Home / Quotes / Quote by Maia Szalavitz

Quote by Maia Szalavitz

“Drug warriors' staunch opposition to needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV in addicts delayed the programs' widespread introduction in most states for years. A federal ban on funding for these programs wasn't lifted until 2009. Contrast this with what happened in the U.K. At the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1990s, the HIV infection rate in IV drug users in the U.K. was about 1%. In New York City, the American epicenter, that figure was 50%. The British had introduced widespread needle exchange in 1986. That country had no heterosexual AIDS epidemic.”

Quote by Maia Szalavitz

Author

Maia Szalavitz is a journalist and author recognized for her contributions to the fields of neuroscience and addiction. Born on March 29, 1965, she has played a significant role in enhancing public understanding of these intricate subjects. Szalavitz's writing is characterized by its ability to make scientific concepts relatable to a wide audience. more

You May Also Like

“When President Nixon declared war on drugs on June 17, 1971, about 110 people per 100,000 in the population were incarcerated. Today, we have 2-3 million prisoners: 743 people per 100,000 in the population. The U.S. has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of its prisoners. As Senator Jim Webb once put it, Either we are home to the most evil people on earth or we are doing something different and vastly counterproductive.”

People World Different War Home Today Earth Evil President Millions Drug Population Prisoner Senators June War On Drugs Evil People Counterproductive President Nixon

Author:Maia Szalavitz

“The terms "idiot" and "lunatic" were acceptable diagnostic terms in England up until 1959. "Imbecile" and "feeble-minded person" were, likewise, listed as official categories in the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. England has always lagged a bit behind in discarding outdated terms for the disadvantaged. When I was there in 1980, it was still possible to shop for used clothing at the local Spastic Shop. That is, compared to the United States, where it takes, oh, about twenty-five minutes for a diagnostic euphemism to become a conversational faux pas.”

Source: Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife

“Where's that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let's not make a false pretense of balance: it's coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It's hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be "armed and dangerous" without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P.”

Hard Stars Imagine Dangerous Balance Members Democratic Congress Rising Toxic Representatives Rhetoric Pretense Constituents

Author:Paul Krugman

“I don't know why America always thinks she has to run all around the world forcing people to take our way of governance at the barrel of a gun. When you've got something really good, you don't have to force it on people. They will steal it!”

People Thinking Knows World Way Running America Force Gun Stealing Around The World Governance Barrels

Author:Dick Gregory

“Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we need a balanced tool chest of diplomatic and military tools alike. Instead, we have a billionaire military and a pauper diplomacy. The U.S. military now has more people in its marching bands than the State Department has in its foreign service - and that's preposterous.”

“The fictioneer labors under the constraint of plausibility; his inventions must stay within the capacity of the audience to accept and believe. God, of course, working with facts, faces no limitation.”

Believe Facts Faces Courses Accepting Audience Capacity Labor Invention Limitation Believe In God Constraints

Author:Donald E. Westlake

“Cultural stupidity accounts for virtually every aspect of Sarah Palin, both as a person and a political icon. Which, come to think of it, may be a pretty good reason not to misunderstimate her.”

Thinking May Persons Reason Political Aspect Accounts Stupidity Icons Palin

Author:Joe Bageant

“I can use my credit card to send money to the Ku Klux Klan, to antiabortion fanatics, or to anti-homosexual bigots, but I can't use it to send money to WikiLeaks. The New York Times published the same documents. Should we tell Visa and MasterCard to stop payments to the Times?”

Should I Can Use New York Credit Cards Documents Homosexual Payment Fanatics New York Times Credit Card Bigots Visa Wikileaks Ku Klux Klan

Author:Jeff Jarvis

“Turtles hate heights. They don't even like being a few feet off the ground. It's the main reason they have resisted evolution for so long-fear of heights. Turtle thinking goes thus: Sure, first our scales turn into feathers and the next thing you know we're flying and chirping and perching on trees. We've seen it happen. Thanks, but we're staying right here in the mud where we belong. You're not going to see us flying full-tilt boogie into a sliding glass door.”

Thinking Knows Firsts Long Reason Happens Hate Turns Next Doors Tree Feet Evolution Glasses Flying Scales Thanks Height Staying Mud Feathers Turtles Tilt Boogie Feet Off The Ground

Author:Christopher Moore

“Mind you, Mount Rushmore isn't exactly the Parthenon or the Sistine Chapel either. After the naïve daftness of the Crazy Horse monument, I find the pompous idiocy of those four presidents somehow more risible still. Wishing to show respect or feel a vicarious thrill of admiration and pride, I can only giggle. For which I am very sorry. Any loyal American reading this who feels outraged and insulted is free to explode with derisive snorts of laughter at any British equivalent.”