So, the one confirmed case of Swine Flu in South Florida just happens to be at the high school that my daughter attends. Scary stuff, huh?
Even more scary is frenzy by the media. They are scrambling to find out the identity of the child. They are out on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. looking for "anyone who knows anyone that knows the identity" of the 17 year old female. They are pestering kids to betray a friend. Whoa, is THAT a good lesson to teach our children???
Yours truly got an email after a short tweet yesterday afternoon. The reporter said that she "wanted to get a message to the family" and that they "could remain anonymous if they chose to." I would much rather that she said, "we went to camp out at her house and bug anyone going or coming." And as far as the anonymous part, I would say that it's apparent that they HAVE chosen it, by not coming forth.
Her school has a great principal, caring teachers, and have made great academic strides in the last few years. I have tried to get press there for the last 3 years. Nobody was interested. NOW, all of a sudden, I have reporters emailing me, wanting me to share info? NOT!
Yes, I KNOW who the student is. NO, I'm not telling you vultures! So there!
Your comments--priceless!!
AMEN!! DON'T TELL THEM ANYTHING! Truth be told this swine flu mess is nothing more than another strain of the flu. And as always if one doesn't wash their hands, etc....they'll catch it like the common cold. And what is the significance of knowing who has the flu???? This is nothing more than organized chaos implemented by the Media to cause hysteria among those that don't know any better.
i have long felt that the media truly oversteps their boundaries and treads on the freedom of others. When did it become ok to shove a mic in front of a grieving mother or father, or interview kids who are traumatized from seeing classmates shot down?
harrassing folks to find information and then harrassing the folks who are "news" in their eyes has become sanctioned. I find it wrong!
There are certain responses to events and experiences in our lives that speak more about our character than we could ever shout with our mouth.
The fact you are unwilling to use the information you know for your personal gain is refreshing. Remember the line "use what
you have to get what you want?" (I will refrain from mentioning the movie this came from)
I am somewhat certain, however, that some child/parent/family will not hesitate to live by the mantra the movie line suggests. It is only a matter of time before the child's identity is known.
I believe, as usual, the media is blowing this way out of proportion. The elementary school next door to my school will be closed for the next two weeks because of a confirmed case of this strain of flu. Of course the media is trying to find out who it is ,and have been contacting the principal and families. Now mind you, like Jewel, the principal from this school has tried to get the media there to do a story about the improved test scores, academic success stories, etc...but, to no avail. Now, they are all over the school. Go head Jewel, you did the right thing! Hopefully, others will do the same thing in respecting the privacy of this family.
What puzzles me to no end is WHY they want to know the identity. Is it that sense of 'one-up-manship'?I got a story for them...go forth an find the pig that started all this. That should keep the vultures busy til the next sensational story hits the press.