5 am is the time of day when I get sleepy (since its the time I should be going to bed, not getting up, in case you are wondering), but also sometimes when I write the d****dest stuff. This one from yesterday started as a rant. I went to bed after writing it. Then I woke up and thought, hang on, maybe there’s something in there. So I’m reposting it on a new thread, to higlight several things:
It just seems to me such a waste, for all these wonderful, talented, committed, and creative folks to be cast aside, their talent unused, when the world desperately need them.
The question, therefore, is this: what needs to happen for this to change?
I leave you to read the post and consider.
Everything that I’ve read, including this thread and the file from the World Economic Forum, tells me that this forum has the pulse of the problem about right.
That a pandemic is very likely. That it may be imminent. That it’s likely to be catastrophic. That TPTB think so too.
The problem for them is that they are worried that if they tell the whole truth now, we may get a collapse of society, panic, or whatever, sooner than is necessary, so they think they have some incentive in delaying as much as possible.
We on this forum believe people ought to be told. We differ among ourselves as to how to tell, what to tell, how best to get people aware and started and not freak them out. We are also aware, although not as worried, of the concern of starting panics. BUT, too many of us have had bruising encounters when trying to communicate this risk, so that we are afraid to talk to our neighbours, afraid to share what we know.
One of the things I’ve been doing, is to put out ‘usable’ ‘advice’ to policymakers on this forum. I know some of them read this. Not many, probably nowhere near enough :-). But that was one of my incentives to put up threads like Efficacy of social distancing measures. And also why I’ve been saying that it’s time for all governments (with the emphasis on all) to tell people to put aside enough provisions for at least 2 weeks.
I got flamed for that, which is ok, but the reason why I did that was to try and put out the message that “hey, we’re not weirdo’s and doomsday survivalists and we understand the realities of working with the public. Or rather between the public and the bosses.” We, or I, just want to say, “Look, there is a whole bunch of people right here who know a lot more than some ‘experts’ who give you advice. What’s more, we give it for free. AND we are willing to get out there and help. In whatever way.”
All that we need, all that we, on this forum, want, is for leaders to come out and publicly acknowledge that we have a problem. No, not in the way that’s been done up to now, although we appreciate that as well. But to step up, get the whole world’s attention, get your countrymen’s attention, and have a heart-to-heart talk. To say, we’ve got a problem. The whole world, the whole of humanity, has a problem. Which if we, as the generation running the show, do not put our hearts and minds and guts and sweat and everything we’ve got into it, we will live to see the day when what is left of our children and grandchildren will say “You knew. Why didn’t you do something?”
Can you look them in the eye then?
Can you, when 10%, 20% or 50%, of the next generation is wiped out?
Can you tell your grandchildren, if you still have them, why they no longer have friends their age?
When the leaders have made that decision, to go public, really public, with at the very least the idea that a pandemic may be imminent and that there is a small but real chance of healthcare collapse and systemic breakdowns, that every citizen can help by making themselves slightly more self-sufficient by putting aside (not stockpiling) enough essentials for say a couple of weeks at least, then WE, the whole bunch of us here who agonize about this day and night, can also go public. We can go and talk to our neighbours, our community leaders. We can help organize local support networks. We can educate parents, teachers, volunteers, on everything from infection control to how much water a person needs per day. We can set up, recruit, and help train, home healthcare volunteers, or organize local food deliveries, or man hotlines for basic flu questions.
There’s a whole lot of us here who know a lot, as Dr Nabarro found out, and we’re all willing to learn, to share, to help.
At the moment, a lot of us are quiet because we know that we will not be taken seriously. Some of us worry that we will be the target of theft or worse. We lay awake at night agonizing about this.
But if governments have taken the lead, have come out and say, yes, these things are necessary, then we can get started.
So, Mr Blair, how about it? You’re my PM, in case you didn’t know. Why don’t you take the lead? What have you got to lose?
Don’t tell them the worst case scenario. Just tell enough to justify public community action. Get your buddy Bush, your not-so-buddy Chirac, or maybe Sarkozy, Ms Merkel, Mr Howard from down under, Premier Wen, Koizumi, Mr Putin. Get them all to do this.
It won’t hurt, I promise. Not if you all do it together.
I assure you, if you do this, you will lose very little, but it may be the very legacy that you’ve been looking for.
anon_22
I wish there were smileys here. You deserve a great big WHOOT!, and many hands clapping. Maybe some HOS`s minions will read this and put a bug in the right ear. But, I`m not holding my breath.I truly believe that we`re On Our Own.Mr. Blair, President Bush and others will wake up too late, I fear.
May be red ribbon awareness should be red ribbon petition for action. It will probably be more news worthy. My concern about the awareness campaign didn’t produce much last year, why would it produce more last year as the MSM quiets down and the TPTB sits frozen. Didn’t we accomplish something with the sequence petition?
(A few posts have been deleted cos of inappropriate content. Apologies to those who posted.)
anon_22 – at 02:02 Well said. I applaud you for capturing the heartfelt emotions that we all share here on the fluwiki. Well said indeed!
Maybe they need help in framing things? Things may need to be framed differently in different countries. Maybe. Or there may be a common message with different “weights”. Panpreparedness with local flavour, so to speak.
What do politicians need to take that formidable step? Do they need to talk to each other quietly and decide they will go on-screen simultaneously? Do they charge a neutral body with launching the message first, and then they adapt it locally? How do we help them take baby steps in that direction? Could we have 5 baby-steps in a week? What would that future look like?
Everyone on this board needs to step up. You cannot defend your home. It will not work. We are as prepared as the houses around us.
I too have experienced rhe ridicule - by my own brother!
I have found it easier to deal with my Town officials because the word is getting out. Big Biz wants to survive - they are becoming Pro-active. Now is the time. Get your thoughts and facts together and contact your Town officials - go straight to the top. Do not tell them what they need to do. Tell them you are concerned, have much valuable information to share, and want to help others in your town get prepared… not scared.
I will share my journey as i do this process over the next weeks… Today i wrote a letter to a big celeb who lives in my town to get ask for his participation. Sat i meet with my daughters best friends dad who is the director of one of the 3 network morning shows - he wants to help. I am finding a new energy out there. Spring off of it.
We can change the world. We can save lives.
I think we will be courageous when we all take off our masks and speak openly to others, including the press, and local PTB.
I think it will be courageous when we find the guts to speak out no matter that we may feel foolish or not listened to.
I think it will be courageos if we each wear a red ribbon no matter what meeting we are in.
I think it will be courageous when we do not wait for the PTB to clear the path but forge our own anyway.
If we wait for authorites to take the steps that we may feel we need in order to find our voice we may find the teachable moment given way to panic in the streets.
To paraphrase a favorite poet (I can’t remember who wrote this):
“The saddest words of tongue and pen are those that say it might have been”.
Annon_22 is a very wise person and has been a leader in our fight to bring awareness.
anon_22, Science Teacher, Goju - you all have my admiration for your eloquence, insight, and courage.
Your posts illustrate Monotreme’s ‘multiprong’ approach. I hope our leaders and we will find that courage. I will continue to tell the story of 1918 and push for max preps, as that is my way. Others will do their way. But, definitely, Science Teacher’s quote from the poet says it all. (at 17:40)
reaching same conclusion here
lugon, I have read probably all of your posts. I just want you to know that I am continually amazed at how you can see the big picture. Your excellent writing has helped me many times to be able to get a handle on thinking about the formidable tasks that need to be done. I carefully consider all that you write, and have learned a great deal from you. For example:
From your post at 05:47: Do they charge a neutral body with launching the message first, and then they adapt it locally?
In the U.S., probably as many people don’t trust the administration as do. A ‘neutral’ body is an excellent idea to get the word out. Red Cross/Red Crescent or something like that to do a national information campaign, even a worldwide campaign.
Re-open for new round of awareness.
Take this message to your local public officials, your politicians.
typing away right now - make it their problem
Here’s a bit of awareness article from a gathering of Sonoma Coubty businesses: Businesses urged to brace for bird flu Planning could reduce impact of worker absenteeism if pandemic strikes, North Bay Council says By CAROL BENFELL THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
North Coast businesses could see 20 percent to 60 percent of their employees absent during a flu pandemic, and those that want to survive must plan ahead, experts warned Thursday.
“Just as we know there will be another earthquake, we know there will be another flu pandemic,” said Cynthia Murray, executive director of the North Bay Council, a public policy-oriented coalition of Sonoma and Marin county business owners.
“In our global economy, things happen very quickly, and we will have very short notice before avian flu begins,” Murray told about 190 people Thursday at a health care conference in Santa Rosa hosted by the North Bay Business Journal.
It has been fifty years since the last flu pandemic struck the United States, and infectious disease experts are growing increasingly concerned about strains of bird flu circulating among domestic poultry and migrating waterfowl in Asia and Africa.
Past pandemics have begun when a virus that normally spreads from bird to bird mutates so that it can spread from human to human. These viruses can be virulent because they are new and humans have no natural immunity, said Gary Green, chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa.
The first flu pandemic of modern times occurred in 1918, when 20 million people died. Half a century later, the Asian flu and Hong Kong flu claimed more than 100,000 lives.
“We’re due for a pandemic flu season, but nobody knows when,” Green said.
A moderate flu pandemic would sicken some 90 million people and kill more than 200,000, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Sonoma County, about one out of every four people would become ill, nearly 1,500 would be so sick they had to be hospitalized and 355 would die, Green said.
A pandemic would have a dramatic effect on businesses, as people fall ill or stay home to tend sick family members. Large numbers of employees would be absent, supply lines would dry up as truckers fell ill, and customer demand would change.
Business owners would find themselves on the front lines, taking every precaution they could to keep their employees healthy and prevent the flu’s spread, Green said.
“Preventing the spread of influenza in the workplace is going to be a very important part of preventing its spread in the community,” Green said.
Medtronic Vascular in Santa Rosa is using the annual flu season to teach behaviors that would be critical during a pandemic flu, said panelist Eric Kunz, Medtronic’s environmental health and safety manager.
Companies can do things as simple as putting out paper tissues and hand sanitizers, making sure sick employees stay home and reminding people to cover their mouths when they cough, he said.
Or it can be more. Medtronic is also planning how it would limit access to its facilities and screen employees at the door if a pandemic developed, Kunz said.
Avian flu is a problem because it would attack healthy working adults, unlike seasonal flu which is riskiest for the elderly, the very young and those with compromised immune systems.
Some absences would be caused by employees’ ill health, while others would reflect employees’ fear of becoming ill. Exposed workers may be asked to stay home to prevent spread of the disease.
Other workers would stay home to care for sick family members, and still others would be unable to get to work because carpools and public transit systems could become unreliable.
The situation could persist for as long as 18 months, with up to three waves of infections, Murray said.
Many businesses would struggle to survive. Typically, 30 percent to 65 percent of businesses fail after a disaster, she said.
Businesses need to draw up a contingency plan for a flu pandemic. It should include multiple layers of planning, including a recovery plan once the pandemic recedes, she said.
Preparedness includes everything from cross-training employees to upgrading filters on heating and air conditioning systems to installing secure communication lines for telecommuting, she said.
That isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds, because checklists and guidelines are already available on the Internet and from the public health departments, Murray said.
“Sample plans are out there,” she said.
The half-day conference also included remarks by former Colorado governor Richard Lamm and Peter Anderson, senior vice president of business development at Sutter Health Systems.
Lamm, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Denver, talked about the ethics of rationing health care, while Anderson explained the role of health savings accounts in an employer’s health benefits package.
“The situation could persist for as long as 18 months, with up to three waves of infections, Murray said.”
Thank you for being more honest than we’re seeing over here…
(not that that’s too difficult to accomplish.) ;-)