Fear or Fun? Image heavy

[MichaelHarris]

It's odd how two communities so close together process news, they both share a newspaper. At Washington State University and Pullman some are in a panic, a media induced panic over what they call a Swine Flu epidemic on campus. Emails from the university president, CDC guidelines, editorials on the DANGER, are tossed about. One thing though, there is not one confirmed case of Swine Flu.

I know the medical community here very well, I have connections. On one hand we have a group of physicians calling the university and asking them to tone down the rhetoric, the ER is full and we're a small town. There is another group, one I won't talk about too much other than say it's a group that knows how much income can be derived from fear. That's all I'll say on that group. Fear does sell and it's doing well.

Let's look at the University of Idaho campus nine miles away, I talked with a number of students tonight, none knew about the flu. Understand that both universities has an international population, students from both go to the same mall, restaurants, and bars. One university sends dire emails filled with CDC warnings while another didn't even know there was an "epidemic." One doctor said, "it's because WSU has a 'more' international population while Idaho's students come from a rural community." Huh? There's not a germ free zone on the only road connecting the two towns, the National Guard isn't doing a roadblock in full bio hazard gear.

Pullman is in panic while students at U of I, nine miles away, know nothing of an epidemic. Americans, we've finally become the sheep, terror and swine flu now rule. Well the terror and flu don't actually rule, the people who sell us the drugs to fight terror and flu do.

What did I do this weekend during the "scare" while my wife handled the "swine flu" cases? I enjoyed the Palouse and it's people, I didn't stay inside and tremble:











©Michael Harris

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Your photographs?

I just noticed that copyright symbol. You posted them on a message board. Good luck with that.

Nice photos, by the way. As for the hysteria in one place and not the other, it reminds me of how it might be raining in one section of our city, and the sun shining in another.

Follow the money. The physicians I know, old, good friends and colleagues, are saying that no one knows what it's going to do, but they're advising vaccinations, just in case. The virus in the vaccine is dead, for those who are immune-system impaired, and should afford some protection.

But, as it is every year, there are too many variants out there, so people are going to get sick.

And universities, with kids living in such close quarters, getting stressed and tired, eating badly, are prime for the flu. No amount of hysteria will change whatever the flu is going to do.

Going out and taking photographs beats hiding indoors, unless there's something really terrific indoors...............

[MichaelHarris]

2. Yes

every photo I post is my own.

[Egnever]

3. Nice pics :)

[MichaelHarris]

4. Thanks!

First jet boat race for me, I usually shoot college sports.