So, I was perusing "Remarks by Secretary Napolitano at Today’s Media Briefing on the H1N1 Flu Outbreak and the U.S. Government’s Response" on the DHS website (because that's JUST the kind of light, amusing reading I like to do before I've had my coffee, don'tcha know!) and I ran into a quote that seemed a little... troubling. Follow me below the fold for more:
The bit that had me perk my ears up was the following statement from Janet Napolitano, regarding measures being taken to prevent swine flu cases from entering the US:
We're also actively monitoring travelers at our land, sea, and air ports. We're watching them for signs of illness, and we have appropriate protocols in place to deal with those who are sick. Precautions are being taken to protect travelers and border personnel. Anyone exhibiting symptoms is being referred to an isolation room where they can be evaluated by a public health official before proceeding to their destruction.
(Bolding mine)
Now, I'm really quite glad that our intrepid DHS agents and those dudes at the airport are watching out for us, but really--doesn't that seem just a leetle bit of an overreaction? Hey, it's flu, not Captain Trips or Bloody Buttlaunch Ebola or Mumbling Dropsy, y'know? Perhaps something a tad less... lethal... might be in order, like quarantine or sending them to a hospital or something. Shoot, bundling the hapless sickie into an unmarked jet to be flown to an undisclosed black site for "processing" and "detainment" would be less extreme. If we aren't going to torture any more, maybe we also oughta pull back a bit on our response to travellers to our shores who might be exhibiting a bit of a sniffle or be otherwise less than in perfect, radiant health.
Whatever happened to "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Granted, it doesn't say anything about "wretched plague dogs shedding doomsday viruses intent on wiping you all out as soon as they wipe their noses on your sleeve" but still, seems a bit less than hospitable to just preemptively wipe 'em out, y'know?
Alternately, I wonder how long it's gonna take someone at DHS to discover the typo...