Humanity. It’s hard to make up my mind on it, whether to believe in it or not. It’s quite clear that masses are easily swayed, manipulated and co-opted. This is particularly easily done when fear rules. With fear masses can be controlled, creating slaves of our own inner monsters. And then there are individuals who hold ground. They aren’t that many.
Ebola seems to lend itself well to mass hysteria and politics of irrationalism. It’s disturbing that the only way it has attained international attention of scale was through fear that breeds further divide in the already over-divided world.
ON CAUSES OF THE EPIDEMIC
The causes of Ebola epidemic lie in the historical development of the world system that produces, reproduces and exacerbates inequality. They lie in poor national and international politics and policies that produced weak health systems in the affected countries that have insufficient capacities for rapid containment.
The real causes of the epidemic are not in the bushmeat as you’d like to believe. Yes, patient zero probably got infected through an infected animal, but the rest of the thousands afflicted didn’t.
People in West Africa have been eating bushmeat since pretty much ever and there has not been a recorded Ebola case until now. Bushmeat is an important source of protein in many areas and in others it is a delicacy.
But the masses like sensations and the media has been doing a great job supplying it. As Mike McGovern points out, politics of disgust sell (http://www.culanth.org/fieldsights/588-bushmeat-and-the-politics-of-disgust).
It’s kind of funny, really, looking at some of the delicacies eaten in the West: blood sausages, frog legs, pig trotters, and for more refined connoisseurs, cow brain.
Read a history book or two. For once. Make an honest comparison between the blood sausage you had the other day with your sauerkraut and a roasted fruit bat.
ON CALLS TO ISOLATE THE REGION
Well, you just didn’t think this one through did you?!
The key to make all of you feel safe again is to contain the outbreak at its source. In the affected countries in West Africa. The current isolation of the region caused by reduction of commercial airlines operating in the region and travel restrictions to certain countries is already posing an obstacle to the Ebola crisis. Movement of personnel, equipment and materials suffer. Any further isolation of the region would worsen such movements and pose a further impediment to containment of the outbreak. That would mean Ebola spreading further.
People will find a way to move, to travel. They always do. Such restrictions would only force people to do it in a more clandestine way, which would result in decreased movement control of people from Ebola affected areas. Good luck with that!
Re-think. If you don’t seem to make any sense out of it try doing it over and over until you do.
ON CALLS TO STOP “IMPORTING” EBOLA PATIENTS TO THE WEST
Medevac of foreign aid workers that contract Ebola is a minimum guarantee required to be deployed. Without it very few will come to help. They will not be enough to contain the outbreak. If there are not enough aid workers on the ground then Ebola will spread further and catch up with you eventually. Then you should be scared.
All but one Medevac were successful. That’s because the whole process is planned and controlled, following strict protocols. What happened in Spain, of course, has to be investigated.
The Medevac issue is not your call to make. So stuff it.
ON BLATANT RACISM AND INCREASING POLARIZATION
It’s depressing that we still live in an era that has not yet overcome discrimination based solely on the color of someone’s skin, where white privilege still abounds, where people don’t rejoice in the diversity that is planet Earth. We are still at war. With ourselves. The Ebola hysteria contributes to increasing polarization and racism. The debate took a turn for the worse and ugly. Us vs them. Africa vs the rest of the world.
The game of enemy collection continues. It’s the muslims, the gays, the black people and pretty much anyone foreign, anyone different. And this game is played by those who consider themselves “civilized”. I suggest you invest in a good dictionary, because by now I’m convinced you don’t actually know the meaning of the word.
I still remember a National Geographic poster from years ago. An epitome of basis of any discussion on different-ness. The poster was depicting our solar system on which a tiny dot plotted has a little sign pointing out “we are here”. Insignificant spot in the universe. But the only home we have. How different are we, really?
Try love, compassion, empathy and joy for a change. Read more books! The Journey of Man by Spencer Wells may be a good start. If you prefer ignorance and miserable life of fear don’t do anything different, of course.
ON HYSTERIA
Those of you in the West buying your own PPEs (by that I mean those wackos who are not working with Ebola patients and not even working in any kind of clinical settings or any kind of settings at risk of exposure)… Not only you must look like a clown gone mad, but it may also be wise to check into a facility that can assist you with fitting back those loose screws that made you go all haywire with anxiety and paranoia.
Word of caution on your PPE. In an improbable event that you actually meet an Ebola affected person and you are stupid enough to touch infectious bodily liquids and/or materials, note that if you don’t actually have the skills in undressing, disinfecting and disposing of your PPE, you will probably still get Ebola.
ON THE SENSATIONALIST MEDIA
Your “Worst Of Ebola Hits” may swell your audience numbers and earn you some extra income (which I hope you will have to spend on a therapist due to massive guilt over your unprofessional conduct), but you will go down in history as a negative factor in this whole situation.
If you are offended by this post… that’s your problem not mine. And I’m not sorry.
Life in the time of Ebola 