Sigh.
Sigh. Not linking because don't want to give more airtime, but some idiot physician from Missouri travelled from South America through Atlanta wearing isolation gear with an anti-CDC slogan on the back and got airtime on CNN (don't know where else). Plus, somebody filmed him doing it. He's mad because he thinks we're all about to be invaded with ebola patients and nobody at the airport asked if he was sick. Therefore, the CDC is lying and no one is getting screened at airports. Even the reporter pointed out that he wasn't coming from Africa. Buried under the panic mongering of worst case apocalyptic rhetoric, I think, maybe, he has the legitimate issue of our lack of excess capacity in case of a real outbreak or epidemic (of any kind).
But what an obnoxious, attention-getting stunt. I mean, go free speech, and all, but what is he telling his patients? Get out your plans from 1962 and build a bunker? See, I don't think people should be hamstrung in being able to speak their minds about stuff just because they are in a particular job, but I also think there is such a thing as professional responsibility. He flat out said people should be scared. I think he probably meant that they should be concerned, because that is reasonable, but that isn't what he said and it is not what his tone conveyed. As Magnus Itland said, words have meaning. As a professional, he should be doubly aware of that. Don't manipulate, inform.
Maybe he thought no one would listen if he didn't do things this way, but maybe he's not the only person out there to listen to, either.
But what an obnoxious, attention-getting stunt. I mean, go free speech, and all, but what is he telling his patients? Get out your plans from 1962 and build a bunker? See, I don't think people should be hamstrung in being able to speak their minds about stuff just because they are in a particular job, but I also think there is such a thing as professional responsibility. He flat out said people should be scared. I think he probably meant that they should be concerned, because that is reasonable, but that isn't what he said and it is not what his tone conveyed. As Magnus Itland said, words have meaning. As a professional, he should be doubly aware of that. Don't manipulate, inform.
Maybe he thought no one would listen if he didn't do things this way, but maybe he's not the only person out there to listen to, either.
Was his point that closing down flights from Africa would not be enough, since patients could just travel via another country? I thought that was what CDC was saying, but this guy was supposedly against the CDC?
ReplyDeleteYou're expecting far to much coherency from him and putting way more thought into it than he did, Magnus Itland
ReplyDeleteJohn Rowat It's the golden rule at work. If I went to a lot of trouble to attract attention, I would like people to think I had some kind of vaguely sane message buried in there somewhere. But you're right, I can't really discern a positive correlation between signal strength and coherence in human communication. I just keep hoping, I guess.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the airport bit, if that's what you mean, he was trying to show that the CDC (and presumably the government, et al) has lied about people being screened at airports. Which he didn't show. He may have shown that Atlanta may have some of the most intelligent and insightful and possibly well trained customs agents. Who didn't do what he apparently wanted them to do, which was apparently screen him for ebola. Because it's going to be in South America any day now, and he was coming from South America, so he should have been screened for ebola.
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