From Y2K to the Illuminati, it seems that crazy conspiracy theories and mass hysteria are a common staple in the world these days, but as of lately it seems to be hitting particularly close to home. Maybe it’s the new trend of vampire and zombie movies that has people so eager to fear a zombie apocalypse.
Some would say that it is the media’s fault for blowing things out of proportion and using underhanded scare tactics, but I feel like the blame is no one’s fault but the people themselves. I can honestly say I have been fortunate enough to never have fallen victim to any of these conspiracy theories or disease crazes for one reason: knowledge.
As I write this I can think of the most recent disease hysteria resulting from Ebola making its way stateside. I would call it an outbreak, but out of fear of people rioting, looting, and declaring these the end times, I’ll refer to it as the contained and controlled infection it is.
My question to the audience is “Why would Ebola be referred to as a zombie apocalypse causing disease?” Because they don’t know about the virus. Ebola is not something that is transferred via air, or water, or even food (unless of course you’re eating the meat of something that had the virus). This means that unless you’re coming into direct contact with an infected person’s skin or bodily fluids then there is no way that something that so far has only shown its face in Texas could possibly infect Louisianians – especially since the suspected individuals have been quarantined. It is also important to know that people who have the virus but show no symptoms cannot spread the virus.
The symptoms of the virus are so far from zombie-like it’s laughable. The symptoms would also leave the individual in so much pain that they would barely be able to move let alone think about eating brains.
To reiterate on my earlier point of “America please get educated,” I offer this tale. As an avid user of social media, I enjoy scoping out the funniest memes, anime pictures, pop culture references, and occasional cat pictures.
During this particular scavenger hunt, I ran into a conversation between a girl and her friend on what appeared to be Twitter where the first girl says, “Who cares if Ebola is in America?” To which her friend replied, “Who is that?” To which our lovely lady matter of factly replied, “Idk the president of Africa or something.”
I sighed so deeply I expelled enough CO2 to provide a Cedar with air for a year. Now I would love to say, “Oh haha she was only being facetious,” but even if this particular girl was joking – I have no way of finding out – there are people everyday who make completely ignorant statements like this with absolute seriousness.
Please, take everything with a grain of salt, doubt everything, and believe nothing the first time you hear it. Read, get educated, and ask yourself, “Is it really that big of a deal?” Pass it on to your children and maybe we can start to fix the backwards ideals that many young people seem to be choosing to live by.