(no subject)
Uninsured and Proud
I still have so far to go when it comes to recognizing and looking out for the rights of poor, oppressed minority groups within our society. The truth is, I'm not just insensitive -- when it comes to some groups, the idea of their even having rights never enters my mind!
Case in point -- I listen to the right wing nutbag Mike Gallagher about once a week, on the way in to work. It starts my day off with, you know, that bad taste in my mouth that normal radio just can't achieve. Incidentally, a few weeks back, it was Mike Gallagher who began talking about tshirts with "This is America -- Speak English" on them. My resulting google search turned up the site that later produced my troll.
It's a whole circle of life thing.
Regardless, yesterday, Mike was talking about the Terminator's plan out in California to start -- [cue menacing music] -- state health insurance. Basically, it sounds like Arnie is proposing a variation on what Mitt Romney signed in Massachusetts, a plan that essentially mandates that people have health insurance just like they must have car insurance if they drive a car. Businesses will face new requirements about carrynig health insurance for their employees, and the people that fall between the cracks will be able to find coverage as well.
Now, I can -- theoretically -- find fault in this kind of state plan. But I never saw Mike Gallagher's criticism coming. And that really makes me sad. Worse, it demonstrates that I ignore the plight of some underrepresented insular factions.
Like, for instance... Oh, I don't know...
PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE BY THE SEAT OF THEIR PANTS AND NOT BE COVERED BY HEALTH INSURANCE.
Seriously. That was his argument. Verbatim. The people of California would be ignoring the wishes and rights of people who do not want to be covered by health insurance.
Apparently, there are all kinds of folks running around out there who hold their right to untreated lockjaw very dearly. If their right lung collapses, they don't want the option of seeking medical advice to correct it.
Are there more of these independent, insurance-averse rebels than there are, say, families who would like to treat their child's diabetes but lack the health insurance to do so? More than there are families forced to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills?
I don't know -- that's really why I'm asking. Because evidently, based on this excellent, excellent argument I heard, merely having the right to NOT seek medical attention is not good enough for these strange anti-coverage straw men. They don't want to be covered.
I'm simply asking a question here, not pointing fingers.
Because I'm always on the lookout for new segments of rebels. If having untreated flesh-eating bacteria is your thing, then hey, be my guest. You could be at the forefront of the Next Great Civil Rights Movement. Because I dream of a day when a man is not coerced by any government into having medical recourse when he becomes ill. When we all save 25 cents of prevention and instead pay a million dollars cure when he shows up dying at the free clinic at taxpayers' expense. Until that day arrives, none of us is free... Bastards.
This is America, after all...