Followers

Pages


Thursday, June 23, 2011

Former Girlfriend of Mesothelioma Victim/Sex Pistols


Malcolm McLaren is widely known throughout the music world as a “godfather” of punk rock, having acted as the manager for the New York Dolls before organizing and managing The Sex Pistols as they became a household name around the world following the release of “God Save the Queen” in 1977.
However, following his death on April 8 from mesothelioma at the age of 64 – only months after he was initially diagnosed with the illness - he has also become known as one of the more notable figures to succumb to mesothelioma.
According to Young Kim, McLaren’s girlfriend for the final 12 years of his life as well as his work partner for nine years, the fact that mesothelioma is still a widespread problem that ended up affecting McLaren and taking his life is the equivalent of a criminal ac


“That people should die because governments knowingly failed to protect their safety is nothing short of homicide,” Kim told us in a series of emails commenting on mesothelioma.According to Kim, one of the most frustrating aspects of mesothelioma is that it has been cultivated by the continued use of asbestos in many products that people encounter every day.


“From what I understand, once you’ve been exposed to asbestos and have it, there is really nothing that can be done but hope for the best,” she said. “The most important thing I think, however, is to understand that this disease is man-made-- due to the use of asbestos, a dangerous and lethal substance. It should not exist.”
Kim added that the onus to limit the use of asbestos fibers and spread awareness regarding how dangerous they are is on governments around the world. However, despite medical reports and data suggesting the dangers of asbestos exposure that were published in the first half of the 20th Century, she added that politicians have kept information of how dangerous the fibers are under wraps from the public for commercial reasons. A number of countries that still allow asbestos to be used benefit from money received through asbestos production and trade.
“This is particularly reprehensible behavior but unfortunately something that continues to this day by all governments and industries around the world. Perhaps industry can be excused as they are in effect, selfish entities, but governments, like the United States or Europe, which are based on democratic systems, have a duty to protect the people and to regulate such industries,” Kim said. “They should be our watchdogs. Instead, we are constantly being betrayed by their corruption.“
She added that the government’s turning a blind eye to the dangers of asbestos exposure was not unlike other privileges given to gas and oil exploration, EMT proliferation, questionably safe pharmaceuticals, and the use of contaminated or genetically modified foods that showed “corruption” rather than intent to act in the public’s best interests.
In order to best help minimize the number of those affected by mesothelioma in the future, Kim felt that a top priority should be making sure the conditions for the disease were eradicated.
“We need to have systems in place that prevent the exposure of innocent people to toxic material for the sake of short term profit for industry and corrupt politicians,” she said, “The public needs to be more aware of this and realize that sometimes, to have safety, it may actually involve certain collective sacrifice or inconvenience but long-term it is the only safe way to go.”


1 comment:

  1. I'm not too familiar with the disease myself, but I hear more and more about it.

    ReplyDelete