I look at my mail differently now (1 Viewer)

[Michael Reuben]

My mail comes from the same post office that services Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat -- the hospital whose employee died yesterday from inhalation anthrax. My postman now delivers the mail wearng a surgical mask and gloves.
Times are strange.
M.
[Edited last by Michael Reuben on November 01, 2001 at 10:26 PM]

 

[MikeAlletto]

just got in my mail today the notice from the post office on what to look for and what to do if I suspect something. You think this will cut down on the amount of junk mail we all get?

 

[Jamie E]

Oh man I can't believe how blown out of proportion this anthrax scare has become. Look guys, three people have died of anthrax, but 20 THOUSAND people died last year of influenza. Yep, the common flu. Heck, 42,000 people died on the highways in the U.S. last year. The only way I'd be even slightly concerned about anthrax is if I worked as a USPS mail sorter in a major hub like N.Y., D.C. or L.A.
This kind of reminds me of the Tylenol tampering scares of years ago. TONS of press coverage and people living in irrational fear. I'm certainly not going to be terrorized by this.
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Release the hounds!

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

My days of sniffing mail are over.

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Link Removed | Burt Lancaster is Link Removed | dOc

 

[Mike Lenthol]

Ohh no, not the ignoramuses with statistics again! The only difference is, dying in a car is an accident, anthrax is not.

 

[Steve Owen]

Ohh no, not the ignoramuses with statistics again! The only difference is, dying in a car is an accident, anthrax is not.

Sorry, but I agree with Jamie fully. I REFUSE to let this effect my life. The statistics are totally valid. You have a FAR greater change of being killed in a car accident on your way to work today than you do being effected by any germ/virus/whatever.
You also have a FAR greater chance of being killed in a robbery attempt. THAT's not an accident either, but I don't see people getting so upset about it.
It's sad to see the media fueling this fire. We're all in this together and sensationalizing these issues does no one any good.
-Steve

 

[Philip_G]

I'm with you guys. Might as well buy a lottery ticket, your odds are better than worrying about anthrax

 

[BrianW]

Oh man I can't believe how blown out of proportion this anthrax scare has become. Look guys, three people have died of anthrax, but 20 THOUSAND people died last year of influenza.

Jamie, I completely agree. Your assessment of this crisis' effect on personal behavior is right on the mark. As far as worrying about it goes, you're much better off taking precautions against slipping in the bathtub.
However, I've heard people (not you, Jamie) use the numbers to suggest that the government is putting way more effort into stopping the spread of anthrax than it should, when it should be focusing instead on halting the spread of influenza, which threatens way more lives.
But extending statistical impact on our personal lives to government policy just doesn't wash. The difference, of course, is that the people who have died of anthrax were murdered, while people who die of influenza are not. And our government has an obligation to do what it can to stop the murder of innocents, regardless of the number of people affected.
Sorry, Jamie, for using your words out of context as a springboard for my comments. I understand the context in which you were speaking, and I agree with you. But I've heard arguments against the escalation of effort to fight the threat of anthrax because so few people have been affected, and I just had to say something to counter that notion.

 

[Holadem]

Thank you Mike!
Goddamit, stop quoting numbers, this is different! Plus, unless I am mistaken Michael is from NYC, so am I AND SO IS MY DAUGHTER!!! I take the subway every freaking day! As far as I know, no letters have been sent to Escondido, CA, and none are likely to be sent there!
No, I am not freaking out, I am not thinking differently mail. But this is not some random occurence, this is not lighning, this is an ATTACK.
--
Holadem

 

[Philip_G]

fuckit. I live in ND. DO the terrorists know we exist up here? the only threat I'm under is nuclear attack (we're the only or one of 2 states with nuke ICBM's)

 

[MikeAlletto]

I never said I was worried...all I said was I got this postcard from the post office in the mail today. Thats it. I agree that the odds are extremely slim.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Some interesting responses. Consider the following:
I never said I was scared. (I'm not.)
I never said I was at risk. (I don't think I am, at least not from anthrax.)
What I said was that "times are strange" -- which is about the only way I could think to describe the experience of watching my mail delivered by a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves.
Now maybe it's just me, but it strikes me that anyone who feels the need to respond to that rather low-key comment with a battery of statistics and a loud proclamation that they refuse to be intimidated, probably already is.
Speaking of statistics: As of September 10, 2001, precisely ZERO people had died as a result of a commercial airliner being deliberately crashed into a tall building. So statistically speaking, the 5000 people who died in New York, D.C. and Pennsylvania had nothing to worry about. But they're still dead.
M.

 

[Michael*K]

Anyhow, though I've given them plenty of flak in the past, I've definitely developed a new respect for our postal workers. They deserve a pat on the back for the psychological and physical tolls they've been under.

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--Mike
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[EugeneR]

20 THOUSAND people died last year of influenza. Yep, the common flu.

I bet you anything a number of those people didn't die from the flu at all, but from any number of exotic diseases with flu-like symptoms--cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, you name it, just stuff your normal doctor doesn't see often, if ever. The major metro centers have people coming into them from all over the world carrying all kinds of weird germs with them. If it wasn't for the big publicity, the people who died from anthrax would have most likely been identified as dying from the flu also.
What is really getting to me is not the anthrax, but the media which is fanning the flames of hysteria as much as they can.