Don't Blog Angry...

In our Health Policy class on Tuesday (I just listened to the lecture today), an emergency medicine doctor came in to discuss the physician's role in legislation. I disagreed with a lot of what he said, but it was an interesting lecture. Near the end, he put forth a case scenario: a Vietnam-veteran, pack-a-day smoker, who lives in a van (down by the river). He asked students for ideas about what we can do as physicians to help him. Most of the suggestions were acceptable. Offer our services for free at soup kitchens, help him get a job, use money from the cigarette tax to fund educational programs, etc.

But one student suggested, and I quote, "I know it sounds heartless, but throw him in jail. He'll get three hots and a cot, he'll get medical attention, he'll also get job training too." That student is damn lucky I don't attend lectures, because he would be a bloody spot on the wall. It's for his own good. The ends justify the means. Holy fucking horseshit. Let's ignore the burden this would put on the taxpayers, throwing him in an already overcrowded jail system. The human rights violations alone are enough to make smoke come out of my ears. So being poor is a crime now? Fuck it, let's just accuse him of being a terrorist and send him to Guantanamo Bay. Free health care! The ends justify the means! Why don't we just kill him?! It's for his own good! FUCK, why wasn't I in lecture that day?