There once was a time when the people in charge of media outlets would sit back and say “is this really a good idea?” Sure, they weren’t always perfect, but, in these days, reading the Credentialed Media is more like reading the Democratic Underground, Daily Kos, or Media Matters. Here we have Unhinged Frank Bruni
Why the Coronavirus Is So Much Worse Than Sept. 11
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we were exhorted to defiance. I remember it well.
Don’t let the terrorists win, we were told. Don’t let them steal your joys or disrupt your routines — at least not too much. Be wary, yes, and be patient with extra-long security lines where they didn’t previously exist. If you see something, say something. But otherwise, resume normal life. Venture out. Revel.
“Get down to Disneyworld,†President George W. Bush said.
Disneyworld is now closed.
The specter of the coronavirus is utterly different from prior moments of national panic or devastation. I keep hearing comparisons to Sept. 11 in particular, and I understand why: The terror now is similar to the terror then, a wicked weave of vulnerability, helplessness and the inability to guess what’s next.
Frank gives it a whirl, discussing social distancing, shuttered businesses, etc and so on, but, last time I check, we didn’t lose 2,996 people in the space of a few hours, and be concerned with a real threat of violence from Islamic jihadis (though we weren’t allowed to call them Islamic). Coronavirus is not 9/11: this is disrespectful to those who were murdered and all those who pitched in.
But jokes don’t fly right now. And in my eerily languid, palpably tense Manhattan neighborhood, it has been a few days since I heard the music of human laughter.
His piece is a joke, and monumentally overestimates the threat of Wuhan, which most in the media have done, because, I hate to say it, the media wants to use this to take down Trump, along with the fact that they love fear-mongering. It’s seemingly part of their job. “If it bleeds it leads.”
"Remember the H1N1 Pandemic? I Don’t Either..In the U.S., 63 deaths now versus 12,000 then. 3,621 cases now versus 60 million then. Yet I don’t remember the hair-on-fire media reaction now versus then.
What a difference a president makes." https://t.co/eVsaVXW8VB— Tom Nelson (@TomANelson) March 17, 2020
From that article
During the swine flu pandemic, were there mass cancellations of events including conferences, concerts, sporting events, and entire professional sports leagues? Did colleges cancel classes, finishing the remainder of their semesters online? Were travel restrictions imposed between America and Europe? Were panicked Americans hoarding everything from toilet paper to pasta?
That was 2009
Reported deaths had occurred in people ranging in age from 22 months old to 57 years old. Also, only 13% of hospitalizations had occurred in people 50 years and older, and there were few cases and no deaths in people older than 65 years, which was unusual when compared with seasonal flu. (snip)
Swine flu caused 60.8 million illnesses, 273,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, swine flu may have killed up to 203,000 people, more than the number thus far infected with Coronavirus, and the vast majority of those infected recovering uneventfully.
Cases are leveling off in China. There, Italy, the UK, here in the U.S., etc, most people had minor to moderate symptoms, and lots don’t even know they have it. We certainly do not need to under-estimate or minimize it, but, we shouldn’t be over-estimating nor maximizing it, and that’s what has happened, to the point people are hoarding toilet paper, tampons, sanitary pads, pudding, and more.
