Perspective

The latest virus threat is continuing to grab the headlines. This is probably not such a bad thing. Hopefully, it can be contained. Who knows?

However, this just popped up on my laptop.

“Yesterday: 3,700 people died, 40,000-80,000 severely injured. Not #Coronovirus, just daily traffic.”

I confess I have not exercised caution and carried out the requisite nine-point verification process to ensure that it’s not just a load of old made-up-statistic nonsense, but it did make me think. Do we have a balanced perspective? (Actually, can you even have a balanced perspective? Dunno.) No matter. The point is that we always seem to become so quickly obsessed with the latest epidemic threat. What about road deaths? What about malaria? What about drug addiction? What about mass shootings in downtown anywhereinAmericaville? What about obesity? What about anything that kills or affects the many, each and every day/week/month/year?

A few years ago, here in Taiwan, everyone went apeshit over a batch of dodgy cooking oil which made it onto the shelves and into our dinners. Some people were affected, but nothing too serious, as I recall. Outside the restaurants and cafes, thousands were being killed and injured on the roads. Local and national interest level? Zero.

Weird. Simple stuff that we can all physically influence by our own behaviour doesn’t count. Doesn’t register. Doesn’t matter.

Baffling.