Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

We are not trying to be conservative or liberal. We are human.

Christine Meyer, MD
Policy
June 13, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

My mother has a tattoo. Really. She does.

There is a small blue crucifix on the inner aspect of her right wrist. Let me pause here to point out a few things. First of all, my mother is not a “tattoo” person. Secondly, the inner aspect of the wrist is one of the most sensitive areas of the human body. Third, my mom doesn’t like needles.  All that to say, if my 75-year-old, 100-pound mom got a tattoo on the inside of her wrist, it means a lot.

The cross is a symbol of her Christian faith. In 1969, she and my father emigrated from Egypt to escape the brutal persecution of Coptic Christians. Sadly, when they arrived in the “Promised Land” (Jersey City, NJ), they quickly learned that by immigrating to the U.S. they had effectively lept from the pot of religious oppression directly into the fire of ethnic marginalization.

Growing up as a “brown” girl in a virtually all-white school was not easy. I hid my Egyptian smashed fava bean sandwiches, avoided having friends over, and prayed daily for my hair to become straight. As proud as my mom was of her cross, I was embarrassed by all the things that came with it.

I was mortified at my father’s inability to use the “p” and “th” sounds appropriately. I cringed every November 6 morning at his enthusiastic “HABBY BIRTHESDAY.” I always thought our house smelled like onions and was mad that I wasn’t allowed to have sleepovers.

I felt like I was constantly tripping over my Egyptian-ness.

But I never, not once, felt like my life was in danger.

The death of a black man at the knee of a white police officer is not a matter I ever expected to discuss in a letter to my patients, and I know I will lose some of you as a result. I am sure there is a way for me to express my opinion by softening the edges of a story about a “bad cop” and an “unfortunate incident.” But today, as George Floyd’s family mourns, I am thinking about my parents and the sacrifices they made to raise us in this great country, and I cannot “see both sides.”

Black people are more likely to die of cancer, hypertension, and CoVID-19. African American women are three and a half times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes. African American children are ten times more likely to die of gun violence. African Americans are also two and a half times more likely to die in police custody. This is not a matter of a “bad cop.” It is a matter of a nation that still allows white supremacy to bubble aggressively just beneath the surface of our proudly proclaimed diversity. It is a matter of absent decisive disciplinary action against police brutality. It is a matter of racial inequity that continues to permeate all aspects of American life from equal pay to homeownership to health care outcomes.

I am a doctor.  I took physiology. I know that we all “bleed red,” and I do believe that “all lives matter.” But to say these things in the face of the brutal murder of George Floyd is appalling.

I am privileged. But I am privileged because of the sacrifices my minority parents made. As doctors, we see first-hand the havoc that racial inequality causes: higher amputation rates in diabetics, lower survival rates in stroke, and more frequent emergency room visits for asthma. As doctors, we work towards achieving health equity every day. To do so authentically, we as doctors, must also continually, loudly, and boldly show our support for the victims of racial injustice while condemning its perpetrators.

To hold up that “most police officers are good” belittles the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Trayvon Martin, David McAtee, and Manuel Ellis and thousands of others named and unnamed who have been killed as a result of racial injustice.

My intention is not to vilify law enforcement officers. I believe that most are true civil servants shouldering the burden of protecting our public with integrity, kindness, and respect for all. However, the pattern of inaction against those officers that are not, is unacceptable. Rather than lift up the vast majority of dedicated officers, complacency in the face of these tragedies serves to further bury the despicable actions of those like Derek Chauvin.

ADVERTISEMENT

In my practice, we will continue to provide the highest quality care to every single patient, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious belief, or sexual orientation. We will continue to stand for racial justice, health equity, and against the use of ungoverned police force.

We believe in due process for all regardless of criminal record, character, guilt or innocence.

We will continue to advocate for equal access to services — not the least of which is high-quality health care — for all minority, marginalized, or otherwise disadvantaged populations, and work toward a day when the heavy numbers of sick and dying aren’t disproportionately borne by one race or another.

We often enjoy bantering conversations with our patients. We agree to “respectfully disagree” on matters like baseball: Phillies vs. Mets (Mets, obviously), cheesesteaks: wit or without (wit, obviously), and the bourbon libation of choice: Manhattan vs. Old Fashioned (Old Fashioned, obviously).

However, when it comes to opinions that seem to condone racial inequality, the use of racial slurs, or assumptions made based on race, we have a zero-debate, zero-tolerance policy.

We cannot possibly contribute to changing a culture outside of our doors without first shoring up the culture within.

We are professionals tasked with using our careers to better the quality of life of all.  We are not trying to be conservative or liberal. We are not Republicans or Democrats.

We are human.

Christine Meyer is an internal medicine physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

What about the mental health of clinical trial participants? 

June 13, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

Body-shaming in the time of COVID

June 13, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
What about the mental health of clinical trial participants? 
Next Post >
Body-shaming in the time of COVID

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Christine Meyer, MD

  • Finding balance: How my practice became more Amazon than Etsy

    Christine Meyer, MD
  • A personal mission to get obese patients on GLP-1 agonists

    Christine Meyer, MD
  • Will the CDC ever rise again?

    Christine Meyer, MD

Related Posts

  • The conservative appeal of Medicare for all

    Peter Ubel, MD
  • Is health care just legal human trafficking?

    Debra Blaine, MD
  • The medical student who had a genuine human profile

    DrizzleMD
  • Be a human first and a doctor second

    Sarah Murad
  • We are human and all in this together

    Hannah Todd, MPH
  • This patient interaction is a reminder of the power of being human

    Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH

More in Policy

  • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

    Allen Fredrickson
  • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

    Trevor Lyford, MPH
  • The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

    Tarek Khrisat, MD
  • Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

    Kathleen Muldoon, PhD
  • How fragmented records and poor tracking degrade patient outcomes

    Michael R. McGuire
  • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

    Lee Scheinbart, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • A world without vaccines: What history teaches us about public health

      Drew Remignanti, MD, MPH | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • From Founding Fathers to modern battles: physician activism in a politicized era [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From stigma to science: Rethinking the U.S. drug scheduling system

      Artin Asadipooya | Meds
    • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician
    • The promise and perils of AI in health care: Why we need better testing standards

      Max Rollwage, PhD | Tech
    • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

      Allen Fredrickson | Policy

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • A world without vaccines: What history teaches us about public health

      Drew Remignanti, MD, MPH | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • From Founding Fathers to modern battles: physician activism in a politicized era [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From stigma to science: Rethinking the U.S. drug scheduling system

      Artin Asadipooya | Meds
    • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician
    • The promise and perils of AI in health care: Why we need better testing standards

      Max Rollwage, PhD | Tech
    • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

      Allen Fredrickson | Policy

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...