Interesting. Spiders (of the Arachnida Class/& Aranese Family) all have venom, the difference being the potency. One example is in size; small ones, some known as jumping spider, have a venom but because of size mandibles are not strong enough to puncture the skin and a generally less toxic. These Joro species have a low toxicity and present little to no harm to humans and most pests. What I do object to is the banner headline creates a fear in society with the usage of the word venomous. In dealing with potential pandemics caused by arachnids, insects, and others which are usually behind the bacterial and viral diseases. Unlike, the way the Covid pandemic was handled, acute awareness instead of fear must be spread from the scientific and reporting industries…this also applies to messages from the political arena.

BOO! THE SPIDERS ARE COMING

Over the past couple of days, some news channels were telling of an invasion….not of illegal aliens which are of old hat to them…but of a different species of spiders; the Joro spider. Even the modern day news rag on the internet, YAHOO, printed a CBS report, “VENOMOUS FLYING SPIDER WITH 4” LEGS SPREAD ACROSS THE EAST COAST”. There is nothing wrong with printing the article for it is in line with YAHOO’s purpose of creeping out its readers. The article itself is informative, but the banner headline…the first part to draw people’s attention – “Venomous flying spider…” – is what’s disturbing. In its context it is predicting danger which is only minutely true.

Let us understand one major thing: ALL spiders carry venom. The brown recluse and the black widow spiders are among the most feared spiders in this country. And yet these arachnids, plus all the many thousands species of insects throughout America, attribute to around ten fatalities a year (this does not include the exposed danger that some may contribute in spreading infectious diseases). Even though spiders are all venomous it does not mean that they are all a threat. A couple of examples: 1) the amount of toxicity within the venom varies from species to species. For people with excellent immune systems, even this country’s spider venom would carry little to no harm; those with lower immunity can and often do suffer from the poison deposited into the wound, sometimes disabling but seldom in death. 2) many other smaller species are unable to penetrate the skin of humans or other animals. These small creatures’ mandibles are not powerful enough to make that penetration. In the case of the Joro spiders, whose leg span is as much as 4”, their venom is not deemed a major threat to humans. They will feed upon insects and on other spiders, and they are a scary nuisance.

Within the articles’ banner, the context of it will alert and scare the average reader. However, how will those within the media survive? First by scaring the hell out of you! It is a tactic that has permeated the political, the health industry, and society. The handling of the COVID pandemic is a prime example of it: schools and learning was shut down further degrading the educational benefits to students; hospitals became overly restrictive hindering loved ones from being with the infected family and friends, created more corruption within the health system where they reported many deaths as being attributed to COVID whereas the cause of death preexisted or of sudden death or due to a heart attack; put too much power into the hands of ignorant politicians instead of groups of disease control professionals – as opposed to designating it into the hands of an arrogant Dr. Faucci who may very well have contributed to the overall ill effects. The unspoken word that was used to control the populace, but quickly led to panic, was the word FEAR.

Beginning in 1986, right through the early 1990’s, I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico and working in the pest control industry. In 1987 I formed my own pest control business. During that period, on a low level, I was involved with the battle against the SIN NOMBRE (No Name) subspecies of the Hantavirus which plagued the Four Corners Area. I attended several meetings conducted by health leaders to include the CDC. As a result, it caused me to do some studies on viruses in general. Due to the united work within the scientific health community the battle to contain the virus was secured, and over the epidemic time span, they were able to contain the virus and limiting the death count to somewhere around 100 victims (I do not know what further concerns have risen from SIN NOMBRE in the many years that followed). During that period there was a lot of concern, however, one psychological element was held to a minimum – that element was FEAR. Regretfully, that element reared its horrific head during the COVID epidemic. Regretfully, fear has become the horrible weapon many use within the media. In so doing, the media has helped to grow a powerful weapon to be used in politics that, in turn, they are using it effectively at the expense of sanity.

So, BOO, let the Joro spiders come. We will control them. We’ll control them better than we can control most of the media who thrive upon fear, even if they are bias and not fully aware or knowledgeable of what/who they are talking or writing about.

Alexander Wisniewski

June 6, 2020