Be Calm and STOP the Ebola fear mongering!

Is rapper Camron serious? He just posted the following image to his Instagram account.

His caption read : Ebola is no joking matter..So if u have to be safe. Be fashionable #CamEbolaMask

WHAT THE ENTIRE F!CK?!?

Let's establish one thing first, Ebola is not airborne. Wearing a mask will not save you if you do indeed come into contact with someone infected with the virus. In the age of Google , I am rather astounded that a large population seem generally clueless as to how the disease is spread. 

Let me use another picture, this one from the White House to show how the disease is spread.  Maybe this will help...just maybe

If we can just call a thing a thing, I am rather perturbed that folks are worried about the wrong thing. According to the New York Times the risk of an individual being afflicted with the disease in the United States is very VERY small. So far there's only been just one death documented in America. Contrast that one to more than 4,400 people have died in the latest outbreak in West Africa. Where is the international outrage about those deaths? Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan hit the nail right on the head today when he stated the obvious, that the international response has been rather dismal because the epidemic is in Africa. I mean have you seen the Ebola memes floating around the internet?

Its only funny because it's happening to 'them" furthering adding to the stereotype that the continent is rife with disease and poverty. And while things are rather frightful in Liberia and other parts hit the hardest with the disease....to categorize an entire continent is just plain ole dumb.

The Times Article also states:
The flu kills more than 30,000 people in the United States. Yet this causes little anxiety: Millions of people who could benefit from a flu shot do not get one.“We’re familiar with the flu, we’ve had it and gotten better — we feel we know that threat,” 

So you see, you are more likely to get the flu in the US than you are to get Ebola. So stop the fear mongering. Stop encouraging people to buy USELESS masks, stop this talk of banning flights to and from Africa cause that is not the solution either.

Let's smarten up people. Understand how the media cycle works. It's their job to sensationalize stories and have you tune in. But let's be honest about the situation at hand and stomp out this ignorance.