Let the swine flu hijinks begin! (The first of many prank posts?)

A high school senior thought it would be a funny to wear a surgical face mask to school and tell people he had swine flu. "He’s a good kid, but he was just being stupid," says the principal. "What he did was mean and it was not funny. People are upset and rightly so." (WickedLocal.com)

Comments

[Joel]

I believe the swine flu is a joke as well. It has all the elements of SARS, the African bees, bird flu and countless other false issues brought up simply to get the general public in a panic.

This kid is automatically my new hero!!

[NitroPress]

You won't think a real flu pandemic is funny, Joel. We are likely to see one within the decade, at most. Flu is not "a bad cold"; it's a killer disease that spreads like wildfire. We're lucky most strains are merely inconvenient instead of lethal.

I'd rather have the CDC et al. overreact a little than underreact... although the media really needs to get a new hobby.

[Sigh]

Yeah, but was his mask patterned with the Confederate Flag?

[steveO]

"Swine Flu Was Genetically Manipulated to Target Conspiracy Theorists.

It's true: If you own a tin hat, you're ten times more likely to contract the virus."

I wish I had said it, but I didn't.

[USMerc]

OH NO!!!! I'M SCREWED!!!!!!!!

[USMerc]

hehehehehehehe

[Torgo]

I get the joke.

[Joel]

I know Nitro, swine flu is bad, so was SARS, bird flu, avian flu, the bees, and we can't let our kids go trick or treating because they will eat razors in their candy , if I help the poor man from Kenya he will pay me $6 million and if I masturbate I will go blind and get hair on my palms.

[troschne]

I think we should all get rubber pig noses!

[NitroPress]

Joel, you gain nothing from mixing obvious BS with things that are serious or are potentially serious. The problem here is that the media has, once again, taken the problem out of context. Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu... as if that makes it any way different from any past strain of flu (many to most) that passed through a porcine stage on its way back to humans. It's just "flu." And it looks like this round will be widespread but relatively benign.

Now put away your nice tinfoil hat and grope around for your glasses and go shave your palms.

[lynn]

i am not to going to joke too much as they have confirmed a case of the flu in a town only 20 minutes from where i live. my gosh the rumors are flying all over the place too. almost funny except too many are freaking out. sigh

i will wash my hands well and sneeze and cough into my arm(& that is so stupid looking, but whatever works); keep me some extra supplies in case and not let the porcine influenza scare me!

[lynn]

i like the idea of designer masks and wearing ms piggy faces and decorate your own masks. (favorite sports team, etc,i want a cat woman mask myself) if we have to protect our selves lets enjoy life while we have it....

that was being cheeky and sarcastic and jocular for the ones that take all these posts seriously.

[Sheila]

Let's not forget the Meryl Streep Alar scare of a few years ago. It was also a hoax, but she had the fun of testifying to Congress about how apples were going to kill us.

[Sigh]

It will be interesting to see how much the flu spreads given our mild effort to slow its progress. This will let you know how effective similar methods will be when a really scary contagion hits the scene.

[sometimesilie]

One of our workers who is routinely absent due to multiple "car accidents" and "food poisonings" has been out so far this week due to her "hospitalization" for "suspected swine flu." (don't worry though, folks- false alarm! But just to be on the safe side, she's going to take the rest of the week off) LOL!

[LimeGreenLizard]

Yeah, our best salesman at work has been in California all week, so everyone wonders if he'll bring it back to Atlanta.

[LimeGreenLizard]

Sigh, what would you suggest? Shut the economy down? I don't see a realistic way of slowing its progress other than practicing good hygiene, stay away from sick people and limit your contact with other people if you think you've been exposed.

[Sheila]

LGL, let's don't confuse the issue with facts and logic.

[The Asshole Guy]

Well we had 3 confirmed cases in Maine on Tuesday and we have had 3 new ones confirmed today. I'm not worried about catching as it has only killed a few people. That 150 number was false, it was around 7 in Mexico and that 1 baby in Texas yesterday. There is also no cure for this one at the current time. The flu can become very deadly for a lot of people both young and old. The world is not coming to an end but I'd rather not catch the swine flu.

[twerp]

It's getting insane @ the hospital where I work. It's actually kinda scary.

[twerp]

Let's not forget people who have it are contagious 24+ hours BEFORE symptoms appear. We'll probably all get it.

[David]

During the Spanish Flu Epidemic in 1918-1919 things would happen like a healthy group of ladies would get together for a bridge foursome in the mid-afternoon and then 3 of them would be dead before nightfall with the 4th gravely ill.

My girlfriend keeps pointing out to me that there have been great leaps and bounds in medical knowledge since 1918 and that 36,000 people already die of the flu every year in the US, so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to panic or not.

[NitroPress]

The 1918 flu is a special case. No one has quite figured out why it killed so fast, or why it killed primarily healthy young adults (normally the most resistant group).

Medical knowledge has certainly increased, but flu still kills thousands a year, some who are under medical care at the time. The current spread seems to be a fairly mild version but it will still be fatal to some number - and that number is not necessarily those old/very young/without medical care.

[Caffeinated Katie]

Anyone here read The Stand by Stephen King? Maybe this is the super flu.

[USMerc]

Captain Tripps!!!! Oh yeah!!!! I've been waiting for THIS one!!! (If I can't have zombies, at least I can look forward to takin' a shot at the Walkin' Dude)!!!

[Sigh]

No snideness intended. I actually think it will be interesting to see. The silver lining to this cloud is that we will get to see which methods are effective and which aren't. Well, at least I hope we (and CDC) learn something.

[American Veteran]

The best way to not catch swine flu is to stay away from de poleeeeeeeece.

[Charles Brobst]

It would be more dangerous, in reality, to have regular flu, which kills 36,000 people a year. Swine flu even in Mexico (the only place where people have died of it) has been relatively benign. Get a grip people and stop panicking to every report from Fox (Faux) News.

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[Pandemic Flu Masks]

Which people were so upset? The parents or kids? Might have been stupid but not intentionally mean.