History is rife with examples of the great stupidity humans are capable of engaging in. Have we come that far in the 2,000 years since the death of Christ? Unfortunately, in some places the answer is no.
Many people in Tanzania — and across Africa, for that matter — believe albinos have magical powers. They stand out, often the lone white face in a black crowd, a result of a genetic condition that impairs normal skin pigmentation and strikes about 1 in 3,000 people here. Tanzanian officials say witch doctors are now marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that are promised to make people rich.
When I read of the plight of Tanzanian albinos, I feel much the same way I did when I first saw photos of American race lynchings – horrified that human beings can be so ignorant and enraged by the senseless nature of such crimes. This is why I fight – to end human stupidity. This is why I blog – to try and shine a little light on the dark places. This is why I want to live long – to witness the end of human ignorance. I want to be a part of the first truly enlightened society.
Education, education, education. How can it be that in 2008 we still have swaths of the world that actively practice mumbo jumbo religions where people are slaughtered and their parts sold because they have a different appearance – a genetic anomaly? Tolerance of such behavior is unconscionable.
Of course, it is easier to say that there is a problem than it is to fix the problem. A flawed meme, like a virus, is quick, cunning, mindless and almost impossible to kill. So far. Technology is the catalyst for change. Education is the vehicle for a world free of witch doctors. How do we harness technology to provide systemic methods of better educating cultures rife with these self-destructive memes?