Many businesses that can have their employees working from home are doing so. Those that cannot work from home and must report to work to get paid will lose a day’s pay because their employer has closed as the doomsday predictions have been so incredibly hyped. All schools in the area were closed in anticipation of the snowmageddon. Of course, we do it for the kids.
In general, we are thankful that we
can go to sleep knowing what the weather holds in store for us the following
day. We can get the kids off to school properly dressed as well as ourselves.
We know to bring an umbrella even though it might not be raining as we leave
for our respective destinations. Yet in spite of any fore-warnings we may
receive, it should be incumbent on those proffering the information to not
over-hype it. In this age of 24-7-365 information overload, it seems that every
media outlet makes what we used to simply experience as a snow storm into a
state-of-emergency event.
As we sit perched atop the hill in
the ABG office, we believed we were going to get clobbered at approximately 1PM
when the snow's intensity appeared to be growing. Maybe the forecasters were
correct after all? We decided to close at 2PM and go our separate ways.
Everyone made it home without incident as the roads had little traffic and mostly
covered with slush. One person joked, “This just in… there is 1-3” of rock salt
on the roadways. Please stay inside and off the roads for your own protection…”
Yes, it was humorous in a sarcastic way, but it highlighted what was going on
and a bigger problem down the line.
Once the media pundits begin to
make the lead story the impending weather and then make it a perpetual story
for each of their newscasts, including the scrolling banner on the bottom of
your TV screen and the interruptions of the shows you are watching, they’ve
become part of the problem and part of the news they should only be reporting. We’ve also seen every politician come out and add
to the hysteria. The governor has declared a state of emergency and the Town is
closing early under the better safe than sorry mantra – which does make sense.
So what’s the problem?
The public is getting weary of the
weather-related hype to the point where they’re starting to ignore the real information.
That’s the real problem. We saw it during Hurricane Katrina when the populace were
told to evacuate. Reporter after reporter would interview residents who
insisted they would stay and ride or tough it out as they’ve been through this
before and everyone is just trying to make news. With traffic jams and limited
roadways, a shortage of fuel, seniors with the inability to relocate and more,
it’s understandable why staying put may have made some sense to them. But as
more and more people come to realize these storms as reported are not coming to fruition, people will
continue to adopt a wait and see attitude or worse – they’ll ignore it. And,
while it’s an understandable reaction, it could be deadly.
Our suggestion is to weigh the
information as objectively as possible. Go online, watch television and listen
to the radio. You can even check out the National Weather Service and get
weather information that may not be local but will show the storms, their
projected paths and what we can expect. All of the media forecasters are
watching it too! Then watch the local news and listen to the area radio
stations. With all of that information, you can make an informed decision. If the police department and various levels of government officials are saying to do something, pay attention to that too. Obviously, if you have kids, your decisions could very well be different.
Either way, sift through the hype and make better choices for your own safety.
It will make for A Better Greenburgh.
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