Childhood Obesity

I found the piece from  DISASTER HURRICANE KATRINA AND THE FAILURE OF HOMELAND SECURITY very easy to read and interesting. I do not know the details surrounding the failure of homeland security other then the fact that it was all over the news and it happened. This chapter really gave me insight on what actually occurred. This piece is very well written simply because not once did I doubt anything he said; whether some of the print actually happened or not I cannot say. I was not there however, I found myself hanging on every word and taking it as fact. How will I be able to gain that kind of creditability in my writing? It has made me well aware of the ability for story style writing to reach your audience. It has also made me aware of my weakness; the ability to be easily influenced. In my opinion in order to succeed at your endeavors you must be just as aware of your weaknesses as your strengths. This thus far was my favorite piece we have read for class.

This chapter outlined the preceding and subsequent behaviors that took place surrounding hurricane Katrina. I was amazed at the detrimental effects that can occur when someone else thinks someone else will take care of it, “I did my part, now it’s your turn.” There was no follow up or sense of urgency. My topic childhood obesity is at risk for being overlooked because my audience may feel they aren’t directly responsible for the childhood obesity epidemic therefore, they won’t do anything to work towards solutions.

We learned about a famous murder case in a few of my psychology classes. The victim was Kitty Genovese. To the best of my recollection none of her neighbors called the police when they heard her screaming because they all thought someone else had already called or would call, also known as the “bystander effect.”

When dealing with risk communication it is important to avoid the bystander effect. We should all assume no one is doing anything. That way everyone is doing something and we may have success!