Thursday, October 29, 2009

Swine Flu!

All I can say about the image at the left is that whoever drew it is an absolute genius. I, like everyone else in the world, have heard about swine flu, and about how it spreads like wildfire. I have been doing my best to cough and sneeze responsibly into my elbow or into a loose piece of clothing, though I find sneezing into my elbow less-effective in many cases, because I end up folding my arms right after.

However, there's something about this H1N1 flu strain that I don't get: What's the big deal? Sure, it spreads, sure it gets you sick, but for heaven's sake, it doesn't really kill people! Maybe I'm being completely ignorant, but from what I've been able to see, it's just the same as a regular flu! It can develop into brochitis. Well, so can the regular flu! I got bronchitis from the flu when I was in high school, which was a very long time before swine flu was even imagined. However, don't get me wrong. I take swine flu seriously. In fact, if you would like to know whether you have it, I suggest that you check out doihaveswineflu.org. They'll tell you whether you have it or not, and what to do about it. No, seriously, click on that link. It's important. You really need to know whether or not you have swine flu! If you do, you could be spreading it.

Okay, so is it bad that I treat this epidemic like a joke? Sorry if it is. The thing is, this flu is most likely to strike college students, people in the prime of life, which means that it is even less likely to kill people than normal. It is just obnoxious. That being said, I'm tired of all the hype and panic. I will continue to shake hands and hug people. I will leave my house when I cough. I only use hand sanitizer all the time because they have it for free all over campus and I like the novelty of it. Swine flu is seriously not that big of a deal, and I'm going to continue to live my life.

Thus, that being said, I return to the picture. I think that the denizens of the hundred acre wood know about swine flu, and how it isn't really dangerous. I think they've wanted an excuse to get rid of Piglet for years, and now they finally have it. "Goodbye, Piglet," says Rabbit. "Your days of pooping in my garden are over! I mean, uh, I don't want swine flu!" "So long, Piglet!," says Christopher Robin. "Maybe if you had grown a backbone I would have liked to keep you around--I mean...cough, cough, I might be getting swine flu! You need to get away from us!" Am I a really mean person? Maybe. That being said, I'm done with this post. Cliff out.

3 comments:

  1. I totally agree, great post Cliff!

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  2. I agree, all the media hype is insane. People die from the regular flu every year, so why is it such a big deal if they die from this one? I totally agree with your post. But, still, for being no big deal, having the swine flu really isn't fun.

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  3. Cliff, I'm still laughing. That picture is brilliant, as is the link (though I'd seen it before. Still funny.)

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