5 days. It is not like we are in the middle of the economic crisis, and it is not like thousands of people have being getting laid of work in the past months

    Here is what friends and family have experience:

    No school since last week, oh sure, fun right? Not when you are waiting for 4+ years for that final week of college. Trying to get back home from Paraguay? Not going to happen no flights out to Mexico, and guess what, the embassy just gives you a big fuck you, you are on your own. Working in Mexico city and just getting back? I hope you don't mind the excessive security, being stared down, insulted and possibly injured. Some dude got his car stoned for having his car-tags from Mexico City.

    Yeah I might not die of influenza, but it sure has fucked up life around here, and it won't be over easily.

    Also, while this was all going on a law was approved to legalize the carrying of illegal drugs, in small quantities. How much media coverage did this law get? Zero.
  • VigaViga
    I see lots of people in face masks when I go out. It's kinda creepy.

    I was never in a panic because I knew this is just a media explosion. Total hype like other overhyped sicknesses.
  • RailithRailith

    Now, more than before.
  • Loganator456Loganator456



    Now, more than before.
    I remember watching that a lot when I was younger.

    As for the flu, 80% of it is just hype.
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    The way I see it, if this hype leads to people being more careful and therefore preventing or slowing the speed of the outbreak, then it doesn't matter if it's over-hyped or not. What is potentially dangerous, however, is the bullshit going around on Twitter.
  • DkongDkong
    edited May 2009
    I like that CNN is now acknowledging that this is an overblown issue.
    Hysteria over swine flu is the real danger, some say
    preventing or slowing the speed of the outbreak,
    Does it really matter?
    Symptoms of H1N1 swine flu: fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, lethargy, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
    Now, while vomiting and diarrhea suck really, really badly, that's really not that bad...it could be a lot worse, especially since people are fearing for their lives over this.
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • Double ZDouble Z
    How about death? is that bad enough of a symptom?
  • WalkerWalker
    edited May 2009
    Now, while vomiting and diarrhea suck really, really badly, that's really not that bad...it could be a lot worse, especially since people are fearing for their lives over this.
    If I remember correctly, the main way that the swine flu kills people is by flooding the lungs and keeping oxygen from reaching the brain. The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe did an interview with an infectious disease specialist and his reaction to the outbreak was measured caution. Solid, up to date information on the outbreak is difficult to come by, but what he knows is somewhat worrying. Many of the victims have been young and healthy, which is a trait that the 1918 flu pandemic (which killed over 70 million people) shared, so there's definitely cause for worry if you're infected. According to him we won't really know how bad the situation is until it either blows over or gets really bad.
    Post edited by Walker on
  • SailSail
    Technically, isn't the virus a mixture of human, avian, and swine viruses? So that would make it... the Man-bird-pig virus. This is super serial, you guys.
  • WindUpBirdWindUpBird
    How about death? is that bad enough of a symptom?
    It would be, if the cytokine storm was involved. However, this flu hasn't shown indications of cytokine storm-related deaths, so your "death symptom" isn't yet a super serial issue.
    Man-bird-pig virus.
    This, however, IS super-serial.
  • DkongDkong
    edited May 2009
    How about death? is that bad enough of a symptom?
    Yep, one baby in the USA and some Mexicans with shitty healthcare services. The regular flu also can lead to death, but who dies of it? Babies, old people, and people in countries with shitty hospitals and health care.

    I'm not convinced.
    Post edited by Dkong on
  • StarfoxStarfox
    the Man-bird-pig virus.
    Oh shits! That's only one step away from ManBearPig virus.
  • WindUpBirdWindUpBird
    Oh shits! That's only one step away from ManBearPig virus.
    Which is only a mispronunciation away from the Marburg Virus! Which is directly related to the Ebola Virus!

    So THAT'S why everyone's freaking out...
  • bunnikunbunnikun
    They shut down a couple schools in Maryland for a period of two weeks.

    This is ridiculous. If they shut down my school 3 weeks before I graduate, I'm creating a riot. I want my diploma, and some over-hyped flu is not going to stop me.
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    They shut down a couple schools in Maryland for a period of two weeks.

    This is ridiculous. If they shut down my school 3 weeks before I graduate, I'm creating a riot. I want my diploma, and some over-hyped flu is not going to stop me.
    They won't send it via mail? Or didn't you get any exams yet?
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    This is ridiculous. If they shut down my school 3 weeks before I graduate, I'm creating a riot. I want my diploma, and some over-hyped flu is not going to stop me.
    Especially during AP exams (this and next week). That would be a DISASTER.
  • bunnikunbunnikun
    edited May 2009
    They won't send it via mail? Or didn't you get any exams yet?
    I still have AP tests and two finals to take.
    Post edited by bunnikun on
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    A song about swine flu
  • FeketeloFeketelo
    I still have AP tests and two finals to take.
    Man, I'd flip if I was in that situation and couldn't take my AP exams. Why on Earth does everyone have to be so freaked out over the flu?
  • chaosof99chaosof99
  • JasonJason
    I stopped listening when he said "Ron Paul."
  • NuriNuri
    I still have AP tests and two finals to take.
    Man, I'd flip if I was in that situation and couldn't take my AP exams. Why on Earth does everyone have to be so freaked out over the flu?
    Because they don't realize that it's JUST LIKE the regular flu.

    At least the CDC is finally telling the schools to reopen.
Sign In or Register to comment.