With Ebola, Native Africans in elevator=nervous.

So yesterday I was in a elevator with native Africans, they were speaking some language I could not understand and their dress made it clear they were not locals. For the first time in my life I was actually nervous with other people in an elevator. It was 5 women/teens.
All I could think about was please don't cough or sneeze while in there. Am I being a little paranoid ? Or does the Ebola scare warrant being nervous being around possible carriers. I almost felt like saying what part of Africa are you from, but then I thought that's rude. So I said nothing and just smiled. Nothing to worry about I suppose they all looked perfectly healthy. But none of the other health scares have ever made me feel this way before, when in an elevator even with a sick person.

a reply to: Blue_Jay33

yes, you are totally paranoid.

I live in a part of Chicago that holds a LARGE population of Africans (from Africa).....I went to the ER last Monday for a crushed toe and I was TERRIFIED because while there, the EMTs brought in a black man who was obviously very ill and the EMTs were wearing BREATHING GEAR over their faces....like the firemen wear when they go into a fire, (I didn't smell fire and it didn't look like the man had been burned)....then, this weekend, we got a cab in our hood and the guy was from Nigeria....though he was healthy and I just acted like I normally do...it was still in my mind....does THIS guy have Ebola?

So...I think it is a good thing to keep it in the back of your mind....and I can tell you....you become REALLY aware how many times you touch your face when there's a deadly disease around......KEEP YOUR HANDS ALWAYS CLEAN AND AWAY FROM YOUR NOSE, MOUTH AND EYES!!!!!!

It seems like all this "Ebola Madness" is coming to an end. BUT.... I like you would be nervous and would probably act accordingly. By accordingly I mean, hold my breath, keep my hands in my pockets, don't make any eye contact (Ebola can be transmitted via eye contact ,read that on the webz). I would then go home burn my clothes and shower replacing every door knob in the house that I touched. I would then sit down with a beer and think of how I might of overreacted a bit. Till I get the hiccups...

In all seriousness. I would be concerned like you. Regardless of how contagious it is or isn't the thought of getting Ebola is scary enough to make you think everything is suspect.

a reply to: Cornczech

Yeah in the past none of this stuff even crossed my mind with SARS, H1N1, bird flu, swine flu and so forth.
Where I am we actually had people with the bird flu, and I never even cared. Ebola for some reason maybe the death rate and how you die, is worse. Although we have had so few cases in North America and most of those are health workers or people returning from Africa, really the chances of contracting and dieing from cancer are infinitely higher.

Maybe I spent too much time on ATS in the Ebola threads.

a reply to: Blue_Jay33

Africa is a Bigass Continent, do you know from which part or how long they've been away from the African Continent?

Being concerned is normal but that sounds a bit paranoid to me. But then again I wasn't in the elevator at the time either.



ETA: I see you edited your post.

ebola is more a problem in the mind of the american citizens than it is as an actual disease, (in america of course)
I love how easy it is to break people and bring them down.
nothing personal OP, that's just how they make you guys.
"it's the commies, it's the japs, it's the muslims it's the blacks!"
Be afraid, of anything, just please be afraid.

a reply to: SLAYER69

That's true, they also had a baby with them that was much lighter skinned than the rest, now he could have been mixed race, or just not have been born in Africa at all. Obviously these people may have been away from Africa before this thing went epidemic, but that being said you also think, I wonder if anybody has visited these people from Africa lately ?

Actually right now I am not worried at all, it was just in the moment like 90 seconds all these kinds of things suddenly flash through your mind, I am just relating my experience mostly.

I would have been nervous too...the death rate is high, no matter how few people have contracted it.... But I'm nervous about Ebola in any crowd, not just an elevator with Africans in it... It's not a racist plague...to me personally, the fact that the media has gone silent is too spookey. ....It's like the calm before the storm. ...the public will forget ,move on, and then suddenly...BAM! ...A ton of people will have Ebola but think it's the flu,and by the time they realize it's too late.. because the media is doing nothing to keep the public aware or updated and then it'll spread like fire...! (just my doom porn. )

I'm 'germ aware' ... I don't touch door knobs and don't use phones that others have used. I avoid crowds like shopping malls at Christmas and avoid church crowds. When I grocery shop I do it at 7:00 am on a weekday so that hardly anyone is there. Airplanes and elevators and closed in places with people coughing or sneezing .. no thanks - YIKES. Movie theaters are only on weekdays and after the movie has been out for a few weeks so no one is in there ... and even then I get nervous about germs and rarely go. (I get sick easily ... autoimmune issues)

That being said, yes I think being nervous about ebola while in an elevator because Africans are in it is a bit much. Considering how 'germ aware' I am .. that's saying a lot.

a reply to: Blue_Jay33

There is a real danger of your possible paranoia of Ebola manifesting as xenophobia. Please do not misunderstand me. I don't think you will, the fact that you are even asking these questions seems to indicate that you are a thoughtful, well-meaning, person.

Are you afraid of the possibility that anyone you come into contact with may have been in contact with someone that had Ebola, or was your concern based on their dress and the color of their skin? I'm not saying that you are wrong to be concerned that the African standing on the elevator next to you has Ebola, your brains ability to reason and detect differences has been paramount in your survival as a human animal. All I am saying is that we know how things like xenophobia manifest now, and being mindful of your own psychological reactions is a very effective way to combat its development.

Kudos on making this thread. It was brave.

a reply to: AgentShillington

There was an older man, regular at the store I work at, mentioned Ebola a few times. I always enjoy talking about these things, kinda gauge how locals might feel about whatever subject. The thing that he mentioned which surprised me was "racism". He actually said there was probably going to be a huge racist # storm brewing based on the information that Ebola came from Africa and with "the blacks".

I, at the time, thought this was akin to "the great race war" which some have coined as a term, as if it's an inevitability. I personally think a zombie apocalypse is more likely, it's usually the racists themselves that ever bring up such a silly notion. But this race thing with Ebola keeps popping up and it's a little freaky to be quite honest.

Will we allow fear to dominate our thinking minds? Is society at the point of playing the blame game with individuals and disease? Who can blame one for the existence of a microscopic entity? Honestly?

These fear-driven states of paranoia are one among many reasons for those in "control" to tighten the harnesses. "See! They can't control themselves, they're like animals! They NEED us to govern them". I see the fear on these boards as well.

The absolute most important thing for us, worldwide, is to not panic even in the thick of things. Otherwise we're all likely to lose what little privileges we have (sadly most our "rights" in the US have already been made privileges).

I see nothing wrong with being concerned. It's those that are not that will be the problem.
If the government would be known to tell the truth then maybe we could be more at ease. But that's for sure is not the case with the government. And as proven they are coming into the country with it. Being paranoid could save your life if you ask me.

But actually in your case pushing elevator buttons would be risky say if they did have it and was on the elevator before you got on you wouldn't even know. It would be better if it took a cough or sneeze to spread.

a reply to: Artanis667


I don't think we are going to have much of a problem with the racial component of the make up of Africa. People aren't generally concerned with African Americans having Ebola, it is, as the OP suggested, more of a xenophobic reaction to outsiders. Dark skin color is an unfortunate identifier of African personage, but it is the dress and accented language that is going to raise alarms, like with the OP.

The United States will never have a problem with Ebola because we are hyper-aware of cleanliness here. It will never be a pandemic here. We have never witnessed a virus mutate from aerosol to airborne, so the likelihood of it happening is infinitesimal. Will we get occasional pockets when it manifests? Maybe, but that is the price of living in a world where humans can circle the globe in a day.

The response to Ebola has been light because the threat is really a non-starter. There won't be any fear campaigns and the media outlets already seem to have moved on to other things.

Was your concern just an overreaction? You'll find out in 2 to 21 days.l

a reply to: Cornczech

The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria has been over for weeks .

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
a reply to: Cornczech

The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria has been over for weeks .

You've got to be kidding me...

originally posted by: MarkJS
Was your concern just an overreaction? You'll find out in 2 to 21 days.l

Yeah I overreacted, but it was a 90 second overreaction in the moment, I am not worried today.
But just like anything else, I would like to see the reaction of all these people who have been following Ebola on ATS if they had been in my spot. Because it just sort of hit me by surprise, any other sick people I have been around lately has not phased me one bit. And these people seemed healthy and happy too.

Why would I kid you?



www.usatoday.com...



reply to: LordAhriman

Today a border guard asked if I had been around anybody that had Ebola and I said no, not that I know of, of coarse I thought of my elevator experience.