Rumor Factory Hard At Work
When a disaster at the level of Katrina hits, look for rumors. And, they are just that: rumors! And, many started have already been dispelled.
Satellite picture of Hurricane Katrina off the shore: False. It's been used many times before.
Gasoline stations in Florida will be out of gas for 2 or 3 days at a time. Bogus email! But, it got customers to the pumps in lines! I remember those from the 70's! We are a country of plenty, and people get in a frenzy, if they can't get the things they are accustomed to having.
Rationing of gas in Georgia was also untrue. Stations received more fuel and gas prices came down. Gas was rationed to retailers for a time, but not to the customers. There is no long-term plan for rationing of gas. High demand in metropolitain Atlanta caused prices to spike. Rumors didn't help much.
But for us coffee drinkers, the rumor could come true. About one sixth of the coffee imported in the U.S. comes into the port of New Orleans. Time will tell if coffee prices will go up.
Looting is happening in New Orleans, and captions put on pictures are true, sadly to say.
When 'rumors' are circulated, it causes people to believe things that could not be true. We need to investigate the rumors coming into our mail box before passing them on to others. Years of rumors have been passed on as truth, when, in reality, they were untruths.
3 Comments:
Katrina and the blogs
A roundup of firsthand reports and other resources for tracking the aftermath. Sept. 1, 2005 .
I think you have an interesting post. Check out this site that's about Life Insurance Quote.
First time visitor and I enjoyed your blog.
I use to live in Dothan AL, for about 4 years. Now I'm back home in New Mexico.
Rumors are a terrible thing. There is a lot of good and loving things going on down there right now. People are reaching out to others in abundance. I pray that the 'Good News'comes out too!
Post a Comment