As opposed to the others
So this guy is 50 years old, until recently was unemployed and has no health insurance. He wrote to a Chicago newspaper reporter after waiting an extremely long time for a medical test through the public health system. And the reporter apparently managed to snag him an appointment.
So what does the guy have to say?
“I’m not a creature of the system,” Frye said. “It’s the first time I’ve been exposed to it. It’s been a real culture shock, I dare say. There are more people like me that probably are getting the short shrift.”
A creature of the system? And what kind of culture shock? The culture of poverty? And who are these people like him who are getting the short shrift, as opposed to everybody else who is forced to use county health care?
Geez, only about three dozen words and so much to unpack.
Posted on January 29, 2010, in can't see 'em, credit to the race. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
I’m a medical social worker. Given the present economy I have had the pleasure of assisting people to access services that they have never even had to think about before. I hear comments like this on a daily basis, most of them even more blatant. It is very frightening to people to become “one of them” and lose their privileged status. I think it’s a challenge to their whole belief system about the folks that use community health (and assistance programs) because they have no other choice.