But it is rare, even today, that people suffering from diseases aren’t demonized. The U.S. government sponsors antismoking ads, which often imply that smokers deserve to get lung cancer because they didn’t quit smoking rather than putting those funds toward researching a cure for lung cancer, the actual enemy. Response to the AIDS crisis was delayed at least in part because those suffering were viewed by some as sinners. Clearly, those diseases take more than human kindness to cure, but there is never a situation where care and attentiveness by the community is a bad thing.
