Whilst riding BART today, I saw an advertisement that was trying to inform citizens about a few best practices around the avoidance of getting sick, of spreading it to other citizens. This advertisement suggested coughing into the crook of your arm as opposed to coughing into the faces of other BART passengers, coworkers, friends, you get the drift. Maybe we could stay at home when we’re sick!
Should simple best practices in harm reduction such as these be learned through advertising? When did a significant number of people lose these common sense practices, creating the perceived need in some organizations to engage in advertising (the 6th circle of capitalist hell) to (re?)teach them. Clearly we could be discussing the need to inform people they should not be coming to work, and the further complication around working out a system where people are forced to choose between earning money/infesting coworkers and not earning money/recovering, as there are major discrepancies with notions around “sick time”.
As we gear up for more porkflu hysteria, we may see more and more resources poured into such areas as advertising and marketing. I think the best thing we can do as conscious citizens is to take care of ourselves, and each other the best we can. Discuss harm reduction best practices with your friends, and where possible, shoot for the execution of sustainable, holistic, balanced and mind-body wellness informed tactics for staying healthy this season.
Octopoe 