Dubious badges of honour
There is this really silly idea and it is quite popular:
Indians have a higher tolerance and better immunity against water-borne diseases and pollution because we are dosed against it in the cesspools of pollution and filth we call cities.
But this embarrassing, self-bestowed badge of honour is a double edged sword.
If you keep exposing yourself to pathogens, faeces, pollution and heavy metals . Keep popping antibiotics. And are indifferent to water and air quality, it’s a matter of time before the pathogens are antibiotic resistant, pathogen counts are so damn high they overwhelm your immune system, premature deaths rise and IQ’s fall off a cliff.
There is a price we pay for indifference. And there’s an even steeper price for the arrogance in the misplaced conviction that we are robust enough to adapt to filthy conditions.
Indians have a higher tolerance and better immunity against water-borne diseases and pollution because we are dosed against it in the cesspools of pollution and filth we call cities.
But this embarrassing, self-bestowed badge of honour is a double edged sword.
If you keep exposing yourself to pathogens, faeces, pollution and heavy metals . Keep popping antibiotics. And are indifferent to water and air quality, it’s a matter of time before the pathogens are antibiotic resistant, pathogen counts are so damn high they overwhelm your immune system, premature deaths rise and IQ’s fall off a cliff.
There is a price we pay for indifference. And there’s an even steeper price for the arrogance in the misplaced conviction that we are robust enough to adapt to filthy conditions.