No Replacement For Displacement

A little exercise in demographics

If you work at a major airport, bus stop, or railroad station, or have been to any of the above in the past two weeks, step back.

If you share a house or apartment with someone who works at or has been to a major airport, bus stop or railroad station in the past two weeks, step back.

If you live in, or work at, or have visited a major city in the past two weeks, step back.

If you share a house with someone who has been to a major city in the past two weeks, step back.

If you work as an EMT, in a doctor's office, or in a hospital step back. If you share a house with any of the above, step back. If you have been to a hospital in the past two weeks, step back, and if you share a house with someone who has been to a hospital in the past two weeks, also take a step back.

If you have attended a national convention of any kind in the past two weeks, step back. If you share a house with someone who has attended a major convention, step back also. If you cleaned the hotel room of someone who has attended a major convention in the past two weeks, also take one step back.

If you are a prostitute, or have visited a prostitute in the past two weeks, step back. If you are a stripper or have attended a strip joint, step back as well. If you share a house with any of the above, step back.

If you have been to Disney World, or to a casino in Atlantic City, Tunica, Las Vegas, Reno, or Connecticut in the past two weeks, step back. If you work at any of the above, step back. As before, if you share a house with someone who has been to or worked at any of the above tourist destinations, step back.

If you have been on a cruise in the past two weeks, or worked on a cruise ship, step back. If you share a house with someone who has been on a cruise ship in the past two weeks, step back also.

Now for the kicker: If, in the past two weeks, you have come into contact with any of the above people either by direct physical contact, or by indirect contact via money, clothes, bedsheets, phones, silverware, etc step back.

If somehow you didn't have to take a step back, consider yourself lucky. Had this been a real attack using smallpox, you would be among the few who would not have to worry about being infected. For the rest of you, I hope you had your shots early.