In a recent post on Next Door, I referred to people, who found fault with my post, as “ignorant”… which of course set off a barrage of responses, both favorable and disapproving of my position. I do not wish to make enemies of my neighbors and in my defense would like to share with you a true story.
The year was 2000 and I worked with an organization doing HIV and AIDS awareness in Cambodia. The epidemic was just getting started but it was evident that many Khmer people were already infected and if something weren’t done the consequences would be severe.
Khmer culture at the time did not condemn a man for having more than one sexual partner. Married men visited prostitutes when away from home and often with their wife’s knowledge. Boys would (and still do I assume) visit a prostitute to prove their passage into manhood and condoms were seldom used, primarily because they were too expensive or unavailable in the countryside.
It was obvious, to those of us who were more knowledgeable of the Virus and its potential for harming, that condom use was essential in the fight to control its spread, however, ignorance in the general population was substantial, and therefore education became the main focal point of most NGO’s working in the field of prevention. Large amounts of condoms were purchased and distributed freely by teams of workers who canvased the entire country, going village to village handing out condoms and demonstrating how to use them by placing them on a banana. This tactic was not as effective as it was hoped, however, and the Virus continued to spread until follow-up visits were done and it was discovered that the village people were ignorantly doing exactly what they were shown… placing the condom on a banana before having sex. To remedy this misunderstanding, life-sized wooden sculptures of the erect male genital were purchased by the NGOs and used for the demonstrations instead of bananas and the results were dramatic. The sculpture became the Savior of many lives.
I tell this story only to show that ignorance can easily be overcome, if the ignorant person is willing to be shown or discovers on their own, the details of the full story. I do not mean to imply that the village people of Cambodia are less intelligent than others, because the story continues. Years later a very intelligent foreigner was visiting me in my office, and noticed, when I opened the drawer to my desk, that therein lie the life-sized wooden sculpture of the erect male genital. Ignorant of the story behind it, he made assumptions, and without asking for more information, he shared those assumptions with others.
Ignorance can cause pain and suffering to individuals and societies, but it can also be beneficial if, through introspection, a desire to know the full story is created.
