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Around the world Quote by George Packer

“end of the class he stood in the doorway to block the Frenchman’s exit. “You’re going around the world showing people pictures of how to use condoms?” Cool B asked mockingly. “I’ll show you what to do.” He snatched away the man’s prospectus and, reading from the text, improvised an anti-AIDS rap…” quote by George Packer
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““end of the class he stood in the doorway to block the Frenchman’s exit. “You’re going around the world showing people pictures of how to use condoms?” Cool B asked mockingly. “I’ll show you what to do.” He snatched away the man’s prospectus and, reading from the text, improvised an anti-AIDS rap on the spot in the manner of LL Cool J. The Frenchman was impressed. Within a couple of days, he had arranged for Cool B to record the rap at a downtown nightclub, and the song made him a momentary celebrity among Abidjan youth. It also began his long association with white people—among them Petra, his girlfriend, who eventually went back to Germany, and Éliane de Latour, a French filmmaker who employed him for a while as a researcher on a feature about Abidjan youth. Cool B keeps pictures of them on his wall, and he tries to figure out why, in spite of these connections, he remains stuck in Koumassi. He spends his ample free time and his limited funds at a local Internet café, surfing international dating sites and chat rooms where people he knows have found marriage opportunities that got them out of Africa. Or he visits””

George Packer

About This Quote

Source Article: The New Yorker, 2008

A street performer uses humor and rap to spread AIDS awareness, gaining temporary fame and connections, yet remains trapped by socioeconomic constraints.

In simple terms: Creative outreach can spark change but may not lift systemic barriers.

Key Takeaway

Use art to educate, but address deeper issues.

Themes

creativity public health social mobility temporary fame

Mood

hopeful critical

Type

social educational

When to use this quote

  • Street performance
  • online dating for migration
  • community activism

Key Concepts

AIDS education rap improvisation cross‑cultural exchange

Questions to Reflect On

  • What can sustain impact beyond a viral moment?
  • How do personal networks affect mobility?
A Different Perspective

Success may be fleeting without structural support.

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