Comments | andrewducker: Interesting Links for 11-01-2013

andrewducker

Comments 7

bart_calendar January 11 2013, 11:06:41 UTC

You have to be incredibly insane to comment on any major news site article - because no matter what position you take you will be spammed by seriously unstable people.

You could comment "the sky is blue" and depending on the core set of commentators either be told "that's what you'd like to think isn't it? Get Nobama out of the White House!" or "That's what the patriarchy tells you to think! It's only seems blue because of Male Gaze, you fucking men's rights activist!"

The only difference is that if the core readership of insane commentators is left wing, their nutbag comments will be spelled better.

nancylebov January 11 2013, 11:24:21 UTC

The sky is blue less than half the time.

bart_calendar January 11 2013, 11:29:43 UTC

That's just feminist Nobama propoganda to get us to buy carbon credits and take AWAY THE GUNS THAT JESUS WANTS us to HAVE!

bart_calendar January 11 2013, 12:13:08 UTC

I've never understood the myth in America that you have to wait in long lines for healthcare overseas.

When I was in America I'd have to make a doctor's appointment in advance and when I showed up if I got seen by the doctor within an hour of my appointment, I'd be impressed.

In France, I don't have to make an appointment, just show up. If I get there right when he opens in the morning I don't have to wait at all. If I go at a random time during the day there are sometimes one or two people in front of me, but the longest I've ever waited is a half hour.

If I do make an appointment, I've always been seen at exactly the time my appointment is for. (Though I rarely make appointments because working freelance I never know when a potential client will want to talk on the phone so I like to have flexibility as to when during the day I go.)

But! But! But! lsanderson January 11 2013, 12:32:39 UTC

Foreign doctor cooties! Ewe!

abigail_n January 11 2013, 12:59:55 UTC

The long lines issue doesn't refer to waiting at the GP (and honestly, I think your experience there is unique) but for how long you have to wait for an appointment with a specialist, and particularly how long you have to wait for non-lifesaving surgery.

And though personally you will take my universal healthcare over my cold, dead body, it's certainly been my experience that these waiting times can be onerous. There's a reason for that, of course - if anyone, regardless of their financial situation, can see the top specialist, they will try to - but nevertheless the two times someone in my family has needed surgery for conditions that weren't life-threatening but were nevertheless causing them a great deal of pain and discomfort, they opted to have the surgery done privately (paid for by "complimentary" insurance that you purchase on top of the state insurance) rather than wait for an appointment at one of the public hospitals.

naath January 11 2013, 13:11:47 UTC

In England my experience has generally been that GPs require appointments but you'll probably get one today if you are clearly very sick Right Now and within the week if you aren't. But specialists usually have a longer queue; for non-urgent things I've waited months for appointments.

A&E is particularly bad for waiting; show up on a Friday evening and you're likely going to be stuck there for several hours unless you need urgent intervention.

But Americans seem just as likely to Complain On The Internet about waiting to see a doctor as English people are.