# Why the liberal 'pooh-poohing' of the Ebola danger? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388 "2014-10-04T16:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/41 "2014-10-04T23:20:08Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Not sure if it is “liberals” per se but the danger is being dismissed because there is no danger to 99.999999999% of Americans \<— Science! > > Also there is a racist connotation to much of the coverage (strongly implied it is coming to America from brown people who either just don’t know any better or are maliciously spreading it). > > Ebola is a real problem in Africa because they lack infrastructure and a strong government. Come to think of it, maybe Texas should be a little worried because they also lack those things. > > That aside, unless you while away in the vomit, blood or feces of an Ebola victim, you don’t have to worry. So, what are you implying- that for the past few months West Africans have been “(whiling) away in the vomit, blood or feces of … Ebola victim(s)”? I don’t think people are trying to catch it on purpose. When a sickness causes people to vomit, puke, bleed, and shit, these things are going to enter your environment, whether you like it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/42 "2014-10-04T23:27:13Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > I think that there are several things in play here. > > First, on a basic psychological level, liberals \*\*tend \*\*to be optimists (aspirational- “what can we gain”), where conservatives tend to be pessimists (conservative in-the-not-political sense- “what can we lose”). I recently heard this on the radio (NPR 🙂 ), so I don’t have a cite. I do believe that both impulses are valuable to society. > > … Here is a cite for this. > **[Conservatives Are More Squeamish than Liberals](https://www.livescience.com/16746-conservatives-disgust-political-views.html)** > > People who are more easily disgusted are more likely to hold conservative political views compared with the less squeamish, who tend to be more liberal, suggests a new study that adds to evidence that our political attitudes and behaviors are... Actually, the study looks at disgust response. The article speculates that this serves a disease avoidance function, directly relevant to this discussion. The {aspirational}/{conservative/protective} crap is stuff that I made up (I mean, inferred). ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/43 "2014-10-04T23:32:38Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’m calling it. October 4th, 2014 is officially the day when it became impossible to discuss literally anything in the US without someone trying to shoehorn it into a narrative of partisan political conflict. Well before this date, actually. Because a link was established between the disease and a black population, some conservatives now feel justified (and relieved) in expressing their xenophobism/racism openly under the guise of protecting America, [as well as conveniently, and without evidence, linking the disease to brown people they don’t like (warning PDF).](http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gingrey_letter_to_cdc_on_public_health_crisis.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/44 "2014-10-05T00:53:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Technically, Ebola can’t cross the Atlantic by itself. No, it took some guy lying on his exit paperwork, an ER staff who brain farted and let him go home for 2 days, it took him vomiting in the parking lot and it not being cleaned up, and his apartment mates breaking quarantine enough to first get police to keep them in, their not cleaning up the apartment and then needing to be removed to a _secure_ quarantine facility … but we are all perfectly safe.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/45 "2014-10-05T01:04:02Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > So, what are you implying- that for the past few months West Africans have been “(whiling) away in the vomit, blood or feces of … Ebola victim(s)”? No I said the opposite actually. It is easier for it to spread in Africa because they lack clean water or sewers, a hospital infrastructure and public education about the disease. America has all those things so it is much less likely to become a general health problem here. Ebola as it currently exists is very hard to transmit. It spreads only from bodily fluids and only is contagious when you show symptoms. It is ridiculous, right now, to panic. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/46 "2014-10-05T01:25:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You know, I must have missed a memo or something, because I for one have absolutely no idea why everyone is practically wetting themselves in fear that Ebola will suddenly become airborne. As far as I know, no infectious disease known to man has ever just up and “become airborne”, and I don’t think evolution works that way. > > **Am I right, or is their some disease that didn’t used to be airborne within human history and now is?** **emphasis** mine Yes, the relatively recent [SARS virus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS_coronavirus) mutated to become airborne in recent history. SARS is a coronavirus (the same family as many cold viruses) which was previously thought to be spread in droplets. A Hong Kong outbreak in 2003 showed airborne contamination patterns leading Dr Julie Gerberding, then director of the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) [to state](http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/04/01/821872.htm), “Under certain circumstances, at least, it may be airborne.” > [@](#): > > Scientists had previously believed that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), as the pnemonia-type illness is called, was transmitted by coming into contact with droplets from a sneezing or coughing patient. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/47 "2014-10-05T01:58:25Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > People also went nutty that HIV would go airborne, back in the day. And it still hasn’t. I don’t know why everyone keeps talking about HIV. Are they related in any way, or are people just tying the two together just to draw parallels for argument’s sake? Because, sure, back in the day people were afraid that you could get HIV from simple contact. They were wrong. But you CAN get Ebola from simple contact. I don’t think a person has to be a paranoid crazy to worry that Ebola has a mode of transmission that, when coupled with its virulence, makes it quite scary. > [@Quimby](#): > > Ebola as it currently exists is very hard to transmit. A statement like this is hard to swallow when everyday we hear about the mounting deaths from the disease, particularly among health care workers. Ebola may be harder to transmit than other viruses. I’m not a virulogist, so I have no clue. All I know is that when you go to the hospital with flu symptoms, no one puts you in quarantine. Your doctor and nurse don’t don hazard suits. “Very hard to transmit” doesn’t jibe with these facts. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/48 "2014-10-05T02:03:18Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > …coming soon… on AMC… 😃 I call using the crossbow! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/49 "2014-10-05T02:04:02Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > A statement like this is hard to swallow when everyday we hear about the mounting deaths from the disease, particularly among health care workers. Ebola may be harder to transmit than other viruses. I’m not a virulogist, so I have no clue. All I know is that when you go to the hospital with flu symptoms, no one puts you in quarantine. Your doctor and nurse don’t don hazard suits. “Very hard to transmit” doesn’t jibe with these facts. Bio safety precautions are put in place not only based on the ease of transmission, but also on the severity of the disease and it’s prevention/treatment options. A highly communicable disease (like flu) has a low mortality rate, so extreme precautions aren’t needed. If you do get sick, you’re likely to get better. Plus most healthcare workers get the vaccine, so they’re immune. A low communicable disease that has limited treatment options and a high death rate (like Ebola) warrants more extreme protective measures because the consequences are so high if caught. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/50 "2014-10-05T02:11:37Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t know why everyone keeps talking about HIV. Are they related in any way, or are people just tying the two together just to draw parallels for argument’s sake? > > Because, sure, back in the day people were afraid that you could get HIV from simple contact. They were wrong. But you CAN get Ebola from simple contact. I don’t think a person has to be a paranoid crazy to worry that Ebola has a mode of transmission that, when coupled with its virulence, makes it quite scary. You said: > [@monstro](#): > > We have tons of evidence that it doesn’t spread through air, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible and that it could never happen. Or that it’s not already happening. . . . the connection is that you’re concerned (and find the position reasonable) that a disease that is not communicable via air might actually be spreading over the air this very minute. Because . . . you think it just could. You’re not just worried about Ebola as we understand it, you’re worried about an Ebola fueled by fears that are not based on any evidence whatsoever. Just like fear about HIV. Except, my guess is we actually understand Ebola much more clearly than we did HIV in its early years, so fear about airborne Ebola is even more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/51 "2014-10-05T02:15:10Z")
Plus, we don’t sit around worrying that HIV, which is present across the population, would all of a sudden become airborne. Ebola’s been around since 1976, longer than HIV. So while it’s technically true, there are so many other things to worry about first. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/52 "2014-10-05T02:20:20Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > You said: > > . . . the connection is that you’re concerned (and find the position reasonable) that a disease that is not communicable via air might actually be spreading over the air this very minute. Because . . . you think it just could. You’re not just worried about Ebola as we understand it, you’re worried about an Ebola fueled by fears that are not based on any evidence whatsoever. Just like fear about HIV. Except, my guess is we actually understand Ebola much more clearly than we did HIV in its early years, so fear about airborne Ebola is even more ridiculous. If you actually read my post, I said that I would never call someone an idiot for worrying about an airborne Ebola. I didn’t say that I believe that Ebola is airborne or that I’m worried about it being airborne. It’s just that I don’t like being wrong. And I especially don’t like being _loud_ and wrong. I’d hate to tell someone, “Don’t be a paranoid fool. You can’t get Ebola from the air”, and then we wake up tomorrow and find out otherwise. Maybe you can be this confident, but I personally can’t. There seems to be a lot of “loud” people out there on BOTH sides, calling people idiots for being afraid or not being afraid enough. Both sides are kinda getting on my nerves. Hope this clarifies what I was trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/53 "2014-10-05T02:24:07Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t know enough about Ebola to make pronouncements on the internet about it. It’s fine if you feel confident enough to do so, but just because I don’t, doesn’t mean I’m “paranoid and unreasonable”. It means that I don’t “believe” in anything. I don’t “believe” in anything either. However, just because something is science-based knowledge doesn’t mean it’s automatically up for debate. > [@](#): > > Science _does_ change. Technology improves, someone discovers they transposed some numbers or didn’t perform an experiment the right way…and suddenly what we “know” shifts a little. All the uncertainty is why I am a fan of science but not faith. I love being able to say, “To date, this is what the science indicates…”. The moment I start going there with “This is absolute truth!!! YOU’RE AN IDIOT IF YOU DON’T AGREE!!!”, then I’ve become someone I don’t want to be. The minute you start saying, “well, knowledge about a subject is such-and-such, but I’m going to entertain the idea that the knowledge might actually be another random unfounded thing, because evidence has been known to change,” then you become indistinguishable from a conspiracy theorist or science denialist. Taking something like [this from the WHO](http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/faq-ebola/en/): “Infection occurs from direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes with the blood, or other bodily fluids or secretions (stool, urine, saliva, semen) of infected people. Infection can also occur if broken skin or mucous membranes of a healthy person come into contact with environments that have become contaminated with an Ebola patient’s infectious fluids such as soiled clothing, bed linen, or used needles.” . . . and accepting it as truth is not being a weird science sheeple. It’s just having faith that subject matter experts know what they’re talking about. Responding to the above information by claiming that maybe they’re wrong and Ebola is transmitted through the air is not being a skeptic, it’s choosing to put your own fears above clear evidence. **ETA** : I realize I’m coming across a bit strong perhaps. I’m not intending to be angry with you or anything. I just get peeved when people hold (what look to me like) “just because” beliefs, and posit them as reasonable positions. I feel like that’s where climate change denialism, young Earth Creationism, and all sorts of other not-based-in-reality movements start. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/54 "2014-10-05T02:31:57Z")
The “If you want a travel ban to/from Africa, you are racist!” accusation is a prime example of a red herring, illogical-conclusion attack. If the current Ebola outbreak were in Europe (a predominantly Caucasian continent) instead of Africa, you’d hear Americans clamoring loudly for a travel ban to/from Europe, just like they currently demand a travel ban to/from Africa. You can argue that the fear of Ebola is greatly exaggerated (and I’d agree,) but crying “racism!” is a pitiful attempt to smear people who want a travel ban. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/55 "2014-10-05T02:37:03Z")
DO YOU HAVE EBOLA? [Take this simple quiz](http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uCgzXT3WABW6QcZM7aq0e25cQ_o=/cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2314820/doyouhaveebola_revised.0.png) and find out! From “[This paragraph perfectly sums up America’s overreaction to Ebola](http://www.vox.com/2014/10/4/6905303/ebola-scared-quarantine)”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/56 "2014-10-05T02:40:09Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The “If you want a travel ban to/from Africa, you are racist!” accusation is a prime example of a red herring, illogical-conclusion attack. > > If the current Ebola outbreak were in Europe (a predominantly Caucasian continent) instead of Africa, you’d hear Americans clamoring loudly for a travel ban to/from Europe, just like they currently demand a travel ban to/from Africa. > > You can argue that the fear of Ebola is greatly exaggerated (and I’d agree,) but crying “racism!” is a pitiful attempt to smear people who want a travel ban. Who is doing any of that? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/57 "2014-10-05T02:44:22Z")
You would think that the rightwingnuts would absolutely KNOW that Ebola can’t become airborne, because for that to happen, … EVOLUTION! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/58 "2014-10-05T02:47:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Who is doing any of that? Here. > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Because a link was established between the disease and a black population, some conservatives now feel justified (and relieved) in expressing their xenophobism/racism openly under the guise of protecting America > [@Acsenray](#): > > hysterics are shouting that we need to prohibit all flights from Africa and nonsense like that. > > Racist and xenophobic nonsense. > [@Quimby](#): > > there is a racist connotation to much of the coverage (strongly implied it is coming to America from brown people who either just don’t know any better or are maliciously spreading it). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/59 "2014-10-05T02:49:16Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I don’t “believe” in anything either. However, just because something is science-based knowledge doesn’t mean it’s automatically up for debate. Did I say it was? > [@](#): > > The minute you start saying, “well, knowledge about a subject is such-and-such, but I’m going to entertain the idea that the knowledge might actually be another random unfounded thing, because evidence has been known to change,” then you become indistinguishable from a conspiracy theorist or science denialist. No it doesn’t. It means knowing the difference between a hypothesis and a fact. We are bombarded by hypotheses-presented-as-facts on a daily basis. Sometimes we’re told when these “facts” are revised. Sometimes we’re not. I accept just about everything I am told at face-value, but for some things I decide to be a little wary until I have a compelling reason not to. Yes, I fully understand that Ebola is not known to be transmitted by air. But I guarantee you if I am ever called to visit a sick loved one, I will be covering my face–whether to protect myself from aerosols or whatever. You can call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but I really don’t think I am being THAT unreasonable. Maybe when we stop hearing stories from [people who don’t know how they got infected](http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/03/ebola-survivor-nancy-writebols-first-interview-is-with-anderson-cooper/), my feelings will change on this matter. > [@](#): > > . . . and accepting it as truth is not being a weird science sheeple. It’s just having faith that subject matter experts know what they’re talking about. Responding to the above information by claiming that maybe they’re wrong and Ebola is transmitted through the air is not being a skeptic, it’s choosing to put your own fears above clear evidence. Since Ebola isn’t ever going to impact my area, then it doesn’t fucking matter what I believe, right? Why are you giving me such a hard time? Why does me having compassion for people who are afraid of the disease such a horrible thing to you? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388/60 "2014-10-05T02:55:22Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Since Ebola isn’t ever going to impact my area, then it doesn’t fucking matter what I believe, right? Why are you giving me such a hard time? Why does me having compassion for people who are afraid of the disease such a horrible thing to you? You didn’t ask me, **monstro** , but I’m going to make an observation anyway. It looks like the OP pretty effectively poisoned the well by the way he worded his thread title: **Why the liberal ‘pooh-poohing’ of the Ebola danger?** Within a fairly a small number of words, he manages to fit in TWO not-established assertions, AND a semantically loaded dog-whistle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-liberal-pooh-poohing-of-the-ebola-danger/700388.md?page=4)