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Saturday, June 13, 2009

It's hard to be a racist in a hospital
Posted by Jill | 9:08 AM
My late father-in-law was a racist. He didn't much care for Jews either, at leat not until his younger son got together with one, settled down, got married, started a career in IT, and lived what the old man believed to be a normal life. He had few dealings with either black people or Jews. His friends were all guys from the old neighborhood in Jersey city. His doctors were all Italians from the old neighborhood, or at the very least, guys with Italian names.

In his final years, he spent a lot of time in hospitals. His doctors were sometimes Jewish. The nurses and aides who attended him were Asian and Black and Latino. Lo and behold, he became one of those old guys who flirts with the nurses. And once he actually had dealings with people who weren't Italians, he discovered that maybe they weren't as different, evil, or threatening to his way of life as he thought. Yes, he worshipped before the altar of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, but by the time he died, he had mellowed out considerably on matters of race.

Somehow I don't think that James Von Brunn is going to do this, despite the fact that doctors, nurses, and aides who are Jewish, Black, Asian, Muslim, and a host of other groups he hates, are now charged with keeping this POS alive:
In von Brunn's twisted world, being Jewish or black are offenses serious enough to warrant death. And so, eyewitnesses say, von Brunn entered the museum, aimed his rifle, pulled the trigger and took a black man's life.

Odd how things turn out.

Von Brunn, who was wounded by special police officers returning fire, was transported to GW, as was his victim, Stephen Tyrone Johns, 39. There, Johns was pronounced dead while the hospital's staff worked feverishly to keep von Brunn alive.

I don't know how that elderly white supremacist would take this but, according to a hospital spokeswoman, from the time von Brunn entered the emergency room, through his surgery in the operating room, to his placement in the intensive-care unit, he has been under the care of a diverse medical staff that includes blacks, Jews and Middle Easterners.

If there's someplace we go after we die, there'd better be an extra-special good one for the men and women who are dressing James Von Brunn's wounds, cleaning up his piss and shit, changing his IV bags, and doing what they would do for anyone else -- including his victim, who unfortunately wasn't as lucky as the attacker: whatever is necessary to keep him alive.

Because that is what they do.

My father-in-law realized this, and in this realization he gained a kind of redemption.

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4 Comments:
Blogger jurassicpork said...
My ex is a nurse and, let me tell you, being a health care provider isn't merely a job but a calling.
6/13/09, 11:06 AM  
Blogger Melina said...
My mom worked in a nursing home for 20+ years and she always said that the aides and nurses (and the Dr's as well) have to turn a deaf ear to alot of what people say as they get old and dementia sets in.
I've known some of the most liberal old people who revealed deeply held racist attitudes when slipping into dementia....things that would never be spoken or have any effect on how someone lived their lives can be buried deeply inside.
Of course, some of that is more on the surface as well when you get a guy like this.

With my grandfather, we've gone through so many, many aides and i can say that in his case its cultural. He is more comfortable at this point with people who are like his mother. I know this because none of the slurs come up when he is complaining....and he always complains about everyone....
but let me tell you, when someone is deaf and doesn't really realize it, alot of hurtful stuff gets said. I cant even explain how mortifying it can be!
But health care providers who work with a variety of people have to be able to push through.
Alot of these people make tiny amounts of money, and we rely on them to ignore what our loved ones may say...it's pretty unbelievable how patient most of these workers are.
This is just another huge problem that needs to be addressed in this country. We're all getting old and heaven forbid any of us ends up without a family member there overseeing our care. You only need one bad egg to just ignore one little detail and its all over.
6/13/09, 11:59 AM  
Blogger Bob said...
Von Brunn's the kind of guy who wants to know who donated the blood they're pumping into him.
6/13/09, 7:10 PM  
Blogger rose said...
My dad was Irish-American (born in Dublin, came to America as a kid and served in WWII.) He had the same prejudices his generation were raised with. When I was a kid, he sounded exactly like Archie Bunker. But he gradually became wiser from reading books and expanding his circle of friends. As the world changed, my Dad lovingly accepted an Italian-American daughter-in-law and a Jewish son-in-law! And by the time he died, in the mid-1990's, he was even in favor of gays openly serving in the military!
I think many (not all) men of his generation initially clung to their prejudices, but eventually realized it was foolish and senseless to do so.
6/16/09, 3:16 AM  
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