Watch out foxes: tabloids are out to get you.Following the fox attack on two sleeping baby twins in Stoke Newington, an enormous amount of press coverage has been given to the apparent threat posed by foxes.
Of course what happened in North London must have been truly scary. It was a real tragedy and our sympathy goes to the family as we wish the two children a prompt recovery from their injuries.
However, this accident has proven a textbook example of how the British press loves to scream "tragedy!" and "outrage!" without any sense of proportion or perspective. To say that reports on the alleged "threat" posed by foxes were distorted and over the top is an understatement.
Foxes are at risk of turning into the new social workers.
Just look at the photos selected to accompany many tabloid "reports" of the incident. They didn't just show a fox. It had to be a snarling sinister one too. Just in case you weren't convinced of what "vicious pests" those animals are.
Let's be logical about it. How many panic-laden TV reports or tabloid pieces do you read about children killed in traffic accidents?
And yet every year there is an enormous amount of kids losing their lives on UK roads. According to the Child Accident Prevention Trust, in 2008 131 children under 16 were killed in traffic collisions. Almost 23,000 were injured.
According to the NSPCC, the number of child homicides (that is, at the hand of adults) has averaged 79 a year for the last 28 years.
More news. Each day 55 pre-school children need hospital treatment for burns and scalds in domestic accidents. That's each day - in Britain.
In 80 years, no child has ever been killed by a fox in this country, whether in urban areas or in the countryside.
There are more chances that someone will be killed by lightning (5 people each year in the UK) than there are of foxes attacking humans.
The incident in Stoke Newington was the second reported of its kind in eight years. In 2002 a similar one in Kent resulted in a baby getting injured.
It's quite obvious that, as per usual, the press at large (not just the tabloids) are enjoying preying on people's fears. They obviously think the image of a fox on the rampage can turn into a juicy news story. Maybe because injuries caused by a wild animal strike some chord with our subconscious, as it may evoke childhood nightmares or similar.
But then again, the Sun or the Daily Mail rarely do "perspective" anyway.
16 comments:
The Simpsons was ahead of the curve when it did that "Bear Patrol" wheeze.
It's easy to laugh but as Helen Lovejoy would say:"Won't SOMEBODY think of the children?"
I'm just glad that I'm not a fox...
Amd now that tosser Boris Johnson has argued for a cull of foxes in London. I could make a joke re 'culling', 'Thatcher' and 'Tories' but hey...I won't!
This is the thing. If a cull follows this one-off incident it'll result into one of the most barbaric pieces of over-reaction ever.
...And you haven't mentioned people who choke to death while eating their dinner. Shall we ban eating?
Leftist claptrap strikes again.
Traditionally, leftists fruitcakes think animals' lives are more important than humans. No exception here.
Stan the Man calls it barbaric, but he's clearly too ignorant 2know that foxes carry disease, just in case you didnt know. Too right Hoffy don't wanna be a fox. If my daughter was to catch rabies or toxoplasmosis from foxes and their rom contaminated droppings I'd have no probs culling the lot of them.
As for HarpyMarx and her murderous joke against political opponents: Just be ashamed.
I can just imagine thepatriot as Elmer Fudd - 'be vewy quiet, I'm hunting foxes. Hahahaha!'
'If my daughter was to catch rabies or toxoplasmosis from foxes and their rom contaminated droppings I'd have no probs culling the lot of them.'
As the original post suggests, your daughter is more at risk of being hurt in a freak dental floss accident than coming to harm because of an evil fox. And er...there is pretty much no rabies in the UK.
At a guess the press are simply bored before the world cup kicks-off, this is classic silly season behaviour.
"thepatriot": did you actually read the article? Or can't you see past political differences? Even you must realise this is classic scare-mongering by the redtops.
Unless you support a ban on cars, a cull of horses (they've killed people you know), the immediate banning of owning any dog larger than a chiwawa... et cetera...
I think Claude let's the racist's nonsense through so we can remind ourselves of the lowest common denominator in these debates: the idiot's perspective so to speak.
No where here does anyone claim that animal life has more value than a humans but the twat goes and says it anyway.
The racist goon goes on to fall over himself to personally attack everyone here whilst offering no coherent thoughts on the matter at all.
What a monstrous tit.
patriot,
I think the meds you were prescribed are not actually working. You may want to have a word with your shrink.
Everything can pose a disease-related threat, you dimwit, including lots of people. What do we do, exterminate everyone?
Oh I forgot...that's probably what you believe in...
I piss myself laughing when I see how you all gang up on me and get all pissed off just coz you know truth hurts.
You'd have thought left-wingers were intelligent. And yet, you thickos compare cars and food and horses to foxes which is ridiculous.
We need cars. We need food. We need horses. We don't need foxes, so if they pose a threat, we should cull them.
We don't need you, patriot...So what do you say we should do?
The racist is deluded, seems he needs our "attentions" to make himself feel human.
He is also deluded enough to think that he has some sort of ownership of the truth.
The poor boy needs help.
Anyone willing to help with the cull?
Next week, thepatriot gives us a culling list of all non-essential animals that could theoretically harm humans - better exterminate all those cats, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers etc.
I know it's daft to be arguing with someone whose posts are beyond parody, but what the hell I feel like a laugh.
What ever harms should be removed. Fox's are not pets.
I beg your pardon you anonymous idiot?
Whatever harms should be removed?
So that is pretty much everything you twat?
ThePatriot, If you haven't noticed, humans carry diseases as well, would you like to go and kill every person who has ever caught samonella or ecoli? Have fun.
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