25 July, 2008

Baseball for meee, and everyone!!

I got this linked to me, with the subject, "Baseball for Sofia" since I'm allergic to peanuts. But many of those comments kind of missed the point...

"This is a joke right? My son's 10 and allergic to peanuts, he knows not to eat them and always will ask a question. Peanut free zone, just plain stupid." -readi29

"If people are stupid enough to eat something they know they're allergic to then let them suffer the consequences. Why should the rest of us be deprived." -rezn8v

"Why not ban all food. People are allergic to other things besides peanuts. WTG Safeco, retards." -savage_30

There's a difference between other food allergies and peanut allergies, you see. As far as I know peanut allergy is the most severe allergy there is, at least among the top worst. It's deadly. But not only when eaten. Peanuts are very dry. This make the allergens air borne. Allergy to this is referred to as (you who often fly in the US might have come across this) "peanut dust allergy".
It's not as complicated as it first seems. It's works just like allergy against pollen! Or allergy against cigarette smoke.
If you breath in peanut dust it gets in your mouth or nose which cause an allergic reaction. I never would (or could) eat a peanut, but sitting around people eating peanuts could make me seriously ill.
I think it's great that public events create awareness of this! To not eat peanuts during those few hours cold not cause as much damage to anyone as the damage that it could make to eat peanuts next to an allergic person.
So to object against this seems very egoistic to me!
If it was the other way around I would without a problem not eat popcorn or whatever it could be, being well aware that I could easily go home and eat it if I wanted it.

But I suspect that those people that are objecting against this is the same kind of people that would smoke around others, even kids. Second hand smoking is harmful to everyone!! But of course especially those allergic to it.

Then I saw this post:

"Seriously, there are so many people with so many different deadly allergic reactions. I understand it's serious, but we cannot cater to every person's problem. Eventually people just need to learn how to adapt themselves to their problems and not expect everyone else to go without or change their ways for them. "
-Michelle P

Yes...Uhm...where should I start? First of all: People with wheelchairs? They just have to adapt to stairs? Of course we should live in a society where we make the utmost effort to try to adapt to each other. To make public events open to, exactly, the public, and not just a selected few lucky ones. Disabilities should be taken seriously. Especially when it's such a severe disability that could cause death!
And second of all: there are not that many different deadly allergic reactions, (unless you accidentally eat it yourself) maybe Michelle can tell me what she refers to?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

your blog really helped! I was confused about weither or not people with peanut allergies could even be around them and you have made it clear. I am def. taking it more seriously. (not saying I didnt before) lol Thanks though. Ashlee

Anonymous said...

Hear, hear!

Accomodation and accesibility is a question of freedom for everyone!

/Sarah