The storm is coming!!!
“No panic body!” —Chespirito (Chapulín Colorado)
This distorted phrase is a translation of a joke that makes reference to the original Spanish phrase that says “Nobody panic!” and it applies adequately to the times we’re living.
Last weekend, everyone was talking about the storm that was coming. Since Friday, some people avoided using their car due to fear of the dangers that they were faced while driving with snow or ice on the streets. That night, and on Saturday, grocery stores filled with people and in some places there was a shortage of basic products such as milk, eggs and bread. Everyone expected the worst and they had to prepare.
The fact is that there was no such ice storm and barely any snow.
This isn’t the first —and certainly won’t be the last— time that people (Americans as well as Hispanics), reacts disproportionately to the possibility of an unfavorable climatic event.
We could say that those who are to blame are “meteorologists” from all media outlets but, thought hey inform us of “possibilities” that something serious might happen, the public is the one in charge of spreading the word of “what will happen” in a revised and augmented way.
If the meteorologist says that “there may be up to two inches of snow,” people will say “they said that there are going to be three inches or more.” If he says “there will be ice storms,” it’s very possible that they will come, since they are common at this time of year, but people will say “they said that everything will be frozen,” and so on.
Many people like to exaggerate things to make them more interesting, but unfortunately there are always those who are not well informed, are very cautious, or frankly are naive enough to believe so many exaggerations. The other side is that even those who are well informed and who know from experience that there are always exaggerations and that terrible things don’t actually end up happening, even they can have doubts and fall into this trap.
Those of us who have lived in this area for 20 years or more, know that there has never been a storm that paralyzed the city for several days and that there has never been a food shortage.
Stay calm, and… “No panic body!”
