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Or put a completely different way: Why would the people of Cambodia trust their government if they came out and said you should put some iron stuff in your pots

Or put a completely different way: Why would the people of Cambodia trust their government if they came out and said you should put some iron stuff in your pots? This would be from one of the few governments on earth that are less trustworthy than the average american one. Perception-wise or in reality, does it matter? Anyway, this is an angle americans should be able to identify with. :)

electromagnetic 12y ago
We've got lots of hard proven facts on a lot of topics, like vaccinations. People still don't get their kids vaccinated, and then we get outbreaks where kids die from the measles. Perception can easily outweigh facts for a lot of people. If we could find a way to trick people into vaccinating their kids we would use it. The attitude of "they're just stupid people who don't know better" is kind of disgusting when we've got college and university educated people exhibiting the exact same behaviour. Who's dumber? The person that doesn't know better or the person who should know better, because I think it's the latter. So to all the people who think these are just stupid people. If the US government had exterminated 70 million Americans three decades ago, would you be giving your kids a single vaccine? Or would you expect it to be part of another genocide campaign?
- cperciva 12y ago
  The attitude of "they're just stupid people who don't know better" is kind of disgusting when we've got college and university educated people exhibiting the exact same behaviour. I have no trouble saying that college and university educated people who choose to not vaccinate their kids are stupid people.
  - m_eiman 12y ago
    Intelligent and stupid, it's a very dangerous combination.
- palmer_eldritch 12y ago
  > Perception can easily outweigh facts for a lot of people. If we could find a way to trick people into vaccinating their kids we would use it. Maybe we should try using vaccine syringes shaped like funny animals?
rtpg 12y ago
>This would be from one of the few governments on earth that are less trustworthy than the average american one. Really? If you were to make a list of all governments on the planet, you would place the federal government lower than most governments on the planet? Maybe if you limit your list to western Europe.
- bmelton 12y ago
  I agree with your general sentiment that the U.S. is too high on his list of untrustworthy nations, but at the same time, it's not like we haven't intentionally poisoned large groups of people in the past.
  - baldfat 12y ago
    United States (America) as a whole trust companies (I don't get it) more than their government. So most think of the US Government as fundamentally flawed.
deerpig 12y ago
AFAIK this is not a government program, it's being done by an NGO. I've seen this story pop up a few times in the last months, but after four years in Cambodia I've yet to see one, probably because it's a rural program. Yes, the Cambodian government has problems, some very big problems. But there are some VERY good people in a number of ministries who really do care about helping people, and they are trying the best they can in a difficult place with little infrastructure, high levels of corruption (both in government and in NGOs here), a lack of basic education and literacy and no funding. Despite all of that things are getting better every year. If life was improving as quickly in the States as it is in Cambodia, I would actually consider moving back to the States. I honestly don't see that ever happening....

electromagnetic 12y ago

We've got lots of hard proven facts on a lot of topics, like vaccinations. People still don't get their kids vaccinated, and then we get outbreaks where kids die from the measles. Perception can easily outweigh facts for a lot of people. If we could find a way to trick people into vaccinating their kids we would use it. The attitude of "they're just stupid people who don't know better" is kind of disgusting when we've got college and university educated people exhibiting the exact same behaviour. Who's dumber? The person that doesn't know better or the person who should know better, because I think it's the latter. So to all the people who think these are just stupid people. If the US government had exterminated 70 million Americans three decades ago, would you be giving your kids a single vaccine? Or would you expect it to be part of another genocide campaign?

cperciva 12y ago
The attitude of "they're just stupid people who don't know better" is kind of disgusting when we've got college and university educated people exhibiting the exact same behaviour. I have no trouble saying that college and university educated people who choose to not vaccinate their kids are stupid people.
- m_eiman 12y ago
  Intelligent and stupid, it's a very dangerous combination.
palmer_eldritch 12y ago
> Perception can easily outweigh facts for a lot of people. If we could find a way to trick people into vaccinating their kids we would use it. Maybe we should try using vaccine syringes shaped like funny animals?

rtpg 12y ago

>This would be from one of the few governments on earth that are less trustworthy than the average american one. Really? If you were to make a list of all governments on the planet, you would place the federal government lower than most governments on the planet? Maybe if you limit your list to western Europe.

bmelton 12y ago
I agree with your general sentiment that the U.S. is too high on his list of untrustworthy nations, but at the same time, it's not like we haven't intentionally poisoned large groups of people in the past.
- baldfat 12y ago
  United States (America) as a whole trust companies (I don't get it) more than their government. So most think of the US Government as fundamentally flawed.

deerpig 12y ago

AFAIK this is not a government program, it's being done by an NGO. I've seen this story pop up a few times in the last months, but after four years in Cambodia I've yet to see one, probably because it's a rural program. Yes, the Cambodian government has problems, some very big problems. But there are some VERY good people in a number of ministries who really do care about helping people, and they are trying the best they can in a difficult place with little infrastructure, high levels of corruption (both in government and in NGOs here), a lack of basic education and literacy and no funding. Despite all of that things are getting better every year. If life was improving as quickly in the States as it is in Cambodia, I would actually consider moving back to the States. I honestly don't see that ever happening....