SHOUTING “THIS IS WRONG”
In 1932 a study began that studied the progression of untreated syphilis in 399 black men. In the name of science, these men were purposely uninformed of what specific disease they had so that they wouldn’t seek treatment. Treatment would ruin the study. Playing off of the men’s poor education they were told that they were infected with “bad blood,” and were under the impression that the study was trying to help them. Even in the 1940′s when penicillin was found to be a known treatment, the study continued. The general consensus was that the end of the study would arrive with the death of the men.
The clear racism of the study is infuriating, and the lack of ethics is unsettling, but what really unnerved me was the high level of cooperation from so many people. Looking into the details you see the magnitude and scope of the study. This was a long term study that required absolute cooperation from multiple organizations and agencies. Keeping 399 men in the dark required the involvement of the CDC, government, churches, hospitals, employers, and more. This wasn’t the work of a small number of racist scientists experimenting with the lives of men. This was a mass group of people willfully allowing injustice to occur.
The study came to a close in 1972 when Peter Buxton blew the whistle on the operation. At this point, 40 years had passed. Forty years of men dying, suffering, and enduring unnecessary pain. Forty whole years, in which the disease wrecked marriages, caused newborn children to be infected, and continued to spread. 40 years in which no one challenged the status quo. 40 years of people going with the flow. 40 years before someone had the courage to stand up and say, “this is wrong.”
There are clear injustices in our world now. Will you speculate from the sideline and hope for the best or will you stand up, shout “THIS IS WRONG” and do all that you can to fight against it? I pray that 40 years from now we won’t look back, and realize that we allowed chains to shackle justice.
LETTER FROM PRISON
A powerful reminder to turn to Christ, and seek to serve Him in all situations. Please pray for Pastor Saeed, his family, his fellow prisoners, and his persecutors. This brother has taken up the cross. Ask God to continue to give Him the strength to uphold the truth of Christ during this extremely difficult time.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
COLE HAND LUKE & HIS WHITE FIX
As mentioned earlier, two friends bought themselves mechanical steeds to ride about the city. Here’s one of mi amigos (Cole) and his fixie. I gave it a go in the neighborhood, and quickly came to the conclusion that I would die if I owned a bike like this. I believe the best way to stop on such a bike is to dive into bushes or the closest soft landing, and if neither are available, just aim for a telephone pole.
With this said, the bike runs fast. Cole’s going to turn it into a single-speed, and give it a paint job. I’ve got my fingers crossed that he’ll paint blue flames on it, because that would be a true representation of how fast it really is (waterfall fast). Whatever he does, I’ll post some update shots when it is complete. Scout’s honor.
ADJUSTED TO HELL
A quote from Saul Alinsky,
“They come to the people of the slums not to help them rebel and fight their way out of the muck … most social work does not even reach the sub-merged masses. Social work is largely a middle class activity and guided by a middle class psychology. In the rare instances where it reaches the slum dwellers it seeks to get them adjusted to their environment so they will live in hell and like it. A higher form of social treason would be difficult to conceive.”
SANTA CRUZ CLIMBING
Went to Castle Rock in Santa Cruz. I looked for castle-like rock formations, but didn’t see any. I assumed that the “Castle Rock” must be somewhere hidden until we came to “Goat Rock” which shared NO resemblance to a goat. Who is naming these rocks? They’re either incredibly abstract or have no idea what a goat looks like. The county needs to send up the team who named the formations at Yosemite. I mean, those guys know how to name a rock. Half Dome looks like half of a dome. Glacier Point could very well be the point of a glacier. Although, it’s probably expensive to hire the Yosemite guys. Perhaps that’s why we’re stuck with the local dudes.
Anyways, here’s some of the photos from the day. I hope your Saturday was the kind of day you’ll reminiscence about tomorrow!
