Action as Antidote

What is needed right now is an antidote for anxiety. Fanned by rumors, false alarms and sick hoaxes, fear is spreading farther and faster than the spores of bacteria delivered in the handful of anthrax mailings confirmed to date.

People were scared after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but that only made their response all the more remarkable. Stunned and grieving, strangers joined hands in parks and churches across the country to pray and sing “God Bless America.” They pinned red, white and blue ribbons to their lapels, raised flags and donated an unprecedented amount of money for the families of victims.

In their need to do something to express their grief, to find some way to show their resolve, they helped themselves get through those first awful weeks.

Doing something --channeling anxiety into action--remains the best prescription for getting through anthrax scares and whatever may follow.

Californians have more experience than most in preparing for the unexpected. The Los Angeles Fire Department offers free emergency response training to teams of volunteers. Geared toward earthquakes, the seven-week course teaches how to fight fires and find survivors in rubble, skills we now sadly know can also be needed in manmade disasters.

To schedule a course, you need to assemble a team of at least 25 volunteers from your neighborhood or workplace. Information is available on the Community Emergency Response Team Web site ( www.lafd.org/cert.htm ) or by calling (818) 756-9674.

The Fire Department publishes an earthquake preparedness handbook that lists supplies to have in your house, workplace and car for any emergency. If you haven’t already assembled such supplies, now is a good time. The handbook can be found on the Fire Department’s Internet site ( www.lafd.org ), which also has links to information--not rumors or hype--on anthrax exposure, symptoms and treatment.

Education is a good antidote for other fears. A week after the terrorist hijackings, nearly 200 Angelenos met in small groups at the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab mosque near USC to talk about religion, racism and hate crimes. The Days of Dialogue and the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission plan another session in mid-November at UCLA; for information, call (213) 439-9640, ext. 27.

Finally, the outpouring of generosity for New York has had the unfortunate effect of leaving local charities hurting for donations, even as more local workers face layoffs from the economic aftershocks and need their help. Reaching deeper into pockets is another way to stand up to those who would divide us.

No one yet knows whether the anthrax mailings are connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or are the work of domestic terrorists or opportunists with a grudge. But we do know this: Terrorism is as much a war of nerves as it is a war of hijacked planes and poisoned mail. Panic is a form of surrender. Don’t.