An MD's Hypocritical Oath in action

OK, what's wrong with this picture? A hospital professional possibly violates HIPPA while perpetuating racial (it seems) and socioeconomic stereotypes. All to attack so-called "Obamacare."

Via the Snopes link, this was an actual letter to the editor Dr. Starner Jones had run in the Jackson, Miss. newspaper. I will quote the first graf in full:

During my last night's shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos, a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ringtone. Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer status: Medicaid. She smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has money to buy beer.

The obvious racial stereotypes, as well as socioeconomic ones, bleed out of this doctor's letter.

First, how do you know her "shiny new gold tooth" is new? Fact is, precisely because it's so "visible," gold as a filling material has always been the poor person's filling. That's the first fact our good doctor won't let stand in the way of medical compassion, or his alternate world.

Second, how do you know the tennis shoes were "a very expensive brand"? How do WE know, even more, if you won't tell us what the brand is? Fact is, at a discount shoe store, "Docccccctttoooooorrr" Jones (to riff on Rush), Nikes can be bought for under $50.

Third, a cell phone is NOT a luxury. Depending on her rate plan and such, it may be cheaper for her than a landline.

Fourth, a "costly" pack of cigarettes? They're all kind of costly. That said, why don't you complain about Philip Morris, American Tobacco, Lorillard, etc., all of whom deliberately targeted minorities for decades? And, if you're spilling the beans, how do you know how much a day she smokes?

Fifth, buying beer isn't a sin.

But, the biggie, the "Medicaid" status.

Hey, "Docccctttooooorrrrrrr" Jones, your GOP-type buddies who own Wally-World had it as their corporate policy to push employees into Medicaid if they couldn't afford company insurance. Plenty of other people are on Medicaid who are employed. So are people on Social Security Disability Income.

Instead of complaining about her as a "cheat," let's look at rich, white present and former CEOs at Big Tobacco, the ones who targeted people like your stereotyped welfare queen.

Or, let's look at Dwayne Andreas at Archer Daniels Midland, who, via the "farm bills" that boost Big Ag companies like his, peddle junk-food crack to lower-income people.

And, to my family that lives in a state, Missouri, that lets junk food be bought with food stamps: Whose fault is that? Probably your rich white legislators being bought off by richer-yet lobbyists for folks like ADM!!! Get a fucking clue.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not that smart myself, supposedly.

That said, I've looked at a couple of other liberal blogs, and the conservative numb-nuts go batshit over the slightest insinuation this guy is a racist.

Well, as for the religious conservative numbnuts, and the Doooocccctttttttoooooooorrrrrrr, read Ecclesiastes about how chance comes to all before you talk about reaping what you sow. (Then, realize there is no such thing as "a unitary theology of the Bible," because it was written by dozens of people over several hundred years. Hell, Muhammad changes his mind more than once as the sole author - theoretically, in reality probably not - of the Quran.)

As for the claim that he's not talking about a black person? Sure, you can point to individual items and say, no that one, or this one, isn't necessarily a "black" thing. But, add them togethr and 2 + 2 = 4. Especially in the light of this seventh-generation Mississippian (who probably went to an all-white private school) protesting "Obamacare" behind this all.

Oh, and raise your hand if you believe Haley Barbour didn't come from "this Mississippi."