ASU2003

It's pretty obvious that the media, groups and the government can use fear tactics to get what they want.

So, what should we be afraid about?

1. Violent crime. Someone is going to break into your home and rape and kill your family.

2. Running out of oil. Society won't know what to do without gasoline and plastics.

3. Global warming. Ice caps melt and water levels rise. White snow caps reflect a lot of solar energy that might get absorbed in the future. Permafrost and glaciers melt. People are forced to move north. Food is hard to come by.

4. Terrorism. Wrong place at wrong time. People in certain groups want to kill you for what your values are.

5. Virus X. Some biological virus will wipe out large numbers of humans, and you can't do anything to not get infected.

6. Plane crashes. Every time a plane crashes, it makes the nightly news.

7. Running out of money. Invest in your 401k, you might out live your money, you don't want to be 95 and living on $18,000/year from social security, do you?

8. Stock market collapse. It has happened in the past, and it will happen in the future.

9. Dollar's collapse. Similar concept, China decides to cash in its debt, OPEC switches to Euros, oil spikes to $10/gallon in the US, extreme inflation of goods, extreme deflation in value of money.

10. Asteroid hitting the Earth. Far out event that happens every once in a while.

11. Nuclear war. Iran, North Korea, Pakistan/India, or some terrorist starts a nuclear war.

12. Obesity epidemic. I don't think it is healthy to be overweight, but I'm not sure it is as bad as it really is. I don't have first hand experience being overweight though. And, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it is the American diet of pop, snacks and fast food that had cheap unhealthy ingredients that was causing the problem.

13. Natural disaster. Volcano, earthquake, hurricane, flood...

14. kidnapping/hostage taking. Mainly in foreign countries.


What other fear-based things get thrown out there? What should we really be worrying about?

Topper

Do you know who you are REALLY talking to on the internet??....

little_tippler

Alien Abductions/ Aliens taking over the earth/ Aliens blowing up earth

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

vanblah

Y2K


->added because of the post size minimum requirement.<-

powerclown

I fear the Detroit Pistons having trouble with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. I fear Michael Finley going 8-8 from the field (again), and 5-5 from downtown (again). I fear Tim Duncan suddenly losing his year-long planar fascitis and going 30-20 throughout the series. I fear the annual playoff appearance of BigShot Bob Horry. I fear Rasheed Wallace again abandoning his rightful place in the low post, while camping out on the perimeter shooting/missing 3's. I fear Ben Wallace getting injured.

But I have faith! GO PISTONS

BadNick

the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ...hey, who said that?

Redlemon

I fear clowns. Especially powered clowns.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

fresnelly

THEM! Be afraid. Be very afraid.

__________________
Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

nezmot

I fear the mob.

maleficent

Coulrophobia is a real phobia - don't make fun...

I fear the reaper... even though Blue Oyster Cult tells me not to...

here's more phobias than you can shake a stick at...
http://phobialist.com/reverse.html

(i think I have some of them,, and will probably never go outside again..)

__________________

stevie667

I think we should be afraid of giant hamsters, and the swiss. Or giant swiss hamsters *shudders*

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politicophile

I fear political correctness. I fear the government will begin to declare certain viewpoints "incorrect".

I fear increasing divorce rates and broken families will result in unhappy, unproductive adults.

I fear I won't get into a good law school.

I fear that was the last thing I could think of...

__________________
The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

nezmot

Oh, my god - this is subtle, real, and so, so broken: Telephonophobia

william

Let me try a crack at your questions -
1. Violent crime - technically I live in an area of this, but I don't fuck w/them, and they don't fuck w/me.
2. Oil - that will be the Bush and Halliburton save-all in the next election. The oil companies say they need to raise rates, but they were the biggest companies to post corporate gains last year (co-funded by Bush and Halliburton). Election time, $3/gal will be seen as old news.
3. Global Warming - too far off for most people to care.
4. Terrorism - that's what I think of everytime GW tries to justify his spying on America. Have you noticed that when they say the U.S. stopped a terrorist attact, there are no pictures or facts to back them up?
5. Virus X - put more fear in Americans so they back GW.
6. Plane crashes - it happens. Fortunately in SoFL, they caught the drunk pilots BEFORE they got on the plane.
7. According to GW and his own, the 401K is supposed to be the answer to Social Security. Can't rely on SS., so you should rely on the 401K. We all remember Michael Silken - oh wait, he's still on trial.
8. Market collapse - not possible. How can it be when GW and his crew tell us that this is how we will get past SS? They guarantee the market will stay stable.
9. The dollar won't collapse - just ask GW.
10. The only reason an asteroid will hit Earth is if we do not follow GW's global plan (assisted by Jerry Fallwell, et al. - and we've seen how pure they are).
11. GW and Cheney are just waiting for the next nuclear war to unleash a whole new battalion or regime of troops to make money for Bush/Cheney. And if that doesn't work, maybe it will strike fear in Americans, so they don't focus on what is happening.
12. Obiesty? The parents don't care about themselves-you really think they care about the kids? Have you honestly viewed kids in America today? Parents could give less than a gnats ass.
13. Natural Disaster - Huricane. In SoFL, the majority are insured by the state run agency. Their rates for next year are greater than the mortagages. Don't even think about buying a house here unless you can spend 3k+ a month for a basic 2br/1bath.
14. Kidnappings, we seem to be on top of. 5 kids disappeared from here, and were found in TX in less than 24 hours. Guess that gives one reason to live in SoFL.
As far as other things to be scared of - kiss my arse. I served w/the USMC and USA. Punks on the street don't bother me.

squirrelyburt

William, well said.

I'm still afraid of Chuck Norris.

__________________
If you've ever felt there was a reason to be afraid of the dark, you were right.

Gatorade Frost

Ultimately I think the human spirit can pretty much resolve any problem we're having. At some point in time there were other problems that were as bad or worse than they are (Cold War anyone?), so regardless of everything that's going on I think it'll eventually be fixed.

1. Violent crime

I don't particularly live in a violent area. I think both the police department and a public's ability to defend itself is important. While violent crime will always be around, it's nothing new and nothing to be of any more worry than normal. Just be smart and be safe.

2. Running out of oil.

I think once we buckle down and it comes to crunch time, some one will come up with a sufficient source of energy to run the world with. It'll just take time and research to get it done, I think.

3. Global warming.

I believe in global warming, but I find the doomsday situations to be hard to believe. There are general changes in the earth's temperature and we've only be accurately checking it for 60 years or so. If the ice caps all melt and things going underwater, well, I'm sure there will be a big supply of boats and basically oil-rig like cities. It's not too hard to concieve in my opinion. Regardless of the weather conditions I think we'll be able to adapt to it without much problem.

4. Terrorism.

Understandable. This is a serious problem that should be (and is being) taken care of and dealt with. Not necessarily for the general public but also because terrorism can not be tolerated in current society.

5. Virus X.

Well, you can worry about it, but if it happens it will be inevitable, and if it wipes out all of the human race, then damn, sucks to be us. I find it hard to believe that a virus could kill off billions of people easily. Sure it will probably spread quickly, but with the medical technology there will be some way to stop the spread of the virus and ultimately stop it. Look at the st rides that have been controlling AIDS and the like.

6. Plane crashes.

I don't fly. That's my biggest fear. I know it shouldn't bother me because I understand the physics of flying, and I fly a lot, but given a choice no thank you. It's completely irrational though.

7. Running out of money.

A realistic issue to deal with. I think like it's been done in the past, the age of retirement will just keep getting higher. This generation right now, the baby boomers, will be a potential problem, but once that's passed I don't honestly believe there's that big of a chance that we're all going to run out of money. Society's retirement will just have to change so make due for how old people are able to live and work.

8. Stock market collapse.

No doubt. The stock market has collapsed, but it's also gone back up again. I find it hard to believe that a stock market crash would be permanent beyond a few year recession. The market has become so global that while the collapse of the American stock markets would effect the world, everything's so intertwined that things will pick right back up again somewhere else while the US stock market rebuilds itself and gets back in the game.

9. Dollar's collapse

No idea about this one. It could happen. I don't personally believe it would because of how it would effect the rest of the world, but if it does, it will probably just mean a shift in society to a different currency. There's a lot to be made from all the brains in America. They'll find a way to bounce back.

10. Asteroid hitting the Earth

Yeah. It's inevitable that it will happen. If it does, we'll deal with it for the few years it takes and then things will start normalising again. Once again, I find a complete earth destruction to be far fetched.

11. Nuclear war. Iran, North Korea, Pakistan/India, or some terrorist starts a nuclear war.

Any country that starts a nuclear war will be over within the blink of an eye. If it happens, it happens and the rest of the world will lay the smack down on whatever country started it.

12. Obesity epidemic

Education, education, education. People will always be obese, but with what we're learning and all of that I think that in a few years that trend will reverse. People will start eating healthier again since healthy options will be out there more so than they were 5 years ago.

13. Natural disaster. Volcano, earthquake, hurricane, flood...

It's inevitable. If it happens, we'll fix it and keep on going.

14. kidnapping/hostage taking. Mainly in foreign countries.

Yeah, I wouldn't go to a country with a high chance of my kidnapping, like, you know, Iraq or South America.

__________________
I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

Rodney

I'm afraid of the oceans catching fire because of global warming. Really. Anybody see this week's "Nova?" Scared the hell out of me. There are Sh*tloads of frozen methane sitting on the ocean floor. If the oceans warm significantly... it won't stay frozen. Bad things happen.

Actually, that's about the only thing I really fear. Anything else I have some kind of faith we can find our way around as a people. But firey oceans? The Amazon ablaze? (That was part of it too.) That might well be the end of it all.

Gatorade Frost

Isn't it more likely that the methane will melt, float into the atmosphere, and do about the same as if frozen oxygen melted?

__________________
I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

JumpinJesus

A common household item you are currently using could kill you.

I'll give you the details tomorrow.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Gatorade Frost

Could it be Dihydrogen Oxide, perhaps?

__________________
I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

nezmot

We should be told more about Dihydrogen Oxide. Deadly stuff, did you know that there were 427 deaths in the UK linked directly to this toxic industrial solvent? I myself got covered in it just this morning as I was going through my morning routine - when is the government going to do something about it?

stevie667

Technically, that would be dihyrdogen monoxide, closly related to dihyrdrogen dioxide, which is even nastier.

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FoolThemAll

Inaction.

And snakes. On a plane.

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I wonder if we're stuck in Rome.

stevie667

Theres a bit of indiana jones in all of us

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little_tippler

I fear crazy drivers who cause stupid accidents and could get me killed one day

__________________
Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

raeanna74

Most of those things don't worry me much. I figure, we as a human race or nation have gotten through some of them before so we can again. If there's a nuclear war, I'll do my best to survive but at some point your dead and you can't stop it so why worry about it.

I think some of my biggest fears are family related.
-If hubby hits his head again like he did before he WILL die, according to the Drs.
-What if my daughter grows up to be a criminal.
-What if my mother develops Alzheimers and I have to care for her for years. Can we afford to put her in a nursing home? My brother won't care for her. I can't care for her. She's already a basket case.
-HIV - I think I would consider suicide if I ever got it.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

Ample

Two things that I want to point out. First is the local news here on the east coast. When I wake up in the morning all of the top stories are how someone got shot or some fire that broke out. I got so sick of it, I don’t even watch local news anymore.

Second, I find it funny how the 24 hour cable news station find a frightening story and just beat it to death. Remember a few summers ago when we hear about every single shark attack. You would think for sure by the way they reported that one would get eaten alive by Jaws ever time one got their feet wet. It seem every time there is cute blonde girl that gets kidnapped the news always seems to find two or three similar stories right away. Every summer there are wild fires, but for a good month we here about every single fire that breaks out, and then all the sudden people get board with it, and all the fire just go away.

There are so many more examples like this. I just get tired of hearing the same scary story over and over again.

Cynthetiq

only about things I can change. Those things listed above, I cannot change so I have not really worried about them and will continue to not worry about them.

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rockogre

You can fear life or you can participate! I chose to participate.

And, your heart could just stop. You could have a brain anurysm, (spelling), your nerves could just stop working.

You could just have a wonderful and entertaining life even while dodging bullets. Don't waste too much of your time worrying about what might happen.

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Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom

Redlemon

*self-deleted*

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