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AIDS

“Moreover, modern technology contributed to the intermingling of peoples and the liberalization of social mores, both important factors in the emergence and dissemination of AIDS.” (Grmek 1990: xi. Quoted in Martin: 131)

“Fear of contagion, fear of harm from others, makes AIDS seem like a “dark presence”
that spreads its shadow over all of ordinary life, threatening every moment with a catastrophic collapse.” (Martin: 139)

“If your disease is only a figure of all that is corrupt, sinister, and deadly, what could your actual death signify? As she asks other anthropologists  who “have considered every imaginable vantage point from which to observe affliction except the view from the hospital bed” and who have therefore refused to number themselves among the sufferers, how can we relate to lived experiences so that we convey matters culturally about the experience of illness. (Degiacomo 1992:125,111-12)?” (Martin 140)

“As we have seen, one of the central attributes of complex systems is that, unlike mechanical systems, they are never in equilibrium. Everything is in flux, continuously adjusting to change.” (Martin: 144)

The variety of implications that are included in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Flexible Bodies draw out the true meaning of flexibility within complex systems. From the body to the work place, we see that flexibility is by far the most desired characteristic and that rigid systems no longer posses the adjustability needed to operate proficiently. What has become surprising to me is that this flexibility isn’t beneficial when it comes to diseases like aids. As this book describe advancements in society such as flexibility; it also shows that there are always consequences. We may be able to individually be flexible, however it seems to me that we are forced to operate in a more rigid environment.

While trying to pinpoint why our environment is so rigid, it became clear that human nature is the lowest common denominator. As quoted by Martin, Mirko Grmek has been able to see human nature at work behind the problems that face society. It’s clear that there are also other factors driving it, but human nature characteristics including selfishness, fear, desire, ignorance and deceit are documented in this book and directly connected with diseases such as AIDS. In the recent medical anthropology class I took, the theme of complex systems defined as including physical, cultural, and physiological characteristics surfaced continually throughout the quarter. While many cultures such as our own have continually tried to separate illnesses into these categories, we often fail to fully understand the problem such as we have done with AIDS.

In the workplace we find nearly the same is true. As companies fight for profits there need to become flexible often manifests itself in how they treat their employees. Martin gives examples of this and explains its dangerous, progressive effects on society. Chapter seven, Flexible systems, was very easy for me to comprehend. Currently I work for a company that downsized from 30+ employees down to 8 last year due to needing to become “more flexible in the market.” (they discontinued a music download service) While I still have a job, it was hard seeing many of my friends lose theirs because I have also been in their position several times. Another issue raised in this chapter was the new found “virtual office.” This is a flexible solution that I had a hard time finding a problem with but amazingly enough there are quite a few. While some people like myself are inherently active and don’t need someone to tell us to exercise, there are many who, because of their human nature become increasingly obese when they earn the privilege of working from home. Others begin drinking during the day, overeating, or fail to be able to put there work down long enough to interact with family members.

My problem with flexibility is this: nature does not always use it in positive ways. As a characteristic of society, it has become overrated and thus futile. If we think we can hastily solve problems by becoming flexible we have completely missed the point. In talking about the human body and how it functions, flexibility has given us a type of measurement or barometer of the changes that have taken place in the past century. When talking about society, I find flexibility to have more of a negative, exploitative connotation. Martin and other medical anthropologists often refer to people’s attitudes, human nature’s outward appearance, as being an important factors concerning their illnesses. If as a society we want to help stop problems like AIDS and Cancer we need to think past flexible bodies and complex systems and determine how human nature is driving these diseases.

The Immune System

http://www.nomercury.org/immunity-final-75.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc3675l.jpg

http://www.nutrition4health.org/nohanews/NNF87StoneImmuneSystem.htm

“In part this separation is understood as a result of the growing professionalization and secularization of science: whereas in the past most people thought that moral, social, and political issues ought to be brought to bear on how nature was understood, in the present most people think that good and proper science should be carried on autonomously, completely separate from such issues (Shapin 1982: 175).” (Martin, 4)

“In this book, I assume as a starting point that seeing science as an active agent in a culture that passively acquiesces does not provide an adequately complex view of how scientific knowledge operates in a social world.” (Martin, 7)

“An optimistic view on life…acts on the body like oil on the working of machinery…it prevents friction.” (Peabody and Hunt 1994:374 [Martin, 28])

“What we see emerging through the immunologists’ eyes by the late twentieth century, then, is a body that actively selects from a cornucopia of continually produced new antibodies that keep the body healthy and enable it to meet every new challenge.” (Martin, 37)

The way Emily Martin intertwined the recent history of the immune system with the transformation to a service society in the United States (specifically in Baltimore) through the concept of flexible specialization is extremely critical when trying to understand American medicine. There are several concepts in this book such as the logic of health and the secularization of science that are only talked about among small groups within society. By combining these concepts and providing a historical overview Martin has indeed captured my attention and caused me to wonder if the immune system has evolved rapidly over the past century or if we are just beginning to understand its incredible capabilities. Another element of this book that adds to its suspense is the method in which the study was conducted. Instead of attempting to scientifically explain American culture, the team used culture to explain how we view science.

The historical overview setup a colorful backdrop of information about hygiene, cleanliness, and how people became educated in these areas. As science lent itself to bacteriology, theories about antibodies were created. According to Silverstien we made our first transition from the idea of being passively infected into a world were we had the power to fight back. By keeping germs out of the body, people learned they could avoid many common sicknesses. Even people outside the medical industry like Henry Ford realized the need for America’s workers to have good domestic habits. The second transition took place after WWII when immunologists learned that a healthy body automatically produces antibodies in reaction to antigens. With this step and the next, came a better understanding of how immune responses work as a system to protect the body. The third and most recent transition that is described by Silverstein came with the discovery of tremendous immune flexibility. A healthy body produces an over-abundance of antibodies to protect against nearly any bacteria. (Martin, 33-36)

While reading about how others felt about the transitions in understanding of the immune system, I was reminded of my own childhood in the early 90’s. Because I was born to older parents than most of my friends there was always a noticeable difference in how their parents dealt with illness and cleanliness compared to my parents. Our house was relatively clean however, not once was I ever taken for immunizations or even to the hospital. If I became ill to a point that they didn’t feel they could deal with me I was taken to a naturopathic doctor who usually prescribed remedies like Vitamin C, B12, and Zinc. Since it was the 90’s a considerable amount of effort was made by my mom to keep our immune systems healthy. With every meal we swallowed a couple pills and capsules which seemed to change based on the book my mom was reading at the time.

Growing up without immunizations and drugs has caused me to put a great deal of thought into how I would like to raise my children (should I ever have any). I look forward to learning more about how and why immunizations have become so frequent in our society yet until attending college I never needed one. Also, for sometime I have questioned why AIDS continues to be so uncontrollable yet we have been able to nearly extinguish diseases such as Polio. As I read, I continue to be amazed at the role culture and economic characteristics play in medicine and healing. Although many have decided they should not be related, money and culture have always been a tremendous part of scientific medicine.

Twice Dead

But with the considerable variations in thinking and disputes within both Japan and North America, determining arguments about the force of culture are inappropriate.” Pg. 44

“Because the United States and Canada are so often held to be without a culture of tradition, except that fostered by ethnic minorities, it becomes a challenge to detect something that might be called “culture” at work in the acceptance of brain death. It is difficult to take issue with a cultural assertion of “no culture” when technological innovation is synonymous with progress and the greater good of all.” Pg. 44

An argument found in chapter one that seems to be the backbone of this book is that because the US and Canada are viewed as being a conglomerate of smaller cultures instead of having one central culture as in Japan; we commonly can only agree upon utilitarian and capitalist approaches such as “for the greater good of all.”  As we go about these methods which require classifying things we seem to suddenly spit out an error when we run into problems as abstract as death. No matter what country or culture, whether its abortion, burial, cremation or other practices we all individually base our opinion on experiences that include what we see and hear. For many here in North America and most likely also in Japan, reality on issues such as death is based on the so-called professionals who pop up on our talking box. Unless we have personally witnessed someone diagnosed with brain death we have little way of relating.

In relation to The Spirit Catches You… and other examples presented, there are various degrees of brain death and therefore for them to all be wrapped up into one term seems to cloud the issue. Death is further shrouded as a type of taboo that many do not feel comfortable talking about. Adding culture and other various elements cause the specific term- brain death to be so abstract we rarely take time to contemplate more than one outcome. Many hidden emotions were brought out by the way Lia continued to be shown dignity and true love even the doctors had given up.

Much like with abortion, medical professionals feel the need to justify their actions and this is when their own individual discretion comes into play. As we saw in the movie “Dirty Pretty Things,” the African doctor justified doing the surgery because he believed two people would die if he didn’t. All of us have this discretion but it seems to kick in at many different levels. This was also displayed in the movie as many of them were able to look past the hotel manager making a profit from but the doctor was not. For me its not to see this movie as more of the media (possibly unintentionally) trying to downplay or distract from the medical commodification of organs.

I really appreciate the statement- “…deterministic arguments about the force of culture are inappropriate.” It may be ok to have an opinion on the matter but to say that either culture is wrong is simply ignorant, culture cannot be wrong. Unless we have thoroughly studied another cultures and have something like brain death to measure by, we only find ourselves able to make generalized assumptions. This also helps to explain why even among doctors, little is argued about why we deal with these patients the way we do. This book offers a fair chance to step back from our “work” and see opposing, scientifically proven views that otherwise could be overlooked.

Traditional Chinese Healing

From Chinese Medicine News:
“Because of a lack of guiding information on demand and supply, farmers were unable to choose the right herbs to plant.

“In addition, the huge consumption of wild herbs also drove the price of herbs up,” Wang said.

http://chinesemedicinenews.com/2007/08/12/herb-prices-to-jump-as-supply-shrinks/

From Breathing Spaces:
“Especially for somatized complaints or congenital defects, qigong offer a cheaper alternative to the systems of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine produced immediate changes.”

“Promoted by both the state and entrepreneurial masters, qigong fit well with people’s desires for better health and less costly prescriptions.”

“Compared to costly and time-consuming visits to clinics or tradition healers, practitioners found qigong more convenient, inexpensive, and enjoyable.”
(Pg 46-47)

Traditional Chinese healing has really stood out to me because of the reasons the Chinese and many others continue to practice it. As the incredibly large nation slowly transforms into a market economy many Chinese have found solace in the practices of Qigong and other traditional healing methods. An aspect of this I found most fascinating is Chinese herbs; currently the market is growing exponentially. While reading about traditional Chinese medicine on the Chinese Medicine News website and in Breathing spaces it created a parallel perspective with Western medicine and the commercialization of healing methods. In a world where money is the number one goal it would be absurd to expect anything less. Pharmaceutical companies are lurking all around as China’s government slowly inches toward a capitalist economy.

Just viewing the Chinese Medicine News website was a capitalist experience covered in Google ad words and large, colorful advertisements. Much like the body news text on the page, actual remedies are shrouded in fancy embellishments and advertisement schemes. Aside from the monotonous ads is a truly amazing database of information regarding scientific cures that come from Chinese remedies. Under the “Hot Topics – Cancer” section I found a tremendous amount of material regarding Western doctors researching TCM and proving its effectiveness. Recently herbal remedies were proven effective by Professor Dr. Thomas Efferth of the DKFZ and his colleagues in Mainz and Düsseldorf, Germany, Graz, Austria and Kunming in China-

“Extracts from 18 of the plants under investigation were found to substantially suppress the growth of a cancer cell line in the culture dish. “With this success rate of about 24%, we are way above the results that could be expected from searching through large chemical substance libraries,” (Thomas Efferth)

http://chinesemedicinenews.com/2008/02/24/germans-search-for-new-anti-cancer-drugs-from-tcm/

A major problem I see with Westerners researching TCM is the potential for pharmaceutical companies to patent the remedies through consortiums such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (wipo.int). Currently in the US, food products cannot be patented; however concepts like a “fixed dose combination” can. A free market society may seem like a nice alternative to the Mao dynasty but there are several downsides. Over the next decade I imagine several important medical breakthroughs will come from TCM; it will be captivating to watch how the government reacts to pharmaceutical companies with major capital interests.

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Venus-Remedies-Files-5th-International-Patent-Application-12256-1/

Fluent Bodies

Qutoes from: http://www.ayurvedahc.com/articlelive/articles/16/1/Ayurveda–Addiction-Recovery/Page1.html

“The uniqueness of Ayurveda is that it not only helps one remove the cause of addiction (ie, anxiety can cause smoking), but it helps evaporate the toxins in the body so there is little to no discomfort from withdrawal symptoms. Ayurveda does not say, `stop the addicting activity’, it says, `lets replace it with another- more constructive activity’.”

“Simultaneously, spiritual life-counseling is employed to help the recoverer to find their inner self-worth.”

“Ayurveda views the roots of addictions as mental inertia, which is caused by excess mental activity. An addiction grows because we attempt to calm these excesses through artificial, external means (drugs, food, tobacco etc.) rather than through natural or holistic measures.”

Qutoes from Fluent Bodies:
“In the case of biomedicine, for instance, control of the body is exercised through daily practices of examination, isolation reification by means of diagnostic tools such as stethoscopes and sonograms.” Pg. 98

“The dosic body is what I have called in chapter 1 a fluent body, coursing with climates and appetites, messages and passions, winds and tempers.” Pg. 141

“The dosic body spans the divide between text and world.” Pg. 141

A key section of our “fluent bodies” that seems to be the most crucial part of our existence is explained in Langford’s book under the term “Dosic.” This system of the body which we commonly refer to as the mind or soul, is at the heart of our conscious existence. Many people continue to theorize that the human brain, the physical unit responsible for our dosic, is the most intricate and technologically advanced machine ever developed. Everything we do originates with this system of the body and because of this we must take into consideration its fragility. One common problem that I would like to focus on is addiction.

Within western culture there are many different methods of treating serious addictions to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and even food. A common way is through courses much like Alcoholic Anonymous where you are taught the effects and offered the support of fellow addicts. Those who are found to be dangerous to society get even less help; often they are forced to kick the habit immediately along with having to cope with the stress of being locked up. This combination would most likely work if they were locked up long-term, but when they are released several days later, chances are their addiction has only been starved.

Ayurvedic practices appear to much less invasive and more successful. In an environment that promotes healing, the person receives spiritual and educational guidance about how to channel the addictive emotions into something productive. Ayervedic methods are built on the idea that by understanding ones true self and the cause of the specific addiction, it is possible to overcome it. An important element within these practices is the reassurance that addiction is natural and can be used in powerful, productive ways. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine treat people with destructive addictions by studying the person’s dosha, or individualized body characteristics. Often they are then physically treated with soothing medicines such as chamomile while receiving “life-counseling.”

It is no wonder that western medicine has such a low success rate for helping those with seriously destructive addictions. Might it not be cheaper to treat these illnesses instead of continually locking them up? I’ve been curious to find this out; it seems that unless an addict can travel to an Ayurvedic practitioner they have little chance of recovering. Even in India and other places that practice Ayurvedic methods, few criminals are treated correctly, causing more and more problems. In a world so technologically advanced it is ultimately sad that we have not been able to protect the most useful, powerful machine of all.

A General Theory of Magic

“If they assume a special kind of efficacy or if they do more than merely establish contractual relations between persons, they cease to be legal actions and do become magical or religious rites.” (pg. 23)

“A groups beliefs and faith are the result of everyone’s needs and unanimous desires.” (pg. 154)

“It is the faith of the patient in the power of the magician which makes him actually feel the drawing of the illness out of the body.” (pg. 156)

“While religion is directed towards more metaphysical ends and is involved in the creation of idealistic images, magic has found a thousand fissures in the mystical world from whence it draws its forces, and is continually leaving it in order to take part in everyday life and play a practical role there.” (pg. 174-175)

“Magic is linked to science in the same way as it is linked to technology. It is not only a particular art, it is also a storehouse of ideas. It attaches great importance to knowledge – one of its mainsprings. In fact, we have seen over and over again how, as far as magic is concerned, knowledge is power. But while religion, because of its intellectual character, has a tendency toward metaphysics, magic – which we have shown to be more concerned with the concrete – is concerned with understanding nature.” (pg. 176)

The social phenomenon of magic continues to be a complex, abstract concept that somehow ties human nature to science, religion, technology, and mysticism. The practicalities of such a concept seemed to be completely tied up in an elementary thought process although they are still very prevalent in civilized cultures.  It was very thought provoking to read about how magic has contributed to the society we currently live in. Because magic created a process of obtaining knowledge of the elements around us, we owe a great deal of respect to this seemingly archaic phenomenon. Further, I found that magic is the true basis of all healing. In simple terms, magic is the quest for science; this must be why we commonly say “that’s the magic of it” when referring to the unknown science of something.

The literary definitions of magic seem to come in many different shapes and sizes depending on language and culture. A very interesting and useful way of defining magical and religious rites is by whether an action is productive – “they do things.” (pg. 24).  Even non-verbal rites can produce the desired effects with minimal action. I found this to be closely related to Christianity; if you have ever flipped through TV channels and stumbled upon the Christian network you’ve mostly likely seen some type of exorcism (removal of evil spirits). These acts continue to be very common and much like Mauss suggests, they “actually feel the drawing of the illness out of the body.” (pg. 156) Fortunately for me, I’ve never felt I had an evil spirit in me to pull out yet in many parts of the world this act seems to be an accepted, prevalent means of healing the body as well as the soul.

I continue to find an incredible amount of evidence suggesting that outside of western medicine the common belief is that cleansing the spirits is just as important and always interrelated with the healing of the body. This concept was introduced to me at a very early age by my parents and members of their church. While growing up I can remember countless times that someone was miraculously healed although now it appears that many of them become ill regularly and survive “only by the hand of god.”  An easy way of explaining western medicine’s success is by acknowledging that individuals want to be able to take life back into their own hands. While doing so we now find ourselves taking unneeded prescription drugs for things like depression, hyperactivity, and attention deficits. I surmise that by having a higher calling than living for ones self, humans are better adapted to a world in which each day brings on a new challenge. Magical and religious rites seem to be just the tool for the job to reassure those who otherwise would only live day to day.

The Spirit Catches you and you fall down

“They wanted Hmong Culture to disappear. But the Hmong cannot be assimilated.” (Pg. 158)

“We would mix the opium in water in a cup and give it to them so they would be quiet and the soldiers would not hear, because if they heard the babies, they would kill all of us. Usually the baby just went to sleep. But if you give too much by mistake, the baby dies. That happened Many times.” Thao Xiong (Pg. 162)

“For many years, right from the start, I tell the American government that we need a little bit of land where we can grow vegetables and build homes like in Laos…” – General Vang Pao (Pg. 183)

These examples of the many horrific times the Hmong faced during their recent oppression by the Pathet Lao and indirectly by the US, powerfully show the ultimate sacrifices they had to make in order to keep their culture alive and survive everyday life. While the Hmong may not be the only culture that has been continually oppressed; I find them extremely interesting because they have not assimilated into any other cultures and continue to practice rituals passed down through visual learning over the last two centuries. There seems to be a strong connection between a culture being oppressed and the need to continue the cultures way of life. Much like Americans and nearly every other culture, each generation that is allowed civil liberties establishes more progressive cultural traditions. A great example of this is Lia’s siblings; they have been given the opportunity to become educated in western civilization and are also heavily involved with the Hmong community.

When reading chapter 14, “The Melting Pot” it seemed crystal clear that if the public relations machine in this country can not force a culture to quickly “blend in” then there must be a good reason for their stubbornness. As the Hmong culture begins to be educated here in America, cultural traditions have adapted and become somewhat lax yet a strong sense of community still exists. The widening gap between the generation that traveled to America and the generation that was born here seems to be playing a key role in the core structure of the families. In many ways I feel the culture has been enhanced due to the availability of technology and their strong desire to help each other during these rough times. It would be very interesting to understand the amount of Hmong children being born here and their general welfare as adults.

Recently I spent some time researching whether or not our government has ever given land to a refugee group. It seems that only Native Americans have been fortunate enough to be able to claim small amounts of free land from our capitalist government. The fact that the Hmong produced the opium that was shipped via American provided airplanes to be processed and then sold to American soldiers becomes no less of a testament to the public relations that are intertwined with capitalist agenda (“officially” our government had nothing to do with it). It’s always very disappointing to find out what my tax dollars are going toward. I must disagree with the doctor at MCMC who was complaining about the Hmong women becoming pregnant to get money from the government. There are far worse things being done with our tax dollars than feeding children who will pay taxes the rest of their life.