The biggest swines of all

Forgive me for going all conspiracy-theorist on here tonight, but I just wondered if it was now the media's sole function not to spread news, but only to spread panic. Yes, swine flu is here, there, everywhere (as it has been for the last couple of months) and it is inevitable that it's only a matter of time before I get it, you get it, your husband/wife/children/workmates/neighbours/friends get it. We are aware of the risks, the dangers, we know how to wash our hands and we know how to 'catch it, bin it, kill it' and stop infections spreading. We know, and we try our best, but the fact remains that it's....inevitable.

The NHS in this country is trying to do something about it, even if it's probably too little and too late, but in any case it's probably fighting a losing battle as long as night after night, the TV news bulletins gleefully report the imminent rise of the pandemic. It's as if they are willing us all to catch it, for they are the biggest swines of all.

Scare tactics. It's all about putting the panic into the pandemic, and like every other drama of the last 10 years - the 'war on terror'/SARS/bird flu, I'm sure there are others too numerous to remember - 'they', whoever 'they' may be, are using scare tactics and panic to keep us in a permanent state of anxiety. To increase viewing figures, to sell newspapers, for someone to make money out of it.

I just switch off now. And then go and wash my hands. And catch it, bin it, kill it. Hopefully.