Jenna at Bugigangas posted about a new stupid law here in Brazil. It's about warning labels in underwear telling people that they need to get annual exams (think pap smears and prostate exams).
I'm sorry but they need the stupid laws here. These things that we consider common sense have not been taught. It's difficult to get your kid to learn the math they need to in most public schools, reproduction class would probably be them throwing condoms at the kids if the government was actually willing to pay for them.
There is a total lack of education when it comes to taking care of oneself here. People who use the public healthcare fall into two categories: Overly cautious and ignorant. It mirrors one of Brazil's greatest issues, the lack of a grey area.
This coming from a woman who attempted to live in the grey. Let's just say it's uncomfortable.
Hell, I had to take "education" classes at the public hospital where my oldest was born. Since it's a training program for UFRJ they have a more intensive program with requirements to give birth there.
The first question in my first class was "When can a woman get pregnant?" To say I was surprised by the simplicity of the question would be the biggest understatement humanly possible. Of course I figured that with the program I was in people would probably give the answer 'after their first period.' By the way, the correct answer is after your first ovulation which is before your first period.
Boy was I off. One woman, maybe in her 30s and on her 3rd child, ventured to answer with "at 17 years old." For heaven's sake, there was a pregnant 13 year old in the class! Wrong!
I will not even go into the mind blowingly crazy stuff they had to talk about. Ok, one example. They had to explain that is was ok to put your baby into water in the first two weeks and that no their skin was not going to fall off.
The thing is that if you don't educate your population these kind of wives' tales will continue. If there is no other way to get information, false information will spread like a wild fire. And Brazil is wasting tax payer's money (which they love to do) passing bullshit legislation because they don't want to face the huge pile of shit of a task of fixing what they need to fix.
Brazil needs to educate their people. They need to vastly improve the public education and health systems. They really need to teach the public doctors to not herd the population through their hospital like cattle using general terms like "throat infection" or "childhood illness".
Put money into the system, that won't get stolen, and make it so teachers and doctors have the time and means to explain things correctly. Make more schools, hire more teachers, and pay everyone better.
But first, make it a law that all public workers must use the public system, ie. health and education. I think that a governor will think twice before stealing from the education budget if his kid is in the system.
Let's knock some heads and make some changes people! Shake the boat! Hell, let's flip the thing over!
