An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
January 21st, 2015
No Response
Not surprisingly, it’s a sad, sad day at the Brigham. Yesterday a man walked into the hospital and shot one of our cardiac surgeons, then shot himself. Both died.
Amidst the grief, horror, and shock that we all are feeling, I was also reminded of the year I spent working in England before going to medical school. Somewhat to my surprise, I found myself frequently defending our country against the numerous criticisms directed at the United States by my (mostly) good-natured English colleagues and friends.
Many of the critiques centered around food and drink — but not all.
- “Sax [last name a sign of affection, very Public School], how could you Yanks eat that vile peanut butter [or beef jerky, or Velveeta Cheese, or corn dog, or crispy bacon]?
Response: Hey, some of those things are great — I love peanut butter, and bet you would too if you tried it. And as for our crispy bacon, it’s way superior to the greasy soft stuff you guys serve with breakfast. And don’t get me started on marmite — disgusting. - “Sax, seems like America is a vast place, vast in both landscape and human girth. Is it because everyone eats at McDonald’s every day? I guess your only monarch is Burger King.”
Response: My apologies for McDonald’s (which, for the record, seems to have caught on quite nicely in your country too), but you must understand that American cuisine is as varied as our waistlines. - “Sax, why does American beer look, smell, and taste like watered-down piss?”
Response: Why does British beer smell and taste like wet shoes? Warm wet shoes, no less. - “Sax, how can you live in a country so barbaric, so uncivilised, that any madman can get a gun and go out and shoot someone?”
No response.
Just sadness.
5 Responses to “No Response”
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
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Agreed. We supposedly cherish the rule of law yet provide almost no barrier to someone executing deadly revenge on their own at the moment they feel compelled to do so. It happens every day around the country, so commonplace that this devastating event garnered only a brief paragraph in the National Briefing on Page 12 of the New York Times today. Physicians, working in a field defined by high-stakes, life-or-death moments or sequences of events, or with patients destabilized by mental illness or addiction, are particularly vulnerable. Yet I suspect many us support the Republican lawmakers who enthusiastically blocked gun-control legislation even after the Aurora and Newton massacres. When will this country come to our senses and discover that allowing the general populace to arm themselves does not make us safer? We do not lack for examples of sensible gun policy in other developed nations, but our American hubris seems to prevent us from admitting that we’ve made a mistake.
I am so sorry to hear this. I actually had to use the search feature of the NY Times to find the article. Is that how blase we have become about shootings? After the Newtown massacre, I thought for sure we would get gun control legislation passed. When we didn’t, I gave up hope of this nation changing its gun policy in my lifetime.
This is truly unfortunate. I am at a loss for words. I hope we can come to place where we can be sensitive to others and respect everyone genuinely. Heartbroken by this story.
A presidential, congressional, and national failure that more has not been accomplished on gun control in the wake of so many recent tragedies. Perhaps Vivek Murphy, time to jump into the fray.
Agreed.