I'd just like to give a shout-out to the little snots who create these viruses. Without you, where would we be? Oh, yeah, right - we'd be able to trust that email we receive is okay to open, and we would never have to worry about opening a file from email. Maybe you could argue that these viruses teach us, especially us Americans, that not everyone should be trusted, that there are people out there who don't even have a particular problem with you, or anyone - they just enjoy being the creator of something destructive.

When I see stuff like this, I hear the rhetoric that's been bounced around since September 11 - that they don't like our freedom of speech, that they don't like how we live. That's crap. They don't care. They just know we're an easy target. Like in nature, what is perceived as weak in some way will be the first victim to the hungry predator. Terrorists and these virus-makers thrive on finding the weak spots in the herd, and they target them viciously. Terrorists didn't see America as the military giant we are, they saw us as the soft, meaty innards covered by a shell that can't do a damn thing against a well-aimed dart - or airplane. They did it to say they could. They did it to show how easy it is to take down the giant when the giant only expects military attacks. Viruses work the same way - they take down victims not because they've done anything wrong or because anyone dislikes you but because the can. That's the lesson I think we're failing to learn - we're a target precisely because we live in a society where we've grown accustomed to not thinking about watching our backs at all times. The rhetoric continues, attempting to empower citizens, to convince them that we're safe. We never will be. Terrorists - and viruses - are waiting out there to pounce on the assuming. You're not safe, no one is safe anymore.

That's a damn sad lesson to have to learn.