It's also possible to suffer from "catastrophe bias". Such that everyday life is seen as a potential ongoing disaster, since there's always a threat somewhere in the world theoretically threatening us. I'm not saying Ebola is not a threat -- it is -- but some people on FR are continuously in duck and cover mode even without any imminent threat. Such a preoccupation is not helpful when it becomes an obsession and interferes with ordinary life.
I’d say some posters to FR sell prepper supplies.
“Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.”
H.L. Mencken
Honestly, I think a lot of those people make a hobby of having something to be continually alarmed about. It's kind of like watching a horror movie, but being able to live it instead of just observing it. Once the Ebola outbreak dies down (or is forgotten), they'll just find something else to be afraid of. Being constantly at the mercy of some existential threat gives meaning to their lives...
Well there’s no doubt Ebola is certainly creating more than havoc in Africa and I doubt any there think it’s small potatoes......also it can spread to the M.E. weather wise, where we also have troops.
As with the supersitieous people in Africa, who can’t tell the difference between people helping and their fears, so to with M.E. population....
I don’t know any here who are “pre-occupied with it...but I’m sure glad we have those here tracking this.
I can't speak for anyone else.
I, for one would rather be aware of any potentially lethal or otherwise devastating threat and have the knowledge, if not the materials immediately at hand to mitigate that threat. Since most threats come to nothing, consider it a hobby.
If you wait until you see the neighbor's house blow away, it might be a wee bit late to run for the storm cellar--but it is definitely too late to build one. Better to look at the sky when it starts clouding up.
The normalcy bias thing occurs in far more mundane venues. By paying attention to when things around are not normal, you can avoid all sorts of minor and unpleasant situations, too, while others will continue until confronted and be surprised.
Some of us don't like surprises.