Anthrax vs. anthrax

Op-Ed by Adam Pugh

ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT

Monday November 5, 2001

After the devastating events of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, I have struggled to find anything positive or even slightly humorous in any media outlet. Music is getting darker, louder and more aggressive, and all the news outlets on television can talk about is the “War on Terrorism,” or the possibility that some “white powdery substance” might be anthrax.

What I have been looking for is someone or something that can look past all of these negative things and find something to smile about.

Last week, I was reading in the newspaper about reports police officers have received from the concerned citizens of Arizona.

A patron of a fast food restaurant reported a suspicious white powder on a baby-changing table in the restroom, which turned out to be - get this! - talcum powder. The real kicker came when I read that a woman from Phoenix reported a suspicious frost on the outside of a frozen orange juice can · come on, people!

It’s bad enough that we have to worry about coming into contact with a life-threatening biological agent, but do we have to stop using our common sense?

I finally stopped feeling bad for the paranoid people of Arizona when I was surfing the Internet. And being a fan of some old-school metal, I decided to check out one of my favorite bands from back in the day: Anthrax. I was curious to see how the band was dealing with all of the free publicity it has been getting lately (hey, any publicity is good publicity, right?).

I immediately began laughing when the opening page read “Anthrax (the band).”

That was all I needed to make my day. The main page on the Web site contained a press release with a statement from the band. The first part reads as follows:

“In light of current events, we are changing the name of the band to something more friendly, ‘Basket Full Of Puppies.’”

This is probably the funniest thing I have read in association with the attacks (although the orange juice anecdote ranked as a close second). The statement is a reflection of the panic that anthrax has caused, but at the same time it’s a bit of a reality check. Everything associated with anthrax has a stigma attached to it now - which is apparent in the rest of the press release.

“To be associated with these things we are against is a strange and stressful situation. To us, and to millions of people, it is just a name.”

It was interesting to find out how the band felt about being associated with something they never thought would have a negative effect on the band: its name. Before Sept. 11, the only thing that scared people about the band was the tight leather pants from the ’80s and of course, their hair. Now the name inspires fear and causes panic throughout entire cities. That is a sad fact. I just hope that as the country gets back on its feet, someone out there will retain a sense of humor and a smile to help the rest of us get through this very strange time.

I am just looking for a few good men and women to make some positive music and keep me from falling into a pit of hopelessness. And hopefully the closest any one of us ever has to come into contact with anthrax is through the band and its music - then maybe all of us can stay Among the Living.