I read a news story about a guy who died from rabies after receiving a kidney transplant. Although nobody was aware when he died, the donor of the kidney had contracted rabies after being scratched by a skunk several weeks before he died and his organs were harvested.

I got curious about how the donor got scratched by the skunk, but instead only found this article from August, which informed me that the U.S. has a rabies outbreak, and has more deaths from rabies in the last year than several previous years…

Not sure if people were already talking about this outbreak, and I just missed it? It’s been a bit of a weird year, and there’s been a lot of crazy shit to keep up with.

Anyway, this is also how I ended up reading the sentence informing me some people are worried dogs are getting autism from vaccines.

Outbreaks of rabies seem to be rising across the U.S., CDC surveillance shows

    • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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      8 days ago

      We humans are victims of our own success. Vaccines work so good at eradicating diseases that people haven’t been exposed to the horrors that we used to. My family has a story about someone loosely related who contracted rabies and was chained to a tree until they died a few weeks later. This was no more than a generation before me!

      People really aren’t scared enough of diseases.

      • ngdev@lemmy.zip
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        im calling bullshit on whoever told you that. im pretty sure ive heard that same story. also, rabies causes fear of water so theyd likely die of dehydration way sooner

        • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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          Checking back in.

          Rabies sufferers die from encephalopathic hemorrhaging way before dehydration. So I guess I’m not remembering the timeline accurately.

        • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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          Eh, maybe. But it served its purpose and scared the shit out of me. I’m curious if rabies sufferers will dehydrate themselves to the point of death. Another wiki hole, here I come!

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      People are far more scared of inconvenience than death.

      Most people would rather put their pet down than have to care for them in some new way that requires money and attention, and this is what people who don’t understand autism think it is, like they will have to strap their dogs into a special chair and spoon-feed them.

      Same with people. Most ignorant anti-vaxxers are far more terrified of being locked into caring for a disabled child than having a child die from a “natural” disease. And while they don’t consciously think this way, some layer of their brain has indeed weighed this out and formed their opinions.

      • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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        8 days ago

        I do genuinely wonder if some amount of vaccine skepticism comes from a place of just not wanting to get a shot.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Rabies is in my top three fears, maybe even number one. Just an absolutely awful way to go, scared, in pain, can’t drink water. I love water.

      • Soggy@lemmy.world
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        Good thing it’s extremely preventable thanks to modern medicine. We should all be so lucky that our greatest fear is 100% avoidable through easy life choices.

      • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
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        Rabies is in my top three fears, maybe even number one.

        Same. I went on a road trip one summer a few years ago, and we decided to take a long detour through the Appalachian trail for part of the drive. We had all the windows down and the sunroof open, just enjoying the cool fresh air bc it was too disgustingly hot everywhere else outside of the mountains to roll them down. Anyway, we were going down this really narrow back road, seeing like 1 or 2 other cars every 45 mins to an hour, and eventually got to a point where we had to drive through a really old narrow tunnel like this one:

        My first thought was, what if a bat flies in the car lmao. I demanded we roll up all the windows and shut the sunroof before we went through, and my husband made fun of me and said I was being ridiculous. I probably was, but there’s way too many documented cases of people who were out in the wilderness, got a tiny bat scratch, didn’t even realize it or think twice about it, then weeks or months later died a slow horrible death because of rabies. Even if you spend your last days in a hospital there’s nothing they can really do by the time you’re showing symptom except try to make you comfortable (which is probably impossible unless they just place you into a medically induced coma).

        I also worked with a girl that grew up in Vietnam and said there were multiple times she got bit by stray dogs, and had to get rabies shots when she was a kid. I grew up in the sticks always playing with stray cats and dogs, but never thought twice about it back then. Definitely wouldn’t be taking that risk now.

        Anyway, tldr, some people seem to be under the impression a fear of encountering rabies is like a fear of someday encountering quicksand. I’ll take my chances being ridiculous and overly safe to avoid it. Especially after reading the article and learning we’ve now got a fucking rabies outbreak to worry about on top of everything else going on in the U.S.

    • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      I had a hairdresser once that told me about her young daughter getting scratched by a raccoon. I asked if she took her to get the shots and she said “no, she’s fine”. We’re all doomed.

    • altphoto@lemmy.today
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      8 days ago

      He used to scratch with the left foot but after the vaccine he does it with the right foot!

  • Humana@lemmy.world
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    My dog is afraid of trains which is occasionally inconvenient for traveling somewhere far as we live car free.

    If I had just paired his vaccines with Tylenol he would have instead been able to identify the year and model of every locamotive 🚂 and seek them out like he does now with french fries. 🍟

    • guy@piefed.social
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      The issue is that he can identify the year and model of every locomotive because of the vaccine induced autism, and this terrifies him because he is a dog and shouldn’t be able to.

  • Scrambled Eggs @lazysoci.al
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    Because of vaccinations, my dog has a pretty low IQ. She can’t even do simple arithmetic, she’s non verbal, and cannot maintain eye contact. So sad.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      And it’s what makes them so fucking awesome.

      No judgment. No bullshit. Just our best friend, here for a good time, but unfortunately not a long time. We could learn a lot from them.

        • 1984@lemmy.today
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          What, how? They are very loving and emotional. The autistic people ive met are very intellectual and not very emotional… Very much living in their heads. But I have only met like… 3…or something. :)

          But yeah, with my experience, I wouldnt put autistic people in the deep compassionate loving category. Maybe im wrong.

          • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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            Just cause we don’t show it outwardly as often, doesn’t mean we autists aren’t very emotional. I think more so than most non autistic people. Remember it is a spectrum. For example I’m like gigantic and fairly well built (think Jason Witten but shaved head) and I’ll surprise (scare) some dates because I’m not afraid to cry on occasion. But it also may be my upbringing more than my diagnosis.

          • thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            We’re generally not “not very emotional” we just show it differently and less. But it could seem so if you can’t decipher the differentness.

      • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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        8 days ago

        Love me some capy blapies! Truly the coolest rodent of all time. Except for my friend’s pet rats, those guys are the coolest if not a little too pee happy.

    • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      I mean, dogs and cats can have mental illnesses or disorders, it’s just that they tend to be less impactful due to them being, well, pets. They have no responsibilities

      From what I know, they can have traits reminiscent of human autism

    • Master167@lemmy.world
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      I imagine most golden retrievers I’ve just are a little autistic. It’s why they are so dopey.

      • vas@lemmy.ml
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        9 days ago

        Or instead of raising the voting question (also known as non-democracy, only-whites-can-vote etc), maybe better agree on the importance of accessible education. Such as, a well funded school system, free or cheap non-corporate universities etc.

        • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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          Yeah that all would be great but people are uneducated -> regressive populists get voted in -> cut education because rhey want people dumb to vote for them -> repeat cycle.

          • vas@lemmy.ml
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            but people are uneducated

            So you’re not? OK, as you say.

            I’m not subscribing to such statements, personally. I see varying levels of education around, and I see my job as educating when I can, learning when I can.

            • Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip
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              Purposely misreading someone else’s comment is not the way to proclaim you’re among the educated…

              • vas@lemmy.ml
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                I’m not. As I said, I think people have varying degrees of education. I’m not separating between “us” and “them” in terms of education. I don’t make generalised statements of what happens on a global scale without good research into the subject either.

                But simple things such as “we need to make education a social priority” is within my reach.

            • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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              So you’re not? OK, as you say.

              Way to mischaracterise. I never claimed anything about myself. Bu I do know one thing. I would not vote for people who campaign on reducing education access.

              My main point was the negative feedback loop. If you have enough people uneducated to get into power people who slash education budgets, it makes it very hard to restore those and make education more accessible.

              • vas@lemmy.ml
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                Fully agree on this one 🤝
                The feedback loop is real and powerful

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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      9 days ago

      some people own dogs and cat as a prop or accesory to thier lifestyle, and when they get to a pet groomer, they get ratchety when they are told they arnt taking care of thier pets(something simple that can be done at home), often times its rich people and upper middle class

  • TomMasz@piefed.social
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    8 days ago

    Why stop at having your children die of preventable diseases when you can also have your pets die from preventable diseases?

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      There times when I see obvious disinformation attacking America, and I will immediately stand up for my country and call out the bullshit.

      Then I see something like this, and it leaves me feeling like I just stood up for a family member I felt was being unfairly picked on, who in response immediately decided to shit his pants and light a cigarette while filling up his car with gas.

    • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
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      Socioeconomic circumstances. And failures therein.

      Who could have tought that saving on education to get back to the good old times raise your slave class, would have the unintended side-effect of dismembering the fucking country they love so much.

    • gnutrino@programming.dev
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      8 days ago

      some people didn’t like anyone who knew more than they did … The way things were going, if [they] wanted to throw stones at anyone who knew more than them, they’d soon have to throw them at the pigs

      Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith

  • False@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Have these people ever interacted with dogs? I’m pretty sure autism is their baseline.

    • alternategait@lemmy.world
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      I’m pretty sure autism is their baseline.

      Unless it’s a Border Collie, and in that case it’s (probably pretty literal) OCD.

  • 1984@lemmy.today
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    9 days ago

    I just want to know what they put in the water in America to make everyone fight eachother… Who cares about autism in that context… :)

    Even though i know its about capitalism and people are probably stressed to death trying to survive in that shitty country.

    • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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      Facebook.

      It’s Facebook in the water.


      Also, watch a Fox News broadcast for a bit. Then you will understand.

      • 1984@lemmy.today
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        I watch it when I want to really lose my hope in the future for humanity. That feeling of frustration watching those people… Very interesting.

        I guess its better to feel sympathy. Because I know each person is on their own little journey here. But its just so primitive. :)

        • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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          I picked up a pressure cleaner and green enamel sink on the Facebook marketplace. After moving the sink, which weighed every bit of 100 lbs.!, I was a little winded and he invited me inside for a cup of tea, I asked for water cause I’m caffeine sensitive. This dude had fox news playing on his TV in the living room. And the only thing I could think was “you watch this in your spare time? That’s a pretty fucking sick sad world vibe that I don’t understand.”

          Of course I didn’t say anything at that moment cause I’m not suicidal, but these people seriously live in a separate reality where anger is desirable.

          Side note, an ex from college reposted a pro trump picture the other day and it just fucking broke me cause I know she really is fucking smart! Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a human.

          • 1984@lemmy.today
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            Its very frustrating to watch. :) I used to react with anger to all this but now im just thinking its where those people need to be to get the experiences they need.

            It helps if you see life as some kind of school with a purpose for everybody. I dont know if it is. But it helps to see it that way.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      I just want to know what they put in the water in America to make everyone fight eachother

      It’s a healthy dose of 1:1 lead (Pb) and misinformation. We call it fight water™️

      • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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        I know you’re joking but I always gotta espouse the honors of that fucking element. In it’s purest form can rapidly oxidize fuck all anything! And yet helps form a crystalline structure in our enamel!

        The reason we started putting fluoride in tap water is that dentists noticed people drinking well water had abnormally strong teeth because the rocks were leeching it into the water. This had the unfortunate side effect of turning their teeth brown. So some scientists and health experts found the lowest concentration that would super charge our enamel and not turn our teeth brown.

        Fluoride is fucking awesome!

        • 1984@lemmy.today
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          I havent used flouride toothpaste in 15 years and I have really good teeth. I know its sample of one and all that, but I stand by my decision to not use it. Works well for me.