In 1996 Bruce Willis starred in The 12 Monkeys. The movie revolved around a post-apocalyptic society after 5 billion people had been killed by a pandemic. As I watched the film last night, I realized that the public is frightened of a similar situation right now.
People are all over the world living in a heightened state of fear. The French have closed the Louvre. Italy has closed Italy. The NBA h has cancelled the remainder of the basketball season. College sports, talk shows, and game shows are doing their things without live audiences. Just now, the news has reported the closer of Disneyland & Disney World. There's even talk of canceling the Olympics.
Not only are institutions pushing the panic button, one only has to see empty store shelves to know the public’s behavior and buying habits have massively changed. They're buying supplies as if we're on the eve of the apocalypse.
Fears of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the U.S. are prompted shoppers to hoard hand sanitizer, medical masks, pain relievers, antacids, and toilet paper as if we're on the eve of an apocalypses of our own.
According to Eater.com the hysteria over corona has also changed our food buying habits. Data from late February shows, shelf-stable and longer-lasting foods are seeing a spike in sales, while fresh produce is taking a hit.
- Fruit snack sales rose 12.6%
- Energy drinks sales rose 10.1%
- Dried beans sales rose 10.1%
- Pretzel sales rose 9%
- Frozen fruit sales rose 6.6%
- Bottled water sales rose 5.1%.
- Asparagus sales dropped 3.2%
- Mandarin orange sales dropped 4.2%
- Chili pepper sales dropped 4.7%
- Celery sales dropped 15.7%
It’s been said, human beings fear the unknown. OK, let's shed some light on the subject. In a world of over 7 billion people, as of 03/12/2020-15:59:00, 134,511 people have contracted covid-19. Out of those, 4,970 people have died as opposed to the 68,925 people who have fully recovered.
You can read all the applicable statistics at (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/), but in a nutshell, an overwhelming majority of people who have died, from covid-19, have been over 70 years old with some kind of respiratory ailment. NO CHILDREN 9-YEARS-OLD OR UNDER HAVE BEEN KILLED BY CORONA!
Maybe I’m the guy at the beginning of the horror movie saying, “There’s no psycho with a chainsaw in the woods.” Yet, it seems we’re allowing fear to dictate what we do and who we are. Personally, I don’t behind we’re experiencing a “12 Monkeys” scenario.
Yes, we should wash our hands and cover our noses & mouths when we sneeze & cough. Those of us who haven't learned that by the end of kindergarten probably shouldn't be out in public anyway. But, let’s not be the kind of people who pull their kids out of school, or hoard supplies from our neighbors. Let’s be better people than that.
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