Danger

I was thinking how I used to see Australia as being so scary and dangerous...well, because of the venomous animals and crocodiles. 

At one time, I ignored my desires to go to Australia because of this fear—that, and also the whole long plane ride thing.

In a similar fashion, I imagine that Australians fear America because people seem to be shooting each other left and right.

It's not really the same, though.  Because in America, people ARE getting shot fairly often. In Australia, people rarely get killed by venomous animals. Even crocodile and shark attacks are rare.

It seems to me that every few weeks the US provides a news story about random people being shot while doing their normal everyday thing.

This morning people got shot and killed while doing their morning grocery shopping.

It's scary.

Then there's driving.....

There are intoxicated people on the road.

There are people texting.

And there's simple shitty luck.

Every day, that we wake up in the morning with our loved ones alive and well, is a blessing.  

Now that I think of it, it's quite silly of me to be scared of Aussie wildlife.

I'm less scared enough now to visit Australia. But I still fear going up north because of crocodiles.   And I'd be afraid to swim in Northern Queensland because of the Box Jellyfish and the Irukandji.

Although maybe it's less about the fear of death and more about the fear of the CAUSE of death. Or it's the fear of the cause of the almost-death, the ones that makes you wish you'd hurry up and die (because you're in so much pain).  

12 comments:

  1. Never heard of the Irukandji jellyfish before. Your blog's a great source of education about Australia!

    The wildlife that scares me most is the species of human frequenting late nite clubs and mixing pills and alcohol.
    Like jellyfish, best to just avoid their habitat.

    In fact, beaches are lovely to look at and the ocean is okay to float upon the top of in a boat, but I have never understood why people want to sit on a beach, swim in an ocean full of lord knows what [which includes effluent in Sydney], or how people can even read in strong sunlight without becoming nauseous. If god meant for us to swim in the ocean he would not have invented heated swimming pools.

    Drunks on the road, and drivers texting? It seems to be a universal problem.

    Like you, I fear being maimed or in pain more than I fear death though, so long as I go quickly I don't care how it happens.

    We've had our share of shooting sprees - don't know if that would be less or more per capita. But I do admit guns or the possibility of being shot are something I never give a second's thought to.

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  2. Fruitcake,

    I think Australia is pretty low on the shooting spree thing. It might have been different before the Port Arthur massacre.

    Good point about God creating the heated pools!

    I'm so honored that I'm your introduction to Irukandji.

    I like the ocean. I handle it well, as long as I put myself in a state of denial.

    The Atlanta ocean feels much less terrifying to me than the Pacific.

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  3. I am never worried about crocs or jellyfish as I wouldn't dream of swimming in the sea or a river in northern Queensland.

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  4. Andrew,

    But what if a crocodile crawls it's way down to Melbourne and then hides under your bed?

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  5. Millions of us have survived the threat of box jellyfish, sharks, snakes, spiders, crocodiles, green tree ants, blue ringed octopi, wasps, stonefish and rabid yobbos. AND lived to be (relatively) old!!

    HHHMMMmmm... maybe my crocodile post was a bit too alarmist?? You'll know global warming is a reality when the crocs hit Melbourne!!!

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  6. Red Nomad Oz,

    For me, pretty much any crocodile post is alarmist.

    Yes...crocodiles in Melbourne. That's the REAL threat of global warning.

    Although maybe it will be prevented with a crocodile proof fence.

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  7. Now there's a question jumped out from this discussion... are crocodiles allergic to cane toads... or are crocs and cockroaches the only critters likely to survive the invasion?

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  8. Fruitcake,

    According to this article, the cane toads have killed off some freshwater crocodiles.

    I'm not sure about saltwater ones.....

    http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2037/cane-toads-killing-australian-crocs

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  9. See ! You never stop bringing new australiana to the masses !
    Thank you :)

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  10. I just hope you're not still concerned about Drop Bears.

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  11. Fruitcake: You're very welcome. And thank YOU.

    Martin: I'm not very concerned about Drop Bears. I know how to deter them with Vegemite. We shall properly prepare ourselves if we decide to hike in their territory.

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  12. Salties wouldn't waste their time with cane toads - they'd burn more energy catching them than they'd get from the cane toad - I think!

    And FruitCake - I reckon cane toads would survive the apocalypse too!!

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