American Healthcare: 1st hand experiences in the wealthiest nation

[jhawk7782]

I feel for this woman. I wish she didn't feel that racism was the cause of her difficulties. I think our gov't is the major cause of this division and both Dems and GOP use people to push their agendas. Time for all Americans to make the Gov't work for us again.

[diepiriye]

@jhawk7782 Indeed, it's very sad that we live in such socially and politically divided times. It's even more sad when you look at history, such as she is able to see in her own lifetime, and then you realize that we Americans have always been full of well-polished racism in our political rhetoric. Funny enough, our home-state's motto is 'Together we stand, divided we fall'. it's on our flag and yet Kentucky is one of the most racially divided states in the Union.

[davijeph]

True all Countries have elitist groups ,It's not true that "TRUE capitalism" would keep elites in check..The opposite is true a pure capitalist state would be a terrifying place for the none elite citizen to live in .Capitalism without checks and balances would ensure the power and wealth within the state would ultimately only go to the ruling Oligarchs. Which is why solcalism works,(if not carried to far) even in America

[diepiriye]

@davijeph Well said!

[davijeph]

@diepiriye Thanks,lets see how my next bit goes down. First were I'm coming from?.Retired,Brit, white working class, liberal (I hope).Became interested in US health after watching Pox news rubbish our NHS. Watched many Vid's on"tea-parties" I'm not sure I see any racial element, but I do see a lot of frightened angry people who seem to be for the most part "working class" .They above all should welcome a single payer health system being safer,cheaper and broader than their present care system.

[diepiriye]

@davijeph

'Race' has been used to divide the working class in America for centuries, such that poor white people have far too often been co-opted into working against their own interests. Now, PC culture says that to erase racism, we must pretend that race is invisible, and that we are all color blind, which we are not. This is why you won;t hear folks talking about race, but also not speaking about mass poverty has become our charm to make sure we all worship wealth and protect the rich.

[davijeph]

@diepiriye You are an interesting person.Can I bore you what its worth on my take on "race" and "racism" I have known in my life many "black" (never met a person who was truly "black") some have been a total pain in the arse, most have been hardworking, wonderful ,funny . Same goes for all the Indian,Asian peoples I have met. Also true for all the white (never met a person who was truly "white" British/European) . There is only one race on this planet thats the Human one, everything else is bull

[diepiriye]

@davijeph Amen!

[kagolko]

they are not a fucking racist. black people should get over their collor. I mean really. Doctors don't give a shit about all the people. Not only about black people. That old lady should get a grip. She's not the only one and there are people in 100 times worse state than she is. And they don't even moan about rubbish doctors.

[diepiriye]

The hue of the rallies against reform are clear. Just take a look at the audiences- or even look at the Tea parties- & all you'll see are whites.

Racialized health disparities are a fact. Though much of that is based on economic & political disenfranchisement, including homeownership, class still has a racial component in America. Where planet do you from?

This lady, like many Americans is finding it really hard to "get a grip" these days. Those "worse" off should speak up, too!

[kagolko]

These "worse" do speak up. But they don't moan over it. And the fact, that most people in Tea parties are white means, that not many black people give a shit about health care. they care about bitches, drugs and reputation instead of proper education. just take a look on hip hop/rap/rm&b industry. I'm not saying that all of tham - but most of them. There are also a loads of Asian people involved in Healt care.. how come they can be doctors and take care about "their people"?!

[diepiriye]

OK, you take your "not many black people give a shit about health care" & go somewhere else. Do you honestly believe that? Feminists used to say that not a lot of Black women cared about feminism until they discovered that Women's Lib could not argue that women needed to be in the workplace because Black women have ALWAYS been in the workplace, hence what women really needed was justice. Now, everyone references Black radical feminists. That shift in understanding took years. You need to read.

[flobrew]

@diepiriye That is not true. There are plenty of black, asian, gay, and native people at the Tea Party rallies. This is not about racism. This is about freedom from government controls.I am a chronic health patient. I don't care about the color of her skin, the color of your skin, the color of the President's skin. I want to limit government involvement. That is the reason we're here in the first place. Thanks for sparking the flame of hatred in the name of your party.

[diepiriye]

I respectfulyy disagree with you. First, there is a great deal of impplicit racism in America, most of us are anaware of our racial bias and refuse to even consier it. SO, I feel that public discourse is genuinely dishonest and polarizing. And the current HMO system is really the epitome of a hands off government. You're color blind? That means you ignore the reality of what race, gender and class mean. You willingly deny it's impact to satisfy your PC ego.

[flobrew]

So, then, no matter what I feel about Health care, by that logic, it was ok to disagree with it when Pres. Clinton wanted it, but it's not OK to disagree with it when the president is black? And how is public discourse dishonest? If this is your view of the world in which anyone who disagrees with a principal, does so due to some implied racism, then it is a dark one indeed. I realize that we have all struggled with issues, but that shouldn't define us totally and damn the discourse.

[diepiriye]

Well, sounds like you're long since made up your mind.

[flobrew]

I have. Look, I just think that it's impossible to read minds and I can't speak for all people on the right or that are in the Tea Party. I just know that I can't see something that I don't agree with, then see this and spend a year second guessing every opinion I have, trying to figure out if some deep seed of racism is making me feel this way. Especially, when that wasn't ever a variable in my mind. And don't forget these white people are also opposing Pelosi and Reed.

[diepiriye]

Finally we're getting to what you really wanted to talk about in the first place. You're concerned that understanding implicit racism will produce the same social policing as Politically Correctness. Please understand that it was meant to help us communicate better, but PC seems to have produced many folks who are disgruntled because it policed language withtout empowering American upward mobility. We're an elite nation & buckles are tightening. There's only so much to go around, right?

[flobrew]

I understand the idea of implicit racism in theory. I just don't agree with the premise. The problem is, it muddies the water. The wrong thing (in my opinion,) for the right reason is still the wrong thing. I just don't think it's right to label a group of people like the Tea Party as racist just because the issues of HC and greater government spending has been brought to the fore by a black man in office.

[diepiriye]

With all due respect, but people who think critically about race are not stupid enough to label some group racist just because they oppose a black person. Please. If I am putting all these videos on here, wouldn't you think that some folks- perhaps even me- have thought about this with a little more depth than that.

BTW, what do you mean about the premise of implicit knowledge? Please do not politicize that psychological study unless you know of some researcher bias, etc.

[flobrew]

I'm sorry. I was just responding to the statement "The hue of the rallies against reform are clear. Just take a look at the audiences- or even look at the Tea parties- & all you'll see are whites." I don't disbelieve you haven't put thought into your posts, but I felt it was polarizing and belittled their opinions. I wasn't trying to politicize anything. I was giving an opinion on something I don't think is relevant to this particular issue. I don't want to argue, I just want to exchange ideas.

[flobrew]

Every country on the planet has an elitist group. This is what TRUE capitalism is all about ensuring against. A business owner might not like the color of my skin, the way I carry myself, or the accent I have. In a real free market, he doesn't have to. He sure likes my money, and if he doesn't, he knows his competitor will happily take it. Your money is your personal power and freedom. And, economically speaking, there is not a finite amount to go around. This was refuted about 500 yrs. ago.

[diepiriye]

OK, you might be interested in learning more about this subject because I think that there are several important facts missing in our dialogue. You might want to read Class Matters: Where We Stand by bell hooks. The issues you raise are important and complex and not going to be clarified here. Suffice it to say that your statement is untrue: "Your money is your personal power and freedom." Can you accept that another person may have a totally different reality than your and it be just as real.

[flobrew]

I am. And I agree that that it can be difficult in this forum (what 500 characters or less?) I'll look for the book. I accept that people's situations are different, but I stand by what I said about capitalism. You seem knowledgeable in psychology, but I've studied history and political science, so our perspectives are varied, but that is the whole point of dialogue. On that note, Thomas Sowell.."Basic Economics." And I must say, I appreciate a civil discourse, It seems to be lacking on Youtube.

[TeenageWildlife]

great video. loving the Letta Mbulu track in the beginning.

[cynthiarf]

theres just not enough space or time here on YT to truly cover this topic...

but since when does the govt ask us if we want 'them' to finance anything for us? if its not going to change anything, why isnt it just provided as an option and thats it? whats all the conversation about if you can choose to take it or not? this is what bothers me about the whole thing and makes me think this was never intended to become reality - just like they've been talking for yrs about funding education

[mchavar28]

Thank you for posting this video. It's so wrong what they are putting this woman through when she obviously needs care. The people who are protesting healthcare change need to wake up and realize that we do need an overhaul in the U.S.

[diepiriye]

Indeed! She's not able to get out there with the counter protestors, so this is the next best thing: INFO!