(no subject)

[camwyn]

The archbishop of Mozambique is apparently of the opinion that colonization of Africa is still such a big thing to Europe that European condom manufacturers in two unnamed countries are making condoms with HIV in them. Also, that anti-retroviral drugs contain the virus.

"Condoms are not sure because I know that there are two countries in Europe, they are making condoms with the virus on purpose," he alleged, refusing to name the countries.

"They want to finish with the African people. This is the programme. They want to colonise until up to now. If we are not careful we will finish in one century's time."

....


.....



Purely out of curiosity, Bishop, what do you think of polio vaccination? Is that genocide-by-infertility, as they claim in Nigeria and Afghanistan? Because it sounds like exactly the same kind of tripe that a man who could make your kind of statement would believe.



The only way to be absolutely sure that you don't get HIV is to avoid body fluid swapping, sexual and non-sexual, with infected people. Condoms are great, but there are, yes, times when they might fail. I will give him that. No one's ever claimed that condoms are completely and utterly infallible. But this is a) insane and b) not backed up by any kind of statistics. Add in the fact that this is a part of the world where it's not uncommon to claim that homosexuality either doesn't exist or is a filthy European/American/Western (take your pick) perversion artificially and unnaturally introduced into Africa... well, no, I'm not going to go down that road; that just leads to accusations I shouldn't make without evidence.

But it... just...

AAARGH! Someone make the man take a six-week sabbatical and force him to study both statistics and epidemiology! If HIV were being transmitted via condom use or antiretroviral drug the demographic profile of the victims would be totally different!

*bangs* *head* *on* *wall* Stop being in my family's religion, Bishop, you're making my family's religion look stupid.

Comments

[sophistry]

So instead of French kissing, they will call it Freedom kissing?

[camwyn]

Eh, they'd probably come up with a local name for it instead. The 'freedom' being used as a word to stomp out thought thing seems to be a uniquely American act of dorkitude.

[hortorum.livejournal.com]

And the evil part of me is a little offended at the implication that there's some genocidal scheme directed at Africa by us former colonial types.

I'm offended...

Because if there WAS, I would be very surprised that it wasn't a darned sight more efficient and quicker than the alleged method in use.

Unless of course you were getting it organised by British public transport contractors or something, in which case I'd expect a sudden rise in mean life expectancy in Africa.

[camwyn]

No kidding. "ACK PTUI polio vaccinations are going to make you unable to become pregnant or sire children!" "Funny, there's still shitloads of babies being born in all the other countries where we-" "NOT RELEVANT! YOU SWITCHED THE NEEDLES!!!" "... fine, whatever. Enjoy being paralyzed." "WESTERN BASTARDS DON'T CARE ABOUT US! YOU PROBABLY INFECTED US ON PURPOSE!" "Can't hear you, la la la la..."

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

And, once again, a few idiots make everyone suffer. Brilliant.

I'm goin' back to bed.

[mephron]

Take deep breaths.

Understand that most of the people who do this stuff were born and raised at the end of the colonial period, where their personal universes were in insane amounts of turmoil.

Realize that this means that getting anything resembling straight thinking out of them is probably about as likely as the asphalt of NYC spontaneously turning into angel food cake.

This is the only way I can resist the urge to take a baseball bat to some people: that no only is their reasoning specious, but probably most of their beliefs are, and they won't change them just because of something silly like 'evidence', 'proof' or 'education'.

[camwyn]

*gets paper bag*

*does rebreathing thing*

*spends some time thinking of the Sylvia cartoon about anti-government types in Hell,w hich ends with the line, 'Here's your hot dog, sir... completely free of any kind of government interference.'*

Okay. Yeah. Okay. I think I can deal.

Doesn't mean I don't still want to cling to the Lutheran church next door to my apartment building and go "Mommy!", but I can deal.

[mephron]

When you have someone who has apparently abdicated their right to a cerebrum in favor of spewing rhetoric that can get people killed, and that person is high-ranking in the faith you have in your heart, I think it's totally acceptable to take a moment to try to find a place - internal or external - where there are non-asshat persons who understand innately why this person is an asshat and what horrors they will visit on others given the chance.

[fire-and-a-rose.livejournal.com]

...

Urge to kill rising...rising...

[kaikias.livejournal.com]

While the existence of bizarre conspiracy theories in places like Sub-Saharan Africa, which have in the past (and, though perhaps less so, even in the present) been plagued by ill-treatment by Western governments and companies (albeit mostly due to those Western entities not caring than to malice), I quite agree that a man in his position should be informing himself and his people rather than perpetuating beliefs like that. Really, now.

[firestrike.livejournal.com]

Though, given the recent reports about the polio vaccinations in Nigeria, you can see where someone with a mental predisposition towards such theories would feel threatened...