The nurse at my school has an alcove in her office with a sink, posters on hand washing, and those virus plushies to teach elementary school students about germs and sickness. They're an awesome educational tool. :)

Both the item in question as well as the suggestion for its "suspension" is baffling to say the least.

Local science centers usually have them for sale. That's where I bought the white blood cell one I have, but I digress. They're cute and awesome for learning about diseases though.

The ebola item in question has been around for years on site. I distinctly remember it being around for as long a I can remember on site and I joined a long, long time ago. No one called for its removal then or any random time during the years it was on site and now that that the virus has come to the states someone does.

It doesn't make sense, especially since ebola outbreaks aren't exclusive to the US alone. Africa has had outbreaks of ebola time and time again for years. It's just that now it has extended to American shores when in the past it was usually contained to Africa alone.

a wild Doom appears Why is everyone so sensitive nowadays -_- runs off

I think this topic and these kinds of arguments are sad because they belittle things that are actually problematic and peoples' efforts to do something about addressing the latter.

(Kind of like how some gay marriage opponents bring up people who want to marry inanimate objects and things like that.)

The ethnocentric thinking shown here is flawed despite whatever intentions and the point of the pun as well as the age of that item seem to have been completely missed.

I suggest adblocking the image or using other extensions or browser options on a personal level given the amount of consensus and the staff response on this subject.

Ebola isn't even a new disease. It makes me laugh when people don't give a damn about it, but once it comes to America it's all 'oh noez iz the worrrst thing eveerrrrrrr!'. You didn't care five years ago, caring now shouldn't change anything.

Wasn't the first case of ebola reported in 1976 or so? I remember we watched a movie on it in my microbiology class. Either way, the media acts like it's the Spanish flu of 1918 all over again, that we all need to be worried about catching a deadly disease that a)thrives in tropical areas (not sure if that means it's less suitable for any of the climates in the US) and b) can only enter the system via bodily fluids.

Basically, as long as it's in Africa, no one cares (recurring theme there); but as soon as one person brings it here, it's the apocalypse.

I have the pet named Ebola. :U

Oh noes there's an ebola item,Oh noes there are gypsy items,Oh noes there are cw's that still have gypsy references. Fuck off :/

This this this this THIS. People die from it regularly over there, but oh man that's not the important thing. This could kill actual PEOPLE now! /sarcasm

Like I get, based on the fact that the announcement thread needed locking that people didn't (and apparently still don't) understand that the term gypsy is offensive (I mean, you grow up using a term, you might not be so quick to change your ways. Racism is passed down for a reason), but come on.

Honestly, that's all that needs to be said here. This is really becoming another censorship vs sensitivity debate in the wrong forum.

At this point I think it should be if anyone has an issue with an item or items they should just go and made a ticket instead of posting on the forums. Can't you add to a ticket if you don't get an answer within however fast you think the item should be deleted from site?

I would think that would be the best instead of dragging not just yourself but the items in question through the mud (whether it's justified or not to change/remove).

I get offended by sjw-ism.

As with most other people on this thread, I agree that items like this shouldn't be removed. That's just silly.
It's a shame though, that people are getting attacked for bringing this up "only because it's reached North America now". I'm not pessimistic enough to assume that's the only reason they now seem to care, when it's far more likely that they simply weren't aware of the issue before it was brought to their doorstep, so to speak. No need to be nasty.

lmao could OP come up with one legitimate reason for this to be "suspended"? try copywriting the name then resubmit your suggestion ok

I think if anything I would have to agree that

1. Ebola has been a thing for a VERY long time, not just a tragedy because america is getting it's first hint of it, it's devastating plain and simple. It's like parvo for people honestly

2. If anything should be done I think changing it to a zombie virus would be best. It keeps the ew factor implied but also makes it more subeta and less of the real world on site

3. Getting rid of an item that people have used (pet feedings, collections ect ect) with no fair exchange is just going to upset people MORE than anything else. Look at the old oracle tokens, people had many of them to use but staff decided to nix them. So rather than saying they were all going away they were converted into the beanbags if I remember right.

Yeah, agreeing that this isn't a reasonable request. I know that everything is offensive to someone somewhere, but...this is not a mean-spirited item. It's a slightly silly reference to a nasty disease that happens to be having a bit of a blowup at the moment. It's not like the site is actively mocking victims of the current outbreak. And let's face it, retroactive censorship is ridiculous in general.

heh that particular part of tumblr makes my head hurt

I have the little petri dish with three mini viruses :D it's like a real life version of the subeta item haha

that's freaking awesome

the amount of people getting oversensitive about pixels, IS TOO DAMN HIGH!

People get murdered all the time, and people use guns and knives to murder them. More people die of murder in the US of A in a day than they die of Ebola in a year. This is an even bigger epidemic.

rid of all the items that can be used to murder people 2k14

On a more serious note, this is silly. Like other people have mentioned; this disease has been around for a long, long while, and I'd also like to voice my annoyance over people being overly sensitive over ebola now that it's affected someone in the first world.

I really don't want this item removed just because some sensitive people might be offended for everyone else.

i don't see anything wrong with the item - it was not a new release or made for the most recent outbreak. If you need more information on the Ebolavirus please look it up on the web; you will see it is not a new strain of virus.

@ twocents (sorry you're the only one I know to tag) what do you think about it: It would not surprise me if there was some sort of commemorative item made as a free gift - not sure how the subeta team would handle that one. But I know that the subeta team has always been supportive and empathetic towards causes, disasters, etc.