X-Message-Number: 7385
From:  (Thomas Donaldson)
Subject: Re: CryoNet #7374 - #7380
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 13:44:13 -0800 (PST)

To Mr. Merel:

Peter, you prove my case when you assume that uneducated (ie. illiterate?) 
people are not wise. I have been fortunate to have known uneducated
and illiterate people --- and did not find them either unintelligent or 
unwise. What other evidence can you claim to provide? Just become someone
by circumstance is illiterate does not mean they lack understanding of issues
that concern themselves... they may, in fact, have much more understanding 
than that of those who barge in claiming to help them.

Yes, IN A DEVELOPED COUNTRY, there will be a correlation between illiteracy
and intelligence. But we're not speaking of such countries, are we? For
that matter, in developed countries only a small fraction of the population
is illiterate and I doubt that they would cause a problem.     

And I'm sure that you can find lots of names which agree with you. That's not
the real point here. From my own personal experience, I think that the idea
you are pushing does no more than show the arrogance of many Westerners toward
all other groups, and their totally unjustified belief that their judgement
of how these people ought to live will always be correct. And naturally,
you will not be able to read any arguments against this idea from those
who are illiterate and uneducated. That proves nothing, as you should see.

			Best and long long life to everyone,

				Thomas Donaldson


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=7385