There was a moment in class tonight when I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Some of the comments I heard were absolutely amazingly frightful coming from supposedly “educated and enlightened” individuals. I guess what was even more shocking was the fact that few others seemed bothered by some of the things said.
So here I go in an effort to voice my opinion. I probably won’t be very popular after this, but that’s never been a concern for me anyway.
There was a statement made something like “that’s because African men are more promiscuous” regarding the higher HIV infection rate among men in Africa.
Please don’t make statements like this unless you have data to back them up. Where is the evidence? Have you looked at what’s going on here and in China? China has the potential to be the next center for an HIV epidemic? Could it be because Chinese men like to spread the love around too, or could there possibly be something else going on????
In response to Jennifer’s statement regarding the risks associated with female genital mutilation and the spread of HIV infection, some one unleashed a fury against religion and the damage it does to public health in developing nations. I believe the poor people in these circumstances were referred to as “irrational” and “barbaric.”
Hmmmm. I could speak volumes on this one and would have had it not been for the fact that the speaker did not have time to address everyone’s comment.
I’m trying to figure out how you can be a public health professional focusing on global health when you view those you must help with such Western imperialistic disdain. We can’t help anyone unless we try to understand them, their values and their culture. Yes, we need to help them change their paradigm, but we can’t help them until we change ours. And remember, it's hard to shift your paradigm when you live on less than a $1 day. I’m also sure our less enlightened neighbors can look at us and the horrors that we accept in this country as “irrational” and “barbaric” as well. Racism, homelessness and hunger in a land of plenty is “irrational” and “barbaric.”
To quote one of my favorite teachers:
“Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.” Luke 6:42
Shift the Paradigm.
