Diseases
December 3rd, 2008Now, I hope nobody read that last post and misunderstood what I meant and think I’m an insensitive a-hole, because I’m not. I’m just putting things in perspective. All diseases suck. If you die from malaria, cancer, AIDS, or whatever, you have my condolences.
The thing is in Africa, the number of AIDS deaths are misreported. A lot of villages are reporting everything as AIDS. Are there AIDS outbreaks that kill half the village? Yes, it happens. But dysentery kills five times more children than AIDS and no stupid celebrity is bugging the US government for money to fight dystentery.
I’m also not saying to not give to AIDS causes. It’s a good cause. But don’t forget, there are other diseases out there too. If we really wanted to save lives, we’d use the dollar more effectively. Right now, more money is being spent on AIDS in Africa than diseases that kill more people than AIDS. But you’ll never hear that from an overrated rock star.
If you’re from another country, you’d think that every women in America dies from breast cancer. There are breast cancer things everywhere. Every one out of three people seems to have a breast cancer pin, shirt, button, or bumper sticker. AIDS and breast cancer have become the ultimate politically correct bandwagon fights.
Not at all diminishing breast cancer. It sucks. But guess what? So does ALL cancer. If you die from breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, or whatever, you have my condolenses. It’s not a fun way to die. It sucks. But right now, breast cancer gets all the celebrities.
The sick thing about breast cancer is how it’s been politicized. Let me say it again. Breast cancer sucks. My deepest condolences go out to anyone who’s had it, whether they survived or died. That sucks. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even Tipper Gore.
We’ve had celebrities say “if men got breast cancer, it would have been cured by now.” Um, men do get breast cancer, stupid. And men do die from it too.
We’ve also had celebrities say “the only reason mastectomy was invented is for men to mutilate women.” I’m not joking. Yes, this crap has been said by famous idiot celebrities at breast cancer rallies. Both men and women get parts cut off when they get cancer. That’s the reality of it, and that’s yet another reason why cancer, any form of cancer, sucks and why I feel for anyone who has any form of cancer.
Not only that, when someone finds out their workmate has lung cancer, the very first question is “how long did they smoke?” WTF! Talk about being insensitive. Who’s the insensitive a-hole now?
I had a co-worker at another company who lost a testicle to testicular cancer. Two female employees found out and they laughed. Is that really funny? I didn’t laugh when another woman I knew had a hysterectomy. That must have sucked.
All I’m saying is ALL diseases suck. I don’t want to die of any disease. I want to die in my sleep like my Grandpa, but not like the three screaming kids in the backseat.
The difference between Malaria, Dysentery and AIDS is the social stigmas attached. In a lot of areas of Africa, yes, it is very easy to prevent malaria & other communicable diseases. However, AIDS is different due to cultural stigmas associated with it, lack of proper education about how it is transmitted (and prevented), and lack of women’s autonomy to refuse sex. Malaria & Dysentery are also curable, AIDS is not. So I agree that all diseases need to be fought - but a disease that is a death sentence, that cannot be cured, and that must have a cultural aspect to prevention education is a lot tougher to fight.
i do know that malaria all by itself kills far more people than several other diseases combined. and that’s tragic.
as for the co-workers who laughed at the man who lost a testicle to cancer that is beyond cruel. it is in such poor taste it astonishes me.
Laura - I think Leprosy took the cake when it came to social stigmas attached. The reason is obvious though. I remember seeing lepers overseas as a child and I was genuinely scared. I had no idea that it’s not contagious (to someone with decent health).
But I see what you’re saying. That attitude that women can’t refuse sex needs to go. That’s what’s causing a lot of STDs in Africa, including AIDS.
Lime - Yes. Malaria is bad news, and not a fun way to die either. As for the two women, neither had tact to begin with so I wasn’t surprised when they laughed. They also were male bashers to begin with.
I am sorry I ranted on the other post and I do understand what you are saying but like you said Aids is so much bigger. I hope it stops soon but we all know its not going to..
For those who want to help end Malaria and other easily preventable diseases I would suggest donating money to the Millenium Promise. They use donations to provide help to those living in extreme poverty. They supply things like vaccinations and bed nets http://www.millenniumpromise.org/site/PageServer?pagename=gi_support
Tweety - Don’t be. You are right that AIDS is a HUGE problem. But the thing is - so are several diseases. I’m just saying we need to be more effective with our money. Donating against any disease is a good thing.
Laura - Thanks for the link. Malaria’s still a serious problem in Africa, but unfortunately, it’s a forgotten problem to people here.
i think i would rather not die in sleep. Its good to be aware of the fact that you are dying and i think i would rather die that way, not that i want to die of an incurable disease. To die old is nice.
But the thing is i would rather know i am dying.
I’d like to see a few more celebrities dealing with the anti-vaccine hysteria that’s causing parents to stop vaccinating their kids. Amanda Peet is on that bandwagon, but she’s pretty much alone right now. Everyone listens to Jenny McCarthy instead. In a few years, when polio and measles and rubella come back in force, THEN maybe a few celebrities will pay attention to vaccines.
It’s true. More kids die of pneumonia, malaria, and dysentery than AIDS but no one stands up for those because they’re not the bandwagon or soapbox these days.
Zombieslayer, that reminds me of a french joke where the punchline is ‘why aren’t you afraid to go to sleep if your father died that way?”
OK so I stink at joke telling! There’s no such thing as a ‘good’ disease. All of them suck to high heaven.
I’ve heard a number of men tell jokes/make fun of Lance Armstrong for losing both (I think) testicles to cancer, so it’s not just women who are insensitive about male issues. I was appalled. I would never make fun of anybody re: cancer or some other disease.
I wish it were acceptable slap said people upside their heads.
Kathleen - I think we need to bring back the slapping people upside the head.
Bridget - Yup. I’ve had enough to know that when I’m healthy, life is good.
Kate - Exactly.
SME - Yeah, vaccines may have saved my life. Long, boring story.
Tchoden - Really? I don’t want to know. I just want it to happen.