I reviewed NiemanLab's Predictions for Journalism 2021 and came upon an interesting article by An Xiao Mina, "2020 isn't a black swan - it's a yellow canary." She starts off by suggesting how 2020 was an unusal year and how it is characterized as a black swan, an animal that is rare and considered an outlier. She refutes that statement by stating it cannot be an outlier, that the evidence this was building was staring us right in the face almost like a gray rhino, “obvious, visible, coming right at you, with large potential impact and highly probable consequences.” Apparently news of a potential pandemic was brought to the Pentagon's attention dating back as 2017, according to an anonymous Pentagon employee, but precautions were not taken. The signs were indeed around us, even movies that centered around the plot of a debilitating illness have been around for years. I find this interesting because this realization almost reflects the truth of the United States, that although we are considered the best country in the world the American people were not ready at all when the pandemic hit. Lives were destroyed, financial structures collapsed, etc., just a glimpse into the events that took place during this pandemic time. The yellow canary metaphor, a bird that was used to alert miners of the presence of methane gas, is perfect for describing COVID because it truly is better late than never. COVID alerted us to the dangers of our lack of preparation and this can wake the country up to be prepared for, knock on wood, future scenarios to come.
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https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/12/2020-isnt-a-black-swan-its-a-yellow-canary/
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