Here’s an example of how the tyranny of the politically correct crowd can end up killing people.
Back in May of 2012, neurologist Prof. Rafi Carasso was a guest on a morning show, where he went out of his way to warn against the health hazards posed by African illegals staying in Israel. Mind you, Carasso is no right winger—he went out of his way to explain that the fact that the high percentage of illegal Sudanese and Eritreans infected with tuberculosis, AIDS and Hepatitis B is not their fault. Nevertheless, he warned that when these illegal workers wash dishes and cook food in restaurants, the public health risks are enormous.
Here’s Prof. Rafi Carasso appearance on TV discussing the above health risks (starting at 1:27:55, about three quarters of the way into the 2-hour show). Even if you don’t speak Hebrew, it’s easy to see that the man is not foaming at the mouth with racist condemnations.
Indeed, Prof. Carasso is a volunteer at the special medical clinic for foreigners in what used to be Tel Aviv’s central bus station. His concern is born not by hatred, but by a justified fear that when a third world employee in a restaurant cleans bathrooms and then prepares food, even if he is not infected with a communicable disease, he could still start a plague.
Prof. Carasso also mentioned a frightening phenomenon whereby a full 50% of patients testing positive for AIDS are Sudanese, and that once they’re tested, they disappear from the clinic and cannot be traced.
So far, this has been a story about a dedicated Israeli medical professional, sounding the alarm about the very serious health risks stemming from the illegal African population in Israel.
An Israeli reader-generated news site, Irrelevant.org.il, similar to Snopes.com, has updated the story, offering a copy of an email being disseminated by Prof. Carasso, in which he explains once again that his intent is not to encourage hatred of Africans, but to alert the public about the health risks they cause.
It’s obvious that the good professor’s PC friends and had been assaulting him for daring to suggest a connection between third world Africans and health risks colleagues (most notably “Doctors for Human Rights,” which accused him of “contributing dangerously to the hate and violence speech that’s already out there”). How dare he spread vile accusations against this helpless population, and so on, you know the drill.
But that’s not the end of it. Up until now, with the update, you would have thought that this story is about a conflicted medical doctor, concerned about a potential epidemic, but also afraid of what informing the public at large would to the vulnerable population of illegal African.
On top of each story the website deals with, the editors add a recommendation to either pass the information along, because it’s relevant and people should know about it, or not to pass it, because it would only spread baseless rumors.
On the Carasso warning, Irrelevant.org.il recommends Not to Pass, because in the calculus of a major epidemic vs. risking the reputation of 50,000 illegal Africans – it’s better to die than insult the stranger.
It’s such a Christian sentiment, and like so many of those – it can be lethal.