Masking Ukraine in hysteria: 315 dead
The Ukrainian death toll levitated, out in the open, in the headlines. Forty-eight deaths by Halloween, 60 by November 2, then 64 deaths later in the day, and 67 by end of day. On November 4 the death toll struck 81; a few hours later the grim tally climbed to 86. One day later the H1N1 swine flu deaths reached 95, and by November 6 headlines trumpeted One Hundred and Nine (109) deaths.
For those not keeping count, that is a leap from 48 to 109 deaths in just seven days. One week later the death toll clanged like an iron bell at over 300. Three hundred fifteen dead and still the world watches and does not take this seriously.
But this is not the true story. The hard reality is, at the same time this ghastly tally soared, competing headlines shouted: "Ukraine Overreacts" and "It's all a political ploy" and "Expert says Ukraine is going over the top." The stories lurking beneath these headlines kept deflating the numbers. If the official report claimed 95 deaths, the masters of spin poked holes in the story and adjusted the numbers down by sometimes eighty percent.
Ukraine met the crisis head on, taking proactive measures such as closing schools and banning public gatherings, while the world began to chuckle in the headlines. The World Health Organization (WHO), on the other hand, praised Ukraine as handling the situation wisely, and timely, and appropriately.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko took decisive action, for the safety of her people, not claiming endlessly in headlines that there is no problem, that this flu virus is mild, and that simple handwashing will prevent the crisis from escalating. Ukraine has dealt in a very amazing breadth of honesty, which is refreshing in the global community, and patently scandalous to the global media. At this point, some of Tymoshenko's opponents, rivals, and detractors are claiming that she caused the Ukrainian crisis, herself. As if she can cough that hard.
As more and more evidence emerges that Ukraine is facing something out of the ordinary, that it is not crying wolf at every sneeze, the media has gone strangely quiet. Only the sarcastic chuckles reverberate, and echo. The WHO has not begun to address whether or not Ukraine is dealing with a mutated virus. Several reports out of Ukraine indicate that it a recombined virus, from several flu strains. Other reports indicate that it is the same H1N1 flu, but more virulent.
News agencies take umbrage at the sheer audacity of the honesty. In the modern age, people should not hear the truth, because they are simple and cannot handle the hard, grim, facts. They might panic. The public must receive such petty slogans as "wash your hands" and "the vaccine is safe" and "this flu is mild" and "pork is safe to eat."
When a country such as Ukraine broadcasts the truth, it is overwhelmingly blasted as hysterical.
Correct, intelligent information should not cause panic.
It is time to cease dashing off "news" about kitty flu, and how the only answer is an unproven flu vaccine, and it is time to start asking the tough questions, even if there are no hard answers. The media and news agencies must stop providing "prophetic" answers, when they have no answers.
Stop treating citizens as naive, gullible and panic-stricken children, and trust them with the truth, the real facts, as Abraham Lincoln said: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
