"What portion, exactly? I want hard data backed up with sources. And don't tell me about some 3rd hand story of a neighbor's kid lurking on FR who lost their eyesight cuz they spotted a Planter's peanuts ad on TV one day."
Read more carefully.
He said that ALL allergies -- not just a peanut allergy -- are a sign of weakness. Now, what percentage of people here have either a food, dust, cat, dog, grass, tree, pollen, medication, bee or other allergy? I can't say with precision but do you doubt it's a significant number? According to dennisw, everybody with one of these problems is weak.
I guess I have a different persepctive on this. I don't have a peanut allergy but I do have celiac sprue, an autoimmune disease that keeps me from eating wheat, rye or barley. Celiac almost killed me before it was diagnosed.
You think staying free of peanut butter is bad? If I were in elementary school, I'd have to have a place to eat and a classroom free of all bread crumbs, crackers, play dough (has wheat), finger paints (ditto), pizza, cookies, cake, pasta and on and on. Children who have celiac and eat small amounts of any of these will not go into convulsions and die, but even a small exposure -- an exposure like a few crumbs getting in their food or on their hands -- can make some sick enough to miss school for days. I'm an adult so I know to wash my hands, avoid crumbs and not eat all those yummy things that can make me sick. Tougher for young children.
Until you've walked in those shoes...
2 members of my family have the same allergy by the way.
I used to have a latex allergy. When I'd use dish gloves, and touch my eyes later, they'd swell shut. It took 4 months before I realized what it was, but I'll be damned if I was going to let that allergy ruin my life. I continued to use the gloves and then deliberately touched my eyes afterwards. I nearly went blind and to this day I can't wear contacts and am no longer a candidate for laser eye correction. Eventually, I gave up and just washed the dishes without gloves (today, I have my kids do it) but I gave those gloves a lesson in persistence they'll not soon forget, and I'm better the man for it.
Owl_Eagle
"You know, I'm going to start thanking
the woman who cleans the restroom in
the building I work in. I'm going to start
thinking of her as a human being"
>>I do have celiac sprue, an autoimmune disease that keeps me from eating wheat, rye or barley.
Oh my! I can't imagine a world without bread, beer, or pizza.
My allergies are pretty tame in comparison, though Aleve (naproxen) would probably kill me.