Just Don’t Get It

If you haven’t already, please take some time to read this post from the Allergy Moms online newsletter. It’s in regards to a middle school secretary from somewhere in Northern California who posted a rather disturbing article on her own blog.

The referred post has since been removed due to threats against her, but it has been posted in its entirety in the Allergy Moms’ comments section. Here is a little taste of what was originally posted.

That wacky fad, the death peanut, has arrived at my school. We have been informed that an incoming student is so allergic to peanuts that they can kill him in an instant and we, a school of 900 thirteen year olds, have to make accommodations to ensure his continued survival.

I read his medical file. As a baby, the child was allergic to milk. As a toddler, the child ingested peanuts and got hives! And, he coughed! He was rushed to the hospital where he was observed with a rash an hour later! At age six, he had a reaction on an airplane, presumably Southwest before they caved to the Peanut Paranoia and started serving pretzels. That situation was so dangerous, they finished the flight, landed home, and took their child to the doctor, where Dr. Feelgood gave a blood test which determined the kid, having not died from peanuts in the past, might die next time, handed the parents an epi-pen and wrote a document that schools have had to comply with ever since.

This middle school secretary later claimed that the post was entirely fictional, and simply in response to the ProBlogger 31 Days to Build a Better Blog assignment from Day 19 – writing an opinion post – but as someone who is also participating in the same challenge, I can tell you that this type of trash was not what was intended.

Yes, it may generate traffic to your site (which is why I’m not linking to the original blog) as opinions will do, but this definitely crosses the line; although I agree that the resulting death threats lobbed at her are just as – if not more so – out of line.

But blog posts like hers do help illustrate the militant attitudes that we as parents run up against on a continued basis. There are still some members of our own church that see it as an extreme inconvenience to keep the shared kitchen peanut-free. Krystyne and I have actually scaled back our volunteer involvement this year because Liam has reacted when we’ve staffed the kitchen at past church-sponsored events (simply by him being in there with us).

Sadly, unless and until they have to deal with a food allergy in their own family, there are too many people who just don’t get it.