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hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 04:51 AM Oct 2014

Seriously - can we drop Ebola and get back to something serious like deaths from guns?

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by hlthe2b (a host of the General Discussion forum).

# People killed by Ebola this week in the United States - 0

# People killed by gunfire this week in the United States - 200+ by my estimate

(Based on CDC report of 11,068 killed by firearms in 2011 -

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

uppityperson

(115,674 posts)
1. I'm ready to start a pitbull thread tomorrow if this keeps up
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 04:59 AM
Oct 2014

dang, did a search and no juicy articles.

 

quadrature

(2,049 posts)
2. I'll takes my chances with the gunfire
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:07 AM
Oct 2014

don't want Ebola

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
3. Yeah, who wants to die in pain bleeding out
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:10 AM
Oct 2014

(Imagine I've inserted a photo here of a bloody gunshot victim lying on the ground dying while his lungs and abdomen fill with blood from internal bleeding.)

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
4. No. It is a crisis
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:24 AM
Oct 2014

in Africa, and the UN is calling for a massive international effort to fight it, RIGHT NOW. Otherwise, they're predicting more than a million cases within a matter of months. The international community has a small window of opportunity to change the trajectory and if we don't take it, we'll regret it.

What just happened in Dallas should be a wake-up call. Ebola is everyone's business. We need to help Africa contain it now.

 

bvf

(6,604 posts)
7. That's about the sanest post I've read on this.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:50 AM
Oct 2014

Global perspective and all.

Seriously.

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
8. I should have said, can we stop speculating about the possibility
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:57 AM
Oct 2014

of an epidemic of Ebola here and return to our existing problems - including controlling disease in the 3rd world. Even there, our focus on the current Ebola crisis in Western Africa should be a reminder that the countries there need assistance in developing a robust health care system to address such issues as maternal and infant mortality, family planning, malaria in addition to spotting and stopping any future outbreaks of Ebola.

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
12. Spot on.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 06:52 AM
Oct 2014

No one, nowhere, is immune from this.

 

Oktober

(1,488 posts)
5. Cause fuck everyone else then?
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:30 AM
Oct 2014

Does it have to be a full crisis with bodies in the streets before you can tear yourself away from the gun issue for a second?

 

Scootaloo

(25,699 posts)
6. They're just africans, fuck 'em. let's talk about Olive Garden instead!
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 05:36 AM
Oct 2014

Good to know this is still DU.

ileus

(15,396 posts)
13. did you hear there's a new Iphone coming out...
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 06:52 AM
Oct 2014
 

cali

(114,904 posts)
9. I don't think this would be such a big story if there hadn't been multiple
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 06:43 AM
Oct 2014

fuck ups. It's not just about ebola. It's about the healthcare infrastructure and whether we're prepared for any epidemic.

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
10. OK, I can see what you mean.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 06:48 AM
Oct 2014

ileus

(15,396 posts)
11. Why do all these guns keep killing people.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 06:52 AM
Oct 2014

I'm all for stopping people from abusing my rights as long as my rights aren't affected.

KrazyinKS

(291 posts)
14. My right wing sister is terrified of Ebola
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 07:45 AM
Oct 2014

She thinks the crisis is being underplayed right now because of the coming election. She got real close to blaming Obama. She didn't say anything about the total lack of infrastructure, health care the like in those west Africa countries. Gee sounds like a tea party dream!

deutsey

(20,166 posts)
17. We (as in Democrats, progressives, lefties) need to articulate
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 08:06 AM
Oct 2014

a comprehensive critique (in plain language) of how decades of Neoliberalism have led to the global mess we're in: climate change, economic collapse, dying cities, deepening class divisions, frazzled healthcare system, failing educational system, rigged elections, crumbling roads and bridges, corporate crime, endless war, etc.

If we don't, then people like your sister and the sources of her disinformation (and their paymasters) will continue to define the situation.

Naomi Klein seems to be trying with her new book This Changes Everything. I haven't read it yet, but I've heard interviews with her and she's offering a sharp analysis of how Neoliberal policies are behind the climate crisis we're facing.

 

pintobean

(18,101 posts)
15. I propose a change to the GD SOP.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 08:00 AM
Oct 2014

Discuss politics, issues, and current events. Posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, ebola, showbiz, or sports are restricted in this forum. Conspiracy theories and disruptive meta-discussion are forbidden.



IBTL

TBF

(31,922 posts)
16. Blinders on - check.
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 08:04 AM
Oct 2014

*If it doesn't affect me personally I'm a gonna ignore it*

That will help.

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
18. Again, i was reacting to the plethora of the hair-on-fire, we're all going to die comments
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 08:20 AM
Oct 2014

by pointing out something that really does kill a lot of Americans. If anything, I think we need to redouble our efforts to get the various 3rd world health care systems up on their feet even when if there isn't a scary new plague that might conceivably kill Americans. How many Liberian kids have died from Ebola this week. How many from malaria or dysentery?

TBF

(31,922 posts)
19. Agree that we do need to re-focus
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 10:18 AM
Oct 2014

on stopping the killing. If we look at how much money we pay government contractors to build military weapons I think we would find the money we need (and then some) to eradicate many of the diseases suffered worldwide.

For those of us with compromised immune systems this disease is frightening though. Some Obama supporters are so afraid of any negativity being attached to their president that they appear to be trying to stifle any conversation regarding Ebola. I don't think that is very helpful either.

ETA - I am not seeing the "we are all going to die" comments that you are referencing. Are you referring to DU or elsewhere? I would expect that from FAUX news but not on here.

progressoid

(49,827 posts)
20. But it's the END OF THE WORLD!!11
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 10:29 AM
Oct 2014

hlthe2b

(101,730 posts)
21. Locking...
Fri Oct 3, 2014, 11:32 AM
Oct 2014

Host consensus is that this violates current GD SOP regarding gun violence discussion, which is currently limited to the two gun-related groups in the absence of a large national impact story.

Your understanding is appreciated.

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