William S. Lear wrote:
>>No they don't but I think you're underestimating the preference of the
>>privileged to insulate themselves as much as possible from a problem rather
>>than facing it head on. From the first, the response to AIDS has been to
>>ignore its threat to "normal" (i.e., affluent white suburbanites) people,
>>and stigmatize it as a disease of queers, junkies, and racial minorities.
>>Unless lots of people in Scarsdale and Topeka start falling ill, the
>>"normal" people will continue to believe this and act accordingly. I'm
>>sorry to repeat myself on this to the point of boredom, but most
>>intellectuals overestimate the power of reason in politics.
>
>I'm not sure I follow. You say the "privileged" would rather
>"insulate themselves" from the AIDS problem "rather than facing it
>head on". I agree. Why bother with a disease you think only affects
>"others", particularly when you are privileged ("affluent white
>suburbanites") and can live a life of isolated ease?
There's a question of whether they can successfully insulate themselves
from microbes. They may think so, but pathogens are devious, persistent
little buggers.
>However, I don't
>see how your last sentence follows from this. First, how does it
>follow, and second, what exactly do you mean? Who exactly are you
>referring to and could you give us an example?
It's very hard to persuade affluent Americans that the problems of the poor
can be their problems too someday, or that ecological crisis could have any
bearing on them. No doubt many, even most, people who drive SUVs consider
themselves environmentalists of some sort. You can present all kinds of
reasoned stats on rising surface temperatures and climatic instability, or
on the risks of infection of "normal" populations, and they won't believe
you. And if any of the threats become too real, it's likely they'll opt for
containment (incarceration, quarantine) or private sector solutions
(private schools, air filters, bottled water) over more humane approaches.
Maybe it's just that I saw Blade Runner the other night.
Doug
