I love comments. Lots of comments. Comments are good for a writer, and I generally don't respond to comments because I was taught as a writer that criticism makes me stronger and that I should learn from them, and that I should make my writing clear enough that comments aren't necessary.
Yet, I have noticed, and a lot of bloggers have noticed that allowing comments tends to bring out the worst in people. They get ignorant. The very worst we call trolls, the nasty little monsters who crawl out from under the bridges and harass people.
My harangue about the doctors and hospitals brought out some trolls and some really ignorant comments. Most people thought those posts were an indictment of the healthcare system.
For the record: I never talked about anything but doctors and hospitals. If you or your loved one ain't a doctor (you know, with MD behind your name) I wasn't talking about you.
I love nurses. I'm married to a nurse. The woman I call Milady, the victim of the latest medical incursion, my wife, has been a registered nurse for 27 years.
I love EMT's. When I'm standing on the side of the road, holding a victim, calling on radio for help and the ambulance rolls up, I breathe a sigh of relief. EMT's do tremendous work under horrible conditions. I love them like brothers and sisters.
Now, on to the trolls: Chris, in SE TX, says: I'm an engineer. My wife is an EMT.
Cool, Chris, give her a hug for me. I love EMTs. They do great work. I distrust doctors and hate hospitals.
Chris continues: I'm an engineer. When was the last time your car mechanic came by your house to make sure your car is still running good? When did he invite you to dinner??? Actually, Chris, my mechanic and I ate supper together last week, after we dropped a transmission in the front yard. My mechanic makes house calls. Doesn't yours? Oh, I forgot, you're an engineer. Most good mechanics don't want to associate with engineers. It might rub off and lead to a loss of third-grade skills. I personally don't let engineers in my yard. They're tough on the grass.
Chris rants: I'm an engineer. Do you f****** think I invite people I deal with PROFESSIONALLY to my house for dinner? Why the f*** would I do that?? Oh, Chris, you keep claiming to be an engineer (another one of my least favorite professions) yet you can't read. You're upset because your wife is an EMT and you read things into my posts that weren't there. Yet engineers are supposed to be precise. Well, Chris, use your precision to read this. Doctors. Hospitals. That's all I was ranting about. Oh, and using the F-Word in someone else's blog is considered ill form. I was taught that use of profanity is indicative of a poor vocabulary. Evidently you never learned to read or speak, which I've found is a common trait among engineers. Go back and do third grade over again. You'll be all right.
Chris continues: I don't know what you did for a living, but I seriously doubt it that you invited all kinds of NON-PAYING clients for dinner with your family. And, BTW, an EMT in LA makes about $8-11 per hour, a Paramedic about $14, a lot of times without benefits, no retirement etc. I'm a working cop, Chris, which you'd know if you read the sidebar. But, an engineer can't be expected to actually read something. For the 3rd time, Chris, I love EMT's. I was ranting about doctors and hospitals. Is your wife a doctor? Is she a hospital? I'm sure she is a caring, dedicated individual. I'm also convinced she is married to an idiot.
And yet, the parting shot. Chris sez: Oh, and BTW, to smear the reputation of ALL the health care workers because of LIMITED experience(s), is not exactly intelligent. Oh, Chris, you must have been the backwards child. I said nothing about healthcare workers. I said doctors. I said physicians. I said hospitals. I really think that a reading course would do you a world of good. No, actually, a reading comprehension course. Which I understand most engineers failed in third grade. Actually, Chris, in your case, prehaps you should quit your job and go back and do the whole elementary experience over again. Then, when you're ready, come back and we'll talk about engineers. I've got some great rants saved for engineers, but knowing how to read, and being precise in language will be a great asset. I'd rather not be accused of writing something I didn't write.
Chris is an idiot.
6 comments:
Thanks for this amusing post. I've worked in healthcare for 20 years and for a variety of doctors. Some were caring, competent, excellent docs. Some practiced assembly line medicine and thought cuz they had an MD behind their names we should all bow down in worship. Point is, they are people like you and me...I am constantly telling my mom to *question* her doc. He's not God. You have a right to question them - you are paying them for a service. If you don't like your doc there are plenty more out there.
Good luck to Milady in her recovery.
PS I love comments too...they encourage a blogger to continue blogging. I can't believe it took me so long to find yours!
You have got it right. I was laughing all through the post. As to Doctors and hospitals, well, I think you're more right than wrong there, too.
I bet you get another gem from Chris. I'm just going to sit here and wait.
The school that Chris attended must have served a lot of Kool-Aid....
I agree, you were very specific in your criticism.
In my very limited experience with hospitals I would have to agree with your accessment. Typical of my experiences with emergency rooms at major hospitals: my wife was in an auto accident, left side of the car, and her left leg, were caved in. I beat the ambulance to the scene so I drove her to the nearest emergency room. "Do you have insurance, Mr. Tom?" "No." (I did, but I was so rattled that I forgot)
1 x-ray, "It's not broken, take her home."
No pain pills, no evaluation, no suggestions for treatment, they didn't even brush the broken glass off of her.
And the name of this hospital was "Mercy".
Right.
ROFL. Loved your hosp/Doc post and troll rebuttal.
As a qualifier: My dad was a Hosptial Adminstator over 20 yrs, Mom was Lab Tech, 3 sisters all started as Nurses Aides before going on to Nursing school. Many family friends were Docs. From them I learned to never leave your loved one alone in a hospital and always assume they need you to act as a patient advocate (don't get someone else's meds etc).
I'm an Engineer. I got there the slow way. College dropout, variety of jobs in mills and the woods, trade school followed by Navy A & B schools and finally back to college after ~13 years the hard way. 16 + years later --cleaning up, babysitting and acting as linguist/interpreter/placater or frustrated nerd tendencies from engineers like Chris keeps me employed. Still ROFL.
dw
Wha Chew MEEN, SAYN enguneirs cant rite gud? i larnt thet engunner stuf reel fas. yestady I cudnt iven spil engunner, tody i r 1.
Actually, I got a higher verbal SAT score than my math score. But I am an engineer.
Once I recovered from my high school English teachers, I gradually became a reasonably capable writer.
I can read fiction at 100 pages an hour with pretty good comprehension.
I do know some engineers like Chris, but I find that they either wise up or get laid off.
I would never claim that engineers are well socialized, suave, sophisticated, debonair, or fashionable.
Some of us are not too bad.
My wonderful wife, who is one of the 5% of attorneys that the other 95% give a bad name to, decided that her second husband would be an engineer.
This was based on her 20 years of experience practicing criminal, family, and bankruptcy law. We don't go bankrupt much, we tend to pay our child support, and we aren't particularly criminal.
I probably am rough on the grass.
And I certainly know lots of engineers who would have an adverse effect on a mechanic.
I remember talking to a garage door repairman who said that he could always tell an electronic engineer's garage door by the blood and drywall damage where they had unscrewed the spring retainer while it was under tension.
I had thought about unscrewing it, but had decided not to.
I got to this blog looking at S&W revolvers. Looks interesting, may have to read more.
Regards,
glypnir
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