Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Friends share fear

The Storm (1893) by Edvard Munch: The women of the town have gathered outside a house to share their fears.
In a previous post, the US Department of Fear urged readers to turn to social media in the aftermath of a Terror Alert.   We've been getting a lot of positive email about our proposal. 

But a question is also coming up.  Some readers are asking:  What if you aren't comfortable using social media?  

Good question. Just because Terror Alerts are transmitted through the electronic media, this doesn't mean you have to use technology to express yourself.  Why not strike up a conversation about the new threat with the people in your life?   We all have friends or acquaintances who don't understand the risks posed by terrorism (think of any people you know who don't watch Fox News).   

Perhaps you have a friend like Jacey Mint from Winchester, Virginia.   After Jacey's good friend Kate irresponsibly urged her "not to worry" about the recent Travel Advisory for Europe, Jacey says it was only by hearing "people around me keep talking about it" that she began taking the latest threat seriously:  
jaceymint Even though @communikate told me not to worry about the terrorist threat level, people around me keep talking about it & I am freaking out.
Friends share fear. If you don't feel the urge to talk about it for your own peace of mind, do it for the sake of scaring someone else.  Do it for a Jacey Mint in your life.

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Dr. Rebecca Wolf
Undersecretary for Community and New Media
United States Department of Fear