In a message dated 9/13/2001 9:04:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Actually, I was not trying to be funny, but just commenting that *in the
> context* it seemed an incongruous question, as if the reporter who posed
> the question were asking "What does it matter if 10,000 people may be
> trapped in the rubble? Should we stop digging and abandon the area because
> there might be a few particles of asbestos in the air?" Especially because
> some environmentalist types (of which there's a large overlap with TV
> reporters) react to the word "asbestos" in just about the same way they
> react to the word "nuclear," i.e., both are evil incarnate.
And yet, despite my own concerns, I can now relate! In the past 2 days we've
seen our mayor and our police chief address this in every single press
conference. The same questions are being asked over and over again. His
answers don't change. It's almost as if they don't believe him. New Yorkers
in particular seem to have an innate (and not totally merited) anti-authority
complex when it comes to our city and state government and how they handle
our health concerns. (Maybe it's our proximity to the East River, I dunno.)
You should have seen the news reports about the spraying for West Nile Virus
a couple of months ago. We practically treated it like the coming of the
antichrist.
> I realize it's a serious concern for the emergency workers at the site as
> well as for all of you in the area, and I didn't mean to sound like I was
> minimizing that legitimate concern.
You probably weren't, and I think I over-reacted anyhow. This hasn't been
the nicest couple of days for any of us. Sorry if I sounded snappish.
Jon
