Dear RM Agents and Readers,

Some days I just don't know what to say anymore; except how sad. And we lost several generations becomes blame was so easy....

Many Blessings,
CrystalRiver

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https://aeon.co/conversations/is-it-ever-correct-to-blame-the-sick-for-their-own-illness-107

Is it ever correct to blame the sick for their own illness?

Jessica HughesFollow

I’ve been thinking over this issue a lot recently after hearing the news stories about Ebola being perceived as ‘the wrath of God’, which in turn echo some of the old discourse about HIV and AIDS. The theme goes at back at least as far as classical antiquity, and I’ve encountered it several times in my work on votive offerings made in times of illness. In sanctuaries of Roman Asia Minor (1st-3rd centuries CE) you find marble stelae inscribed with the confessions of sick people who trace the origins of their illnesses back to some misdemeanour committed against the gods or their neighbours. Here, there was an entire ‘sacred justice system’ devoted to erasing these transgressions, and it’s very clear that the local community, consciously or otherwise, used the widespread perception of illness-as-punishment as a form of social control. Don’t steal sacred property, or you’ll go blind. That kind of thing. Very wrong, but very powerful.

More at this link: https://aeon.co/conversations/is-it-ever-correct-to-blame-the-sick-for-their-own-illness-107