Yesterday, introducing a segment where an HIV-positive woman's immune system "miraculously" recovered after she was given a new antiretroviral therapy ("she believes the treatment was an answer to prayer"), Pat Robertson very matter-of-factly informed his audience that AIDS originated when the World Health Organization was experimenting in Africa on a monkey virus with…polio vaccine given to humans? Oh, screw it, here's the quote:
“AIDS. Where did it come from? Well, I can gather, it came from Africa. I think the World Health Organization was doing some experiments in the Congo on a monkey virus, a monkey injection to fight polio. And it wasn’t an injection, they put it in sugar cubes and they gave it to these Africans, a couple hundred thousand in the test. And this is the first time when monkey diseases crossed into the human condition.”The theory—that HIV was caused by a polio vaccine developed in infected monkey tissue cultures and administered to Africans in the 1950s—originates in a 1992 article in Rolling Stone magazine and a subsequent 1999 book (by another journalist), The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS, both of which have been thoroughly discredited in the intervening years. (You can find a concise history of the debunking of this theory at Right Wing Watch or The College of Physicians of Philadelphia's History of Vaccines project.)
It's curious that Pat put the blame on the World Health Organization. The Rolling Stone article specifically points out that WHO denied sanctioning the vaccine trials, by all accounts conducted by a private researcher, Hilary Koprowski, who invented the first live polio vaccine. But then, it's easy to imagine Robertson being quick to incriminate a United Nations affiliate, what with a lifetime of UNphobia under his belt (one-world government!).
But WHO does come into the picture in that they are presently working to eradicate polio in Africa with oral polio vaccine. And one of the problems WHO faces in Africa is local suspicion of the vaccine, unfounded yet widely regarded fears that the vaccine is a Western plot to spread sterility—or the HIV virus. As a result, several Nigerian states ban the polio vaccine outright; in February, gunmen shot up two polio clinics in the Nigerian state of Kano, killing 10 clinic workers. Consequently, more than half of last year's worldwide documented polio cases were found in Nigeria, and 17 African countries that had previously been declared polio-free have seen the polio virus re-emerge.
If you think Pat Robertson's blathering this discredited AIDS theory half a world away in the United States won't have any effect on rumormongering in Africa, you might want to think again. The 700 Club airs in 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with extensive broadcasts in Nigeria. And are they proud of their African reach:
Admittedly, the African broadcasts of The 700 Club are a 30-minute digest rather than the 1-hour version broadcast in the United States (in some places every week, some places everyday). But ultimately, it's Robertson's own Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) that decides what airs in Africa. Do you trust them not to broadcast Pat Robertson's lies, spread unwarranted fears, and allow hundreds more to contract polio?
Or will Pat Robertson be the next Jenny McCarthy?
I really don’t get into tv evangelist. I’m not a church member but I do study the Bible and read a lot of history on a daily basis. I’m actually very hard on Christain. With that said, I honestly don’t know what your goal is here??? Nobody is perfect! These people you are picking apart live in the public eye, so every mistake, opinion, and belief is out there for the world to scrutinize. It’s easy for you to judge and mock these people while sitting behind a screen and living a private life. I find it hard to believe you are morally superior to Paula Dean. Are you saying we should not forgive Paula for a past mistake? I find it hard to believe you have went your entire life without flaw, without a misguided opinion, without saying something offensive. If this is all you have on these people? It’s kinda petty. I understand your faith is small, anyone who mocks praying to god for a job is not a person rooted in Christ. It’s a shame too, because I’ve experienced the peace of god while going through tough times. I’m aware this world is filled with hunger & suffering and Americans tend to forget their lives are easier and should not claim their good fortune is because god likes us better. But I’ve seen Kenya Christains coming out ahead with god.
ReplyDeleteOne cannot truly understand the healing, redemption & grace without god. If you did, you would be thankful there’s not a spotlight on your short comings & misguided beliefs.
Example: I’m not too sure how AIDS was started but I’ve got my own theory on how it’s spread. There’s a reason homosexual men are more likely to spread the disease. God did not make our butts for sex. Our blood vessels are closer to the anus entry. An atheist doctor will admit the homosexual lifestyle is the easiest way to Catch and receive a virus. That’s why god was very hard on sexual sin in the Old Testament. The Israelis did not have a penicillin back then. Skin diseases & virus could plague an ancient civilization into extinction.
Even though I’m not agreeing with Pat’s AIDS related theory I’m humble enough to know I don’t have all the answers. I wasn’t there when the first person had came into contact with this virus. Iv heard so many theories from different scientists that I’m not going to be arrogant enough to disregard pat’s theory as a joke. At one time America would have never believed the conspiracy theory that our government would knowingly inject blacks with an std purposely for experimental reasons, but the government did and admitted after the classified information was leaked. It sounded so preposterous that our world leaders would meet privately in the bohemian grove to do mock sacrifice to a big owl idol & have gay affairs while secretly discussing world events. That too has been proven true by a gay waiter that snuck a camera into the grove. Do you think the government would admit to their mistakes? Admit to poisoning us? Admit vaccines cause neurological problems? People would panic and drop vaccines. When we should not ever do away completely with vaccines but we might want to consider spacing them out further apart. I can’t imagine Africa is anymore honest. My point, be humble and question your own beliefs instead finding entertainment in others. Stop stretching the truth too. You lied when you said pat thinks a $100 is too little of a donation. Iv caught his marathons while channel surfing. Even though I’m not going to give him my money, I’ve never heard him say anything concerning a $100 is too little. If anything I’ve heard him say $20 donations would be appreciated. As far the Catholic thing, there’s many that don’t live according to biblical text and some do. Biblically we should not pray to or through anyone but Christ himself. That’s what he was saying...he did not know about the Catholic man’s beliefs. But, again, you blew up the issue. Be humble
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