My question is this: isn't it possible to observe gangrene when it first starts?
I've seen full-blown gangrene, in the socialist paradises of the workers and peasants with free medical care for all, but I've never seen it in its beginning stages, unless I did and didn't know that's what it was.
When it first starts, it's a small violently-red type of sore that soon turns black.
Right? Correct me if wrong.
So one would have to be blind to not notice it in an early stages, right?
If noticed early enough, it can be stopped in its tracks or its damage minimized, right?
So why would Kirk notice this and just let it go, especially since he was aware it was a potential peril for him, given his condition?
If I'm right that gangrene can be observed in its early stage before too much damage is done, I suspect Kirk noticed it too, but being the self-pitying lump he is, he just let it go. Despondent suicide wish, or an opportunity for him to get himself permanently on the public dole, with no necessity for future time-consuming bureaucratic "reviews" of his condition?
And we also have the TheMastersNumbskull primitive, who's obviously brighter and more perceptive than Kirk, doing the exact same thing.
Gawd, the monstrous things people'll do for a ****ing welfare check.