General Discussion

montanacowboy

(6,352 posts) Tue Dec 17, 2024, 02:06 PM Dec 17

My cousin died from Polio

Back in the 1950's when we were kids, my 12 yr old cousin died from polio. We played together all the time and one day he was gone, just that fast. They tried an iron lung but he only lasted a few days. Worse, he was an only child and a star athlete. Such a loss. After that my parents kept me nearly isolated. No movies, definitely no swimming pool, only school and home. It was a terrible time and here we go again.
These sick fucks are going to put us back into that nightmare.
They named the baseball field after my cousin and to this day it remains the same. All these many years later.

4 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

My cousin died from Polio (Original Post) montanacowboy Dec 17 OP

Well, so sorry that happened to you, I remember when we weren't allowed to go swimming I must've been about five or six Walleye Dec 17 #1

Yes montanacowboy Dec 17 #2

I never experienced anything like this, I was born in 1959. Archae Dec 17 #3

You know, if somebody wrote a novel or screenplay... Paladin Dec 17 #4

Walleye

(36,439 posts)

1. Well, so sorry that happened to you, I remember when we weren't allowed to go swimming I must've been about five or six

Reply to montanacowboy (Original post)

Tue Dec 17, 2024, 03:30 PM

Dec 17

montanacowboy

(6,352 posts)

2. Yes

Reply to Walleye (Reply #1)

Tue Dec 17, 2024, 03:49 PM

Dec 17

the swimming pool seemed to be the real Off Limits for everyone.

Archae

(46,895 posts)

3. I never experienced anything like this, I was born in 1959.

Reply to montanacowboy (Original post)

Tue Dec 17, 2024, 03:59 PM

Dec 17

But my Mom told me all about the polio scares, schools, churches, pools, all being closed due to polio cases.

It sure was an awful disease, and now RFK Jr is lying about being "in favor of" the vaccine.

RFK Jr has always been a con artist, always will be.

Paladin

(28,978 posts)

4. You know, if somebody wrote a novel or screenplay...

Reply to montanacowboy (Original post)

Tue Dec 17, 2024, 04:03 PM

Dec 17

...in which government officials were advocating measures for the expansion of polio cases in the public, those works would be deemed too outlandish and offensive to ever see publication. And yet that's the reality we're facing, at this very moment. Are we going to allow this to happen, without some form of resistance and protest?

I'm an old guy, and I take this shit seriously. I had student friends who contacted polio when they were small---most of them survived, but not all of them. I know what an iron lung looks like, up close. Are we going to just let this occur, all over again? It's one thing to get huffy and stop watching MSNBC because we didn't like how the election turned out; it's a whole different matter to allow this toxic new regime to re-introduce a public health nightmare. Or did we not learn anything from trump's clusterfuck handling of the covid catastrophe?

What do you think?

Reply to this discussion