Racism and swine flu - travelers beware

 May brings a frenzy of spring activities.  The Bay Area is humming with get-a-way options.  Many of you will seek out weekend destinations; you want to relax, play, seek mini-adventures and eat out.  You read the internet to explore appealing destinations and you listen to the radio to hear what’s up in your neck of the woods and beyond.  But, just what might some of you be hearing?

Some talk shows and web sites have begun the spread of a bug much more viral than swine flu.  A handful of "conservative" voices have chosen to use their platforms to shake their audiences – YOU --  into a sickeningly submissive role or racial stereotyping.  Their commentary is meant to sting, wound and divide.  

 “No contact anywhere with an illegal alien!” conservative talk show host Michael Savage advised his U.S. listeners this week on how to avoid the swine flu. “And that starts in the restaurants" where he said, you “don’t know if they wipe their behinds with their hands!”

In a nutshell, this type of thinking is good for nothing, but it exists and currently seeps onto the airwaves.  Sadly, hate and ignorance have a life force of their own.  While some, like Savage, advocate racial  intolerance using a virus they apparently know little about, others have chosen to boycott particular Hispanic (for example) business; some eating establishments have taken a hit and struggle to maintain their normal livelihoods.  Savage, and the minority like him, can be credited for some of this consumer hysteria.  But, now that we know this is going on, we have a responsibility.

“Tamping down blame and fear isn’t just the right thing to do morally, experts agree, it’s also the right thing to do medically. Germs, Markel stressed, don’t care about skin color or national origins or borders.

“These are naturally occurring events,” he said. “We expect flu pandemics every 30 to 40 years. It’s the cost of living in a world of emerging infectious diseases. That’s the folly of prejudice. They are wherever humans are.”

My challenge to you is to become informed.  Read all of the facts on swine flu before making plans for weekend get-a-ways. And last but not least, continue to take your business into all Bay Area communities that you normally frequent.  Travelers, beware; enjoying your excursions this May may require you to arm yourself with knowledge about the swine flu scare.  Knowledge is key to battling a virus, both literal and figurative.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30467300/   Get informed on swine flu racism here

.... THIS JUST IN!!  "Britain's least wanted black list published......"