Happy #@¢%ing Father's Day

Everyone is familiar with the stereotype that men are really bad at preventative health. Hell, I just had my first physical exam in many years, and that was only brought on by a combination of turning 40 and having a scary family history. So I assume that is the rationale behind the shock tactics employed by The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ):





Will it work? Probably not on the men who are the worst offenders. Attempts to shame have a habit of backfiring in social marketing because they push the brain into defensive processing (otherwise known as "denial").

This campaign was launched on Father's Day, too. Ouch.

There are two more commercials you can view on the campaign web site.

Chained by Facebook

"No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day."

The latest grassroots Facebook Status Meme addresses the bitter debate over healthcare in Obama's United States.

Anyone who has spent any time on American internet fora knows how nasty this stuff can get. Something that's taken for granted in the rest of the civilized world — publicly funded basic healthcare — in the U.S. has become the most divisive issue since teaching science in schools.

But why are Canadians getting involved? I got two updates this morning from fellow hosers, good and smart people who I assume did so as a show of support for the American movement. When whoever started this chain-letter tallies up the hits, I doubt they'll differentiate between Canadian and U.S. buzz.

As I snarked to another Facebook friend, "I guess Canadians see themselves as secret agents of change"...

That said, I think the only thing it will accomplish is to further enrage conservative social networking pundits in the U.S. (They're now trying to work up a counter-status update.) Oh well, at least it has them talking.