http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2408887Oh my.
cherokeeprogressive (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:15 AM
Original message
I'm a coward.
Waste of any kind, be it hard, soft, liquid or otherwise, I'm a more than a little afraid of it. Afraid of it to the point where I'd ask my employer for all the protection I could get should I be tasked with cleaning it up. I'd wear a space suit with forced air respiration if I could get it if I was told I had to clean up after thousands of people squeezed into an acre or less.
Hopefully, I'd be part of a labor union. Would that the labor union I paid my dues to could force my employer to pay for me to be protected from any and every bad thing I might come into contact while cleaning up a very dirty place.
Got people? Got rats. Ever heard of the Hantavirus? Look it up sometime. It's been the cause of tens of thousands of deaths.
Yeah, I'm a coward. I've fallen victim to the "propaganda" that wherever large groups of people gather, bad bacteria, viruses, and generally bad shit might be found.
I wouldn't for the life of me wade into such a place to clean it up without head to toe protection in the form of L-3 hazmat suits at the very least.
I wouldn't do it even to make a point.
You want ME to go into a park and clean up human detritus?? Give me protection. My union rep demands it. Or he should...
Don't worry, cherokee; franksolich feels the same way.
WildNovember (282 posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:23 AM
Response to Original message
1. How come garbage collectors and recyling workers don't wear hazmat suits?
Ours wear ordinary clothing.
How come nurses' aides, who deal with shit daily, don't wear hazmat suits?
Why don't hospital workers?
Do you swim in public pools? Do you use a public gym? Have you attended a public school? Gone to an outdoor rock concert? Go to large political rallies?
I take your point about wanting protection in case of hazard. But they weren't there to clean up shit, they were there to take down the protestors' tents and "help" pack their stuff.
As I understand it from people who visited, the park was kept clean and was not the seething pool of shit and bacteria the media portray it as.
I somewhat take offense with the suggestion that any large gathering of people is unsafe unless one is wearing a hazmat suit. I find it in line with the underlying message of much of the propaganda the PTB sends to the masses on a daily basis: "Other people are dangerous. Large groups of other people are dangerous. Stay home. Keep your head down. Stay in line. Avoid others. You can't trust them."
According to wikipedia, the police were wearing Level B suits: the second highest:
after which a photograph of some guys in space suits
Level B
Level B protection requires a garment (including SCBA) that provides protection against splashes from a hazardous chemical. Since the breathing apparatus is worn on the outside of the garment, Level B protection is not vapor-protective. It is worn when vapor-protective clothing (Level A) is not required. Wrists, ankles, facepiece and hood, and waist are secured to prevent any entry of splashed liquid. Depending on the chemical being handled, specific types of gloves and boots are donned. These may or may not be attached to the garment. The garment itself may be one piece or a two-piece hooded suit. Level B protection also requires the wearing of chemical-resistant boots with steel toes and shanks on the outside of the garment. As with Level A, chemical-resistant gloves and two-way radio communications are also required.
woo me with science (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 03:00 AM
Response to Reply #1
9. Or janitors in schools, or....etc. etc. etc.
Thank you for this post. Those suits are a transparent political ploy to generate fear and revulsion re: OWS.
WildNovember (282 posts) Thu Dec-01-11 03:52 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. Or people in airplanes? That recycled air is the worst for spreading germs.
The worst respiratory infection of my life came from a plane. Not to mention all the pooping and peeing in those tiny (and dirty) restrooms.
That's a valid point, of course.
That's why franksolich, as much as he can, stays out of blue cities.
CaliforniaPeggy (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:25 AM
Response to Original message
2. I wouldn't say you're a coward.
I think you're being a realist. Someone who knows about the germ theory of disease.
That's being smart.
Oooops. The CalPig primitive agrees with franksolich.
Fire Walk With Me (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:26 AM
Response to Original message
3. No problem man, take care of yourself at the level you require it. No need for apologies.
Luminous Animal (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:31 AM
Response to Original message
4. Never once seen them clean anything up. Funny, though, the cops didn't seem to need hazmat suits.
Dude, they were there for show. Just like the bomb squad.
You know, I got a question.
One wonders if the wearing of hazardous-material suits was ordered, or requested.
One wonders if perhaps the guys wearing them themselves asked for them.
It wouldn't surprise me.
nadinbrzezinski (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:32 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. The only folks there not for show, given the less than lethal toys
Were the paramedics. In fact, they have been missing at places like Oakland.
Downwinder (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:39 AM
Response to Original message
6. If you go walking around Frenchman Flat, Nevada wear your hazmat suit. You will need it there. Despite the fliers putout by the Government.
Bonobo (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:46 AM
Response to Original message
7. Another strained defense of the police state. Yaaaaawn.
Mojorabbit (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 02:59 AM
Response to Original message
8. I was a nurse for most of my life
I have cleaned up most everything you can think of. I worked day care and did the same. I now do wildlife rehab and also do the same. I have a compromised immune system on top of that. There was zero need for those suits.
Really.
I do understand though where an individual might be squeamish and no problem there. This was not what was happening though.
Oh, I dunno.
Being squeamish about such things is a pretty good idea.
In fact, as Sigmund Freud advised, if one's
not squeamish about such things, one has a seriously-disturbed mind.
grasswire (1000+ posts) Thu Dec-01-11 04:09 AM
Response to Original message
11. I've never seen a nurse in a haz mat suit
And I've worked in an ICU and know the gross gross gross stuff that nurses must do and touch.
