1. Watch the following video via this link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWtLAfw1Ses

2. Whilst you’re watching, identify and write down key events that are an Indicator of Moral Panic as per Goode & Ben-Yehuda’s (1994) framework.

3. REFLECT upon what you have watched in the video and the influence media had during this time.

4. Post your full response and reflection into a new post on this Padlet. 
   
* Please include your first Name at the end of each post you make*

Follow the below links to access the online resources required to complete this task; 

Based upon what you read/watch, develop an opinion as to whether you believe that the Ebola crisis is or is not an example of a recent moral panic. 

Your response can include links the article/video, Indicators of Moral Panic framework and your own personal experiences or beliefs on this topic. 

REFLECT: what implications does a crisis like Ebola have on us as future educators? Consider your future students (multicultural classrooms, wider diversity), and how media frenzies such as this may impact on them. 

Post your full response and reflection into a new post on this Padlet.

* Please include your first Name at the end of each post you make* 

 Concern initially began to rise when images of premature, cocaine-exposed infants trembling within incubators of neonatal intensive care units, started filling news media stories across the USA. Concern was heightened when self-proclaimed new age “cocaine experts” began publishing worrying claims in every media venue, that an ‘epidemic’ of cocaine-exposed infants was on the rise. Furthermore to this, claims of this epidemic creating a ‘lost generation’ devastated by the havoc prenatal cocaine exposure and it’s wreaking effects on their development, further elevated the growing panic.

 

As the panic grew within communities, infants and children with mothers addicted to cocaine became widely caricatured as “crack babies” and “crack kids”. Images of these proclaimed infants and children were exploited to forge new laws and policies that in turn fueled dramatic expansions of the U.S. criminal justice and child welfare systems.  Those most dramatically affected by the expansions were lower SES communities of color, who witnessed unprecedented numbers of young men imprisoned, young women/mothers trialed in court for acts of child abuse, and consequently their children placed under the control of state Child Protection authorities. This caused hostility to rise and racial stereotypes heighten.

 

As the beliefs of this epidemic began to spread, as did the level of media coverage. In conjunction to this, an expanding collection of professional and scientific journal articles started to become available, and a growing number of physicians, psychiatrists and other trusted professionals voiced what was believed to be credible and trustworthy information. All factors contributed to a widespread belief that the threat was real. 

 

 

Probably the most disproportionate examples within this moral panic, were the number of infants claimed to be involved in the first scientific study, and the effects infants born with a cocaine addicted mother actually experienced. In terms of the numbers in the study, it is reported that only 23 infants were involved and examined, not the proclaimed ‘hundreds’, and the effects examined were more aligned with a premature birth than a drug-addicted birth.

 

As inevitably happens, “real science” progresses, in this case in the form of well-designed longitudinal studies that separated out prenatal drug exposure from all of the other untoward insults so frequently experienced by poor infants and children.  

 A separate longitudinal study of pre-natal cocaine exposure conducted by Dr. Hallam Hurt, Dr. Claire Coles and Dr. Deborah Frank, found the following conclusions;

 

The results of this well-designed study challenged and then discredited all of the prevailing wisdom on prenatal cocaine exposure, and therefore, the moral panic and anxiety phased out as well.

· A new rug was taking over

·Had devastating affects on pregnant women and their new born babies

· Most expensive babies in America – overwhelming social services 

·Worrisome trend 

· Epidemic of drug addicted babies was on the rise 

· Babies were now referred to as “Crack Babies”

·New laws were created through the use of pictures and footage of these “crack babies” 

·Children take away from homes and placed in Child protection

· Women who were pregnant and who had babies were being tried for child abuse 

·Majority of these women were from low SES communities and were of colour.

·Created negative stereotypes 

 

·Due to medical professionals giving their opinion and articles being released, this then enforced that the threat was real and a danger to society. 

 

· Number of infants was lied about – only 23 were actually tested

·Not the hundreds they claimed

·The affects could actually be related to premature babies not “crack babies”

 

·The epidemic blew up in the media and created a huge panic within society and it still does today.

·The problem however is more to do with the affects of poverty and no education. 

·The main point was to scare women into stop using drugs instead of educating them on the dangers that it had because they were less likely to stop.

 
Reflection:
As educators, a crisis like this can really affect us in the classroom. Once the media promotes an issue, students ask constant questions about it and this can disrupt lessons all day for months on end. This also creates the issue of where the issue came from, such as Ebola, coming from Africa can then cause the debate in class about students from other cultural backgrounds and how they might be spreading it even though they have never been in contact with it, know anyone that has it or even knows what it is. Issues like that can create racism in the classroom and case student to panic, which we as educators need to be prepared for and handle adequately. 

·      A new drug was taking over the lives of young people and adults in American cities

·      Babies of mothers who have taken crack ‘cocaine’ are three times more likely to be born with some form of birth defect

·      Most expensive babies in America they are going to overwhelm every system they come into contact with in their future lives. 

 

·      Babies were being labelled as ‘Cocaine” or “crack babies” – especially when born with obvious birth defects.   

·      Women were being labelled and charged as child abusers, drug dealers and murderers.

 

·      Has just as devastating affects on pregnancy and newborns as heroin. 

·      Doctors became involved and produced research that stated the negative affects cocaine has on pregnant women, their unborn children and the affects on their children once they’re born.

 

·      350,000 to 375,000 babies were predicted to be born addicted to cocaine.

·      The number of infants they tested was exaggerated – they only tested 23 not hundreds.

·      No one knows how many there are; however, educators suspect tens of thousands of crack kids are in kindergartens, suburban schools, and even in small towns in America. 

 

·      If you can just scare people sufficiently about something then that’s better than telling them the truth about something because it’ll prevent them from doing bad things.

·      Media had generalised a lot of the research, particularly from Dr Chasnoff, rather than displaying all the facts. This was often highly negative towards cocaine and drug use.

·      It can have affects on pregnant mothers, on unborn and newborn babies; however, it can be treated through treatment for both the mother and the child.

·      They focused on cocaine as the only problem; however, alcohol is a bigger concern than cocaine due to its prevalence and its affect on both sexes and unborn/newborn children. 

The reporting of the Ebola crisis created a moral panic. In the same way as the public consternation over swine flu was a passing media sensation, Ebola passed from the public eye within six to 12 months. The media fuels issues such as this with sensational claims of mass deaths and rapid rates of infection. Mainstream media fuels the spread of “news” in social media spreading panic through these channels. In fact, as stated in “Panic or Pandemic? Understanding the Ebola Crisis” influenza annually kills more people than Ebola but the media would prefer to report on a crisis for months to capture the public’s interest rather than deal with a commonplace illness.

 

Sensational reports in the media can excite the interest of students who often wish to discuss these issues rather than follow a lesson plan.  This disruption has adverse implications for educators if allowed to run unchecked. One issue is the source in Africa of a disease such as Ebola. Concerns about this can lead to students debating in class the cultural background of people and whether just being African means that such people can spread the disease regardless of a lack of contact with sufferers. This can give rise to racist feelings and cause irrational concern and panic among students.  These are important issues which educators must be aware of and prepare to deal with in the classroom.