Being black is bad for your health

Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a book club selection for one of my Book Clubs. I would call it an outstanding book to read. When Damon Tweedy entered medical school at Duke University, he expected a promising career which would give him the opportunity to serve the community. What he learned repeatedly is, "Being black is bad for your health." His professors highlighted the instances of poor blacks with no health insurance who can't afford the treatments they need, as well as the lack of health services for blacks in the rural South. In addition, the southern diet of over-salted fried foods, and the lack of exercise, cause hypertension, and heart disease.

Tweedy chronicles how during his internship, he met people waiting for hours for appointments in rural clinics, where patients often can't afford the medications prescribed, and doctors have to resort to samples to help their patients with limited income. While Tweedy had expected a career in cardiology, he actually transitioned to a practice in psychiatry, where he was able to provide talk therapy as well as prescription treatment for patients.

This was an impressive book, covering matters of health and race, as well as discrimination in the practice of medicine.



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From the Neighborhood Watch

To me and a long mailing list:

I am forwarding John Doe's email below in case you also encountered these teenagers today or saw anything suspicious. It's important to report these incidents to the police. Several police officers have even told me to call 911, as that gets them here fast and they can see what we're seeing and intervene and prevent something worse from happening before it's too late or the person(s) get away.

>>>>>>John Doe wrote:

I just had a minor run in with a couple of guys walking down XXX Drive at XXX Ln. Two black male teenagers and a white female teenager talking on a cell phone. I asked them if they lived in the neighborhood and one of them responded yes but then when I asked them where they lived one of the males in a dark hooded jacket asked me "Why the hell do you want know anyway" and began to move towards me in a threatening manner. I told them that we had some trouble with vandalism in the neighborhood and they proceeded to ignore me as they left our neighborhood via XXXX Ln.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I received this while we were traveling. It was all I could do to keep from tearing into the public PC that I was using. I did respond, and set off some ugly responses from several people on the mailing list. How would you respond to this?