I read this article on Newsweek about a family who lost their daughter in a horrific car accident.  Two CHP officers that were at the scene had taken photos minutes after the accident capturing the disturbing result of the accident.  These photos (which I have not seen and do not desire to see) have been posted all over the web.  The photos show the incredible wreckage done to that poor girl – photos of what she looked like after the accident – photos of the dead.

These photos leaked quickly because the CHP officers had sent them to a few family members and friends to warn people.  It turned viral.  It went all over town, next thing you know it was all over the internet.

Anything that gets posted on the internet is virtually accessible to everyone.  Once it gets spread, there’s almost no way to track it or to stop it.  If you read the article, you’ll see what type of horrific surprises this family faced due to the photos being on the internet.

Why would people want to view such horrific photos…photos of someone who is dead – result of a horrible horrible accident?  The article talks about anonymity – the internet is like a mask allowing people to do what they want without being judged.  I think it is partly because there is no emotional attachment from the viewer to the person in the photo.  To them it’s just a photo – to them, it might not even be real.  They don’t know the family, they aren’t friends, there is a disconnect which I think makes people have no bad feelings about spreading the photo further and further.

I feel really bad for that family.  They suffered such a great loss in such a terrible way, yet here they are trying to battle the “world”, to try to live each day without a photo of their dead daughter/sister pop up in their face.  People deserve dignity.  By continually posting this girl’s photo around, they are not giving her any dignity.  She’s human like you and me.  She deserves more than that and so does her family.

Headlines have been covering the Swine Flu like crazy in the past few days!  I’m actually following it pretty closely.  I didn’t really follow too much about SARS but this is kind of closer to “home”.  And I think when things happen near you and could possibly happen to you, you tend to pay more attention to it.

I’ve been thinking about how easily Swine Flu spreads which is probably why it has spread across such distances so quickly.  It is contagious, just like a common cold.  It is spread through germs.  And as I think about the guidelines written about how to stay “safe”, like wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face especially around the eyes, nose, and mouth area, I see how incredibly easy it can spread.  I believe one article I read said that a circumference of about 3 feet around a person is where germs reside.  So it is really easy for someone to cough or sneeze, or even breathe and for you to be standing right next to them to inhale all the germs.  And at work, I was thinking about all the things we touch from door handles, microwave handles, the desk, anything can have these germs on it.  We don’t know what the last person touched with their hands before they touched something.  And people frequently put their hands on/near their face.  I know I do it all the time.  So it is not surprising that this has spread so quickly and seems difficult to contain.

I was getting some ice from the mini-fridge at work today.  It was just a “bucket” of ice which had tongs for you to grab the ice.  The purpose of the tongs is so that people don’t get their germy hands all over the ice.  But, I was thinking, if someone sneezed, grabbed the tongs to get ice, then threw the tongs back in, then the rest of the ice is already contaminated since the tongs just lay in the ice bucket!  Gross.

Anyway, this Swine Flu thing is crazy and I will be keeping myself up to date with it!