SPERO ALERTS PUBLIC TO DIABETES PANDEMIC

BY ALEX MULLANEY

EDITOR

Diabetes is more of an indicator of societal problems than it is a medical problem. That's how David Spero, R.N., the author of "Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis," understands the widespread, serious condition.

On Sept. 27, Spero talked about his new book to Instructor Beth Freedman's women's health issues class.

"Diabetes isn't so much a medical condition as it is a racket," Spero said to his audience.

"It's a disease of powerlessness. The treatment and prevention of it has to focus on changing the environment and getting people more power. That sounds huge — it is huge."

This is Spero's great realization — that health and illness are socially created. He recognizes that the modern environment is toxic in five ways: stress, unhealthy food, barriers to physical activity, inequality and isolation.

"Diabetes is a social disease. It's very difficult to take care of yourself properly in this environment," Spero said.

"But if you have the resources, power and confidence, and you think you're important and you have people to help, you can do it. A lot of people don't have those things and they have a lot of stress."

In the United States, 20.8 million people — roughly seven percent of the population — suffer from diabetes, a 71 percent jump since 2004, according to the American Diabetes Association; it is estimated that a third of that seven percent have not been diagnosed.

What is more, 54 million Americans are pre-diabetic, on the cusp of contracting the disease.

"Diabetes and depression are really the same illness," Spero said.

"Sugar is the easiest way to treat depression and stress. You can also drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, but sugar raises endorphins. However, it also raises insulin resistance. Over time, it will lead to diabetes and high blood pressure."

The number of obese people worldwide is now larger than the number of undernourished, diabetes expert Paul Zimmet disclosed in September, according to the Associated Press. Diabetes and its complications are so widespread that medical systems may be shocked in coming years trying to accommodate such a large number of afflicted people.

Worldwide, 171 million people suffer from the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Spero, a City College alumnus and former editor of The Guardsman, is dedicated to making the public aware of the diabetes pandemic. His book arrived in perfect time for National Diabetes Month, in November.

"People have to get together and help each other and try to make their environment healthier. The more unequal the society is, the poorer health you have," he said.

Spero believes that to make a better environment, people must attain more power. He defines power as a person’s ability to control his or her environment, other peoples' behavior toward them and their own behavior.

“I’m trying to spread the word about social approaches to deal with diabetes,” Spero said. “In a couple of months, I’ll have a Web-based community where people can find others like themselves in their community.”

In 1989, Spero was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He had to give up nursing and re-learn how to take care of himself.

"In a way, MS was a gift. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here," he said.

"When I got MS, I came [to City College]. I was always interested in writing and journalism. I'm still able to do other sorts of nursing — I do health coaching. I've been gradually moving toward teaching and public speaking."

Spero has been writing for fifteen years. He has had health-related stories published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian and national magazines, and has one other book, "The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Your Health When You Have a Chronic Illness."

Spero hired a publicist for this book and plans to travel cross-country to spread his message.

"Too many people are being alone and inactive," Spero said.

"Diabetes is a symptom of a crisis. Love yourself. I'm really pushing that. It's a really important thing. There are studies on self-confidence or self-efficacy, but there are no studies on self-love."

e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com

PIRACY PROBLEM CONTINUES ON CAMPUSES

BY DESMOND MILLER
STAFF WRITER

BRIAN BLYZNUIK / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

Selling movies that have been downloaded from the Internet is illegal. The Motion Picture Association of America has been actively searching for individuals who pirate DVDs.

Last year, President George W. Bush signed the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, which sentences first-time violators to three or five years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for pirating.

The threat of prosecution does not deter a pirate from selling bootlegged DVDs on Ocean campus.

This type of pirate, also known as a bootlegger, sells DVDs for about $5 to $10 each and offers a deal if the purchaser wants to buy more.

“Bootlegging hurts my business,” said Kevin, a DVD merchant selling at Ram Plaza.

“They are just promoting pretty crappy quality, but if people want to buy from them, that’s their decision. Overall, bootlegging hurts ...  legitimate business men, but I can’t say how much money I have personally lost to bootleggers.”

The typical pirate is male, between 16 and 24 years old and lives in an urban area, a similar profile to 71 percent of people in the United States who download.

By default, college students have been targeted by the MPAA as the main reason they are losing money.

According to the MPAA’s online fact sheet, 44 percent of MPAA studio losses are because of piracy in the United States, attributable to college students.

The fact sheet also states that in 2005, the major motion picture studios represented by the MPAA lost $1.3 billion to piracy in the United States, including both hard-goods piracy and Internet piracy.

Film student and self-proclaimed film geek John Howard thinks piracy should be a civil offense, not criminal.

“If someone is doing it to specifically make money and screw other people, it’s not cool,” Howard said.

“The flip side is, I’m really not too concerned with big corporations making huge profits. So while I accept that they have a right and need to protect their stuff, I have very little sympathy for them.”

Most bootleggers sit in front of computer monitors and surf the Internet for movies, music and videogames. The media they download has been leaked onto the Internet before its release.

Often, these bootleggers sell DVDs for less than it would cost to buy them in stores.

The quality of these DVDs varies, mostly due to the fact that leaked films usually have not been finished completely. Some movies have incomplete soundtracks and special effects or stock footage that needs to be retouched.

Bootleggers also bring video cameras into theaters and sit in the back row and record movies to sell before release.

Jing Endo, manager of the film department, has seen movies that have been recorded in theaters. The video and sound quality was poor, and people are seen standing up and moving in front of the camera during the recording.

Endo thinks the real victims of piracy are the people who put their time and passion into producing movies.

“The people selling the pirated DVDs are making money off something they are not entitled to. They are stealing,” Endo said.

“People that do the production spend a lot of money and they devote their lives to it and they deserve their compensation. How else can they get their production costs back? It is impossible.”

The film industry might have to adjust by creating pay-for-content Web sites that offer streaming music and cheap downloadable songs, as did the recording industry.

Film student Dianne Brennan believes that the film industry will, and that it will just take time.

“The film corporations are going to have to figure out a way to not only protect their product, but adapt to the illegal downloads,” Brennan said.

“They are starting to with sanctioned downloads and online streaming of movies, but it is taking them a long time.”

e-mail: acnilsson@theguardsman.com