What is the real risk of an American dying of terrorism? This article presents numbers that put things in perspective. The numbers are based off these statistics offered by the CDC.
Comparing the CDC numbers to terrorism deaths means:
– You are 35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack
– You are 33,842 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack
– You are 4,311 times more likely to die from diabetes than from a terrorist attack
– You are 3,157 times more likely to die from flu or pneumonia than from a terrorist attack
– You are 2,091 times more likely to die from blood poisoning than from a terrorist attack
– You are 1,064 times more likely to die as your lungs swell up after your food or beverage goes down the wrong pipe.
I guess traffic induced death should figure somewhere in that list too.
Further to Planetary Paul’s comment, I saw on the local news today that distracted driving was blamed for 3,100 fatal traffic deaths last year. That’s more than died in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Yet, where is the Republican outcry for a ‘war’ on distracted driving? (Cue the sound of chirping crickets.)
Nowhere, of course. To the contrary, here in Wisconsin, the GOP-controlled state legislature and governor’s office have recently raised the speed limit on rural interstate highways to 70 mph. Really? Yes, with distracted driving fatalities killing more people every year than terrorist attacks, Republicans want us to drive faster.
Grumpy – that number 3,000 deaths comes up in many places, but there is a call for war only when the deaths dovetail with xenophobia.