In case anyone didn’t see it, here’s an addendum I made to my previous blog:

EDIT: This blog has been edited since it was first posted. After some discussions on social media and a little more research, I realized it had some inaccuracies. The blog was also meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, and once again I’ve learned that doesn’t always communicate on the internet. The biggest deletion pertained to the hysteria being manufactured to hurt the Trump Administration going into the election. I had no idea this was something started by President Trump on Twitter. It was a conclusion I came to on my own. I am a self-proclaimed “Trump agnostic,” meaning I’m not part of either the Never Trumpers or the president’s cult of personality, which is why I tick everyone off. (I do think someone needs to take Twitter away from him, though). However, I do stand by my assertion that the media is stoking the hysteria because, as Tim Constantine wrote for The Washington Times, “fear sells.” Since this is new (“novel,” which means “new,” is part of the disease’s name, after all) and relatively unknown, people fear it even though there are diseases out there that are far more common and far more likely to kill someone. Humans fear the unknown. However, I also know human nature well enough to know that there will be those who will try to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit, and that’s especially true for those in power. That’s the big reason why I think the hysteria needs to stop, which is the point I wanted to make with this blog. We need to be safe and watch out for those who are the most vulnerable among us (my younger brother has a form of asthma, so I know), but turning the world upside down like the Black Plague has suddenly returned is an overreaction. My apologies for not making that clear in the first published draft of this blog. (EDIT ENDS)