So let me see if I got this straight.

[Danger Mouse]

Either 'IT'S ALL A LIE ZOMG THE SWINE FLU IS MANUFACTURED BY THE MEDIA AND BIG PHARMA!!'
or
'ZOMG IT'S THE BIG ONE WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!'
All I know is...
it's making my head spin. :(

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Or somewhere in the middle.

Only 3,000,000,000 die.

:party:

[Skink]

9. Bush would probably be in Crawford this Sunday saying Flu.

just go to the emergency room.

[NightWatcher]

2. BREAKING: swine flu causes disorientation in rodents

ZOMG we're all gonna be dizzy

[jobycom]

3. Once beyond the nuts and bolts of politics, it's probably wise to not go to DU

for information on matters of life and death. Not that there aren't a lot of brilliant people here who have a lot of good, solid advice. It's just that you can't really tell those from the narcissistic paranoids who will state the opposite opinion on gravity because they would rather get attention than stand upright.

[targetpractice]

8. Is narcissistic the right term to describe that personality type?

I've experienced many people in my life who immediately take up a contrarian point-of-view no matter what the subject.

My friend and I called such people "polar responders"... and I've wondered if there is a clinical term.

Reminds me of people in forums years ago who insisted the iPod was the dumbest invention ever and that it would never sell despite all the evidence.

[stillcool]

12. I think it's called a contrarian..

[Contrary1]

16. You rang?

:evilgrin:

[stillcool]

20. Ha! The only reason I know..

the word so well is because my Grandpa called me the 'contrary one'.

[Contrary1]

21. That was what my dad dubbed me...

I didn't think so way back then, but he was right!

[jobycom]

17. There's them, too.

I was thinking more of the type who ignores logic and facts or who take an extreme position with no knowledge of the facts because they feel it makes them special to do so. They are the types who love to hate popular movies and name films no one has heard of as their favorites, simply because it brings more attention to them. That's not to say that a person's favorite film can't be a foreign indy film or that they can't hate a popular film for legite reasons, only that some people make their opinions on what makes them feel powerful in their own minds rather than on what films they actually like. They are the type to state unequivocally that people are idiots if they believe whatever the "official" position on something is, not because they have evidence the position is wrong, but because their position has to have a more limited support base or they can't feel superior.

But yeah, the reflexive contrarians are an issue, too. Might even be the same person at times.

And in case you're wondering, I'm not thinking of anyone or any issue in particular, just pointing out that you never know when you're listening to that type of person. There have been many cases here where the person spouting a minority opinion has been absolutely right. And of course we all from time to time take an adamant position that is just flat wrong. :)

[tblue37]

11. Gravity: It's not just a good idea. It's the LAW. nt

[NeedleCast]

4. SARS. West Nile. Bird Flu.

The media has a observable history of jumping on this bandwagon.

[hedgehog]

6. It's like all the excitement over every tremor out West. We know the

Big One is coming, we just don't know when.

[Lyric]

5. Only if you listen to the frantic types on either side

;)

As for me, I am cautious and keeping up with news, but I'm not panicking. I wouldn't panic even if it DID turn out to be a Big Deal. What good does panic do? It's better to just educate yourself, take precautions, and continue with life in as normal a way as reasonably possible. If we wind up having to stay home for a week or two if/when things get bad, then we'll do it and the world will continue to turn as usual.

:hi:

[MercutioATC]

10. Oh. My. God.

An intelligent response.

[Lerkfish]

7. 1. its a real story, 2. the media is using it to distract from torture.

its not mutually exclusive.

[Dreamer Tatum]

14. Maybe you're just easily distracted

Most can keep two issues in their heads at once, thanks.

And if it turned into a pandemic while we focused only on torture, that would be a RW conspiracy too, huh?

[Lerkfish]

15. um... what is your malfunction?

don't know if you're confusing me with someone else, but your response to my post seems a bit out of line.

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. Sorry I blew it nt

[doc03]

13. Weren't we all doomed because of bird flu

a couple years ago?

[MercutioATC]

18. Had transmission gone human-human, we would have been.

That was the scare. It hasn't happened yet.

This strain has already gone H-H.