For the record, I’m neither surprised by nor worried about the Ebola case that turned up in New York. NYC not only has an overabundance of world-class medical facilities, it’s also one of the few places in the country that actually is vigilant about and prepared for things like bioterrorism (and I’m not implying the Ebola is bioterrorism) rather than just being hysterical about it. New York City is so not Dallas, thank goodness.
Steve M writes that Michelle Malkin and her fellow blogger Doug Powers are gloating that those smug New Yorkers will now freak out about Ebola as we should have, because to a conservative being scared and hysterical is patriotic, or something. As Steve M says,
Actually, no. It’s not going to happen here — at least it’s not going to happen among people who aren’t trying to stir up panic for political gain, which even the Postisn’t doing yet. We lived through 9/11. We lived through anthrax. You watched those moments on TV in the breakfast nook, Doug and Michelle. So shut the hell up.
Maybe it’s not that we’re so tough — we’re just dealing with something that’s become real for us. Fearmongering is easy when you’re sending fear out into a population you’re not a part of. The on-air personalities at Fox can cynically stir up viewers’ fears because the Foxers themselves don’t really lose sleep worrying that Ebola-infected undocumented Mexican-Muslims will overrun their cushy suburban homes and then vote illegally on absentee ballots obtained by the New Black Panthers and ACORN. It’s a remote fear for them, so they can callously stir it up. The same goes for the usual CNN fearmongering — it’s out there. But this is real in New York, and the normal human reaction is kicking in: we’re seeking answers, we’re looking for reassurances, and we’re sharing the best information we have. Our sense of fellow-feeling is kicking in.
Exactly. People who see a danger as a remote or hypothetical potential, or something that will happen to other people, can afford to be hysterical and enjoy the thrill ride of imagining the worst. If the danger is real to you personally you can’t afford to stand around and shriek; you have to keep your head and deal with it. And New Yorkers, bless ’em, deal with it. There’s always some in the ‘burbs who take Fox News seriously and who will freak out, and some who will take cabs instead of subways for a few days, but the city will deal with it. (See old post, “Dear Lulu: People Live Here.”)
By comparison, Texans — and wingnuts generally — are weenies. Let’s review:
NYer’s?
Afraid?
HA!
More like worried.
Worried:
-That the Giants will continue to stink.
-That the Jets will continue to suck.
– That, after an interminably long season, the Knicks and Nets won’t make the NBA Playoffs!
-And, finally, that the Rangers will fall back to Earth.
Right now, “Team Ebola” just has a scout in the area.
We’ll worry if, or when, the team shows up, en masse.
Meanwhile, unlike TX, we’re putting together a game-plan!
Hell, Omaha Nebraska has done better with Ebola than Texas. The Univ. of Nebr. Med Center is 2-for-2 curing its patients, and zero caregivers have been infected. And no one is panicking.
I guess we left the Big Twelve for a reason.
I’m sure this will be handled much more professionally in NY than it was down in Tejas! I mean those people elected Ted (Canadian anchor baby) Cruz, Louie Gohmert, Rick Perry, etc!!! Though you folks did elect Rudy and Peter King!!!! I do however feel that healthcare workers who are returning from areas where they have been treating Ebola patients need to be quarantined for the entire incubation period? To me it seems rather bizarre that these folks are just going to “self isolate”. From what little I know about Ebola it seems that those who treat the infected are most at risk. Ebola patients get more contagious as the disease’s progresses so the people treating them are most at risk. Let’s just be smart about this no hysteria needed!
Louie Gohmert?…..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs-Q0JmWjj0
This whole century so far seems like something out of Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Clucking”. What is it with the cowardly American? I grew up Jewish in crazy liberal NYC, so maybe I just don’t get this Americans must be afraid thing. Is there some kind of a rule that conservatives must be chicken?
(Actually, there’s good scientific evidence that people who are more afraid of stuff, e.g. icky spiders, are more likely to be conservatives, but sometimes the clucking gets annoying.)
If you catch Ebola at a gun show, then we must respect your privacy. If you get sick helping someone who isn’t selling a gun then your gonna need some sort of identification?!