Since back when I was a kid, I’ve been hearing instances related to Terrorism. Even though I was 8 years old when it happened, I knew about the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Center as much as the adults did.
And that’s the worst part, see when you’re 8 years old, and you know just as much about something as the adults around you do, either you’re a really smart kid, or there’s some serious shit going on in the background. (Check out some of the 9/11 conspiracy theories and see if they convince you)
But you don’t need to be a smart kid to learn that people learn more from numbers and facts, than they do with words, so here are some:
That’s right, Heart diseases – 600,000
Cancer – 575,000
Runner’s up for the third best solution to overpopulation includes stroke – 150,000
That’s the annual butcher’s bill over there folks. Per year. Do you know how many US citizens Terrorism has claimed in the same DECADE? My Math isn’t what it used to be back in high school, but the number is somewhere around 3000. (And no, I didn’t miss any zeros) (Also note that nearly 2000 of them died IN the 9/11 Attacks)
Also, since we’re talking numbers, let’s take a look at how Uncle Sam invests his money.
The Federal Government devotes 150 billion dollars annually to the War On Terrorism.
On the other hand, the biggest meat eater of them all, Heart diseases, get 2 billion dollars an year for research and such. And Strokes on the side gets 300 million dollars.
So basically, the US government spent 500 million dollars for every death claimed by terrorism, whereas spending on stroke victims is $2000 per head. That means that they spent 250,000 times more per death on Terrorism. Sure it was a great measure of pride for Osama and all, but I bet it left a lot of stroke victims scratching their heads, assuming they’ve retained the required motor control.
Since I’m enjoying this rediscovered love for numbers, here are some bizarre ones.
You are 17,600 times more likely to die from Heart disease than from a Terrorist attack.
You are 12,580 times more likely to die from cancer than from a Terrorist attack.
You are 11,000 times more likely to die in an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane.
You are 404 times more likely to die from a fall than from a Terrorist attack.
You are 12 times more likely to die from accidental suffocation in bed than from a Terrorist attack.
You are 9 times more likely to choke to death on your own vomit than die in a Terrorist attack. (Something of note for all the college drunkards)
You are 6 times more likely to die from hot weather than from a terrorist attack.
You guys get the drift or do you want me to continue?
As sad (read: stupid) as it sounds, people take personal affront if another human being goes around killing somebody else, but diseases can bend as many of us over the operating table as they want and we won’t mind coming back for seconds.
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Also, contrary to what you think you know, practicality in the real world is more like a idea than something that smart people practice in their everyday lives. As you just witnessed. It’s funny, 10,000 years into civilization and we still can’t get over hurting members of our own species, are still divided between nationalities.
To tell you the truth, we could use one of those world wide alien invasions right about now. Might give us an opportunity to come together as a species. If only there was an attenuated form lying around for us to use. But ain’t that some serious horseshit? Not the alien invasion, but the fact that we need a common enemy from an extraterrestrial species to bring us together, not to mention, face our extinction. Yeah, I can see world peace right around the horizon.
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