#NerdsUnite: The Have's and Have-nots; Famine in East Africa and experiments in social media
Monday, August 22, 2011 at 6:29PM<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Carol. She's a stem cell biologist that supports equality and feeds stray boys. RAWWWRRR!!! These are her views on life, love, and all things nerd - HIT IT CAROL!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Carol Lynn Curchoe
I was sitting around my house last week, reading the devastating news coming out of East Africa, thinking of things i could possibly do to contribute to the crisis. For the tenth time I longingly searched the Peace Corps and Doctor's Without Borders website, wishing I was at a stage in my life that I could just up and volunteer. (initially, years ago I thought that with my background in research and reproduction, I could set up labs and train individuals for testing in maternity clinics in Africa, all while experimenting with different test kits to make them cheaper and easier to use, and to make limited resources stretch; strong skills of mine developed optimizing protocols while I was earning my Ph.D. and i still may yet!) I was kiiiiiinnnd of disgusted with myself. Sitting there drinking wine, having just made an extravagant meal with exotic and organic ingredients. When was the last time I have done something for someone else? Fundraising for Outdoor Outreach, an amazing organization based in San Diego?? Well that was, awhile ago. The last year and a half I have focused solely on surviving various illnesses and surgeries, my career, and moving to NYC, having a serious boyfriend who I love more than anything and helping him survive HIS disastrous last year in NY. It has been a rather selfish year, and rather wine soaked.
A few nights later I did some research and found a charity that I wanted to donate to, Feed the Children. I donated ten dollars, the price of a bottle of wine. I had just posted about it when a friend (who I haven't seen or spoken to since middle, or high? school) posted about another amazing charity, Action Against Hunger. He was sitting in his NYC apartment, having a night like mine, our thoughts seemingly connected across the few miles of Manhattan. I wasn't happy with my small donation, and I was searching the websites for other ways to help, and it suddenly hit me; leverage my friend network with a very simple plea, you give $5 dollars, I give $5. Asking people to donate money on Facebook is nothing new, but I have never seen an offer like mine before. Plus I knew it would be an interesting experiment and the scientist in me could not resist the idea of crowd-sourcing.
However my hypothesis was bleak- I have 831 facebook friends (maybe less after this!) If every one donated just 5$ i would have to pay over $4,000! I KNEW this scheme would never bankrupt me because the statistics for aid to Africa are so terrible. The famine and drought in East Africa has killed over 25,000 people - 5,000 more than the earthquake in Japan - with nearly 500,000 more people at risk of dying, yet U.S. aid, both private and federal, is less than 5% than that given to Japan, a statistic I have quoted often on my page in the last few days.
Why is that? Because we know actual Japanese people and not East Africans, except for the pirates we read about in the news and the guys hawking knock-offs on Canal St? Because Japan's economy and well being is linked to our own, as Africa's is not? Because we have some atomic guilt over Japan, but feel nothing for what we have done to various African countries, including but not limited to apartheid, slavery, strip mining of natural resources, and bringing despots to power who have ruined the economies in question?
My theory is that famine and hunger are such a complex issue, more about politics and power than food really, and that it seems too daunting, too insurmountable to the average American. The world produces enough food for every one. Its governments, mismanagement and corruption that allow people to starve to death.
And the saddest thing is the role we, Americans, the firsts of the first world play in this. We use most of the world's energy, buy the diamonds and have an insatiable appetite for electronics produced with Africa's precious metals and resources. Carbon footprint, indeed. Meanwhile, the talking Fox news heads have Americans so confused about what is real science and real data, that many sneer at the concept of global warming- even as the weather gets more extreme worldwide, with disasters in this country this year alone topping $35 BILLION dollars and hurricane season approaching.
So what did all my consecutive days of posting yield? Well, so far the results are as predicted, I am sadly, not nearly bankrupted. Tellingly, the friends that responded are the poor (er) themselves. People who have been out of work and have just landed jobs, students... Where are all my friends with real jobs; the doctors, business people, lawyers and software engineers???! And so a lesson about the Have's and the Have-Nots and the people who run this world. The Have's hang on to what they have.
And I get it, i really do. Some causes and charities are not for everyone- I, for instance, tend do not donate to first world-lifestyle choice diseases; gave yourself heart disease eating cheeseburgers, lung cancer smoking or breast cancer because you haven't moved your fat ass of the couch in decades? Too bad. But honestly, I have only confirmed that 5 of my friends have donated. 5?? I am so proud of us for raising nearly $100, but we, as a country, can do better than this.
We could all stand to lose 5 Lbs, have one less glass of wine, not buy that $5 Starbucks coffee drink, go out to one less bar or restaurant this week, use a little less of the world up.
Well, I think this experiment is just about up... you can only post the same thing for so long, and the people who could, did. Thanks for reading, always let your compassion be your guide.