Why we are where we are...

[nadinbrzezinski]

as many of you know I was a medic... in Mexico.

So one day our counterparts from the Trauma center across the border were visiting. Kind of standards, and all that happy horse and how to transport to their facility and all that.

So I go to pick a kid who was stabbed multiple times by his brother. Now I stopped at fifteen, and we just moved to the Trauma Center, doing all kinds of advanced life support to get the kid the best chance he could get.

So I roll this eleven year old into the trauma bay, with all kinds of equipment attached... and transfer him to the trauma team.

What came next shocked me. This head of a US trauma center asked me, realizing this kid was dirt poor, I have to give him points for observation... who pays for all of this?

So I pointed to the box at the entry of the ER... yep the one set there for donations... what passes for a billing department... and then told him, the community does.

Fast forwards a few years and my husband's previous job. He responded to a scene where a nine year old was shot in the arm. The cops had to force the responders to take that kid to the ER... never mind she had a bullet in her arm. Here is the point, while both kids were poor, and I doubt their families could afford the full price of the care their children got... I did not think about it. We got on scene, did all kinds of things to keep him alive and drove as fast as safely posible (I'd like to think that, we almost didn't make it a couple times) to the Trauma bay. Cost never came into the equation. And yes, we ran about 6500 USD in that call, just from the ambulance... but in the US it does. By the way my husband was part of the responding officers, before anybody asks.

That is what ails us. That story tells you all about values or lack of them.

Oh and the kid made it, and his brother ... talk about falling through cracks, was never prosecuted for the crime. He was criminally insane though. Before I lost track of the case, his brother was sent to a state hospital for the criminally insane. I felt sorry for the family at multiple levels.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Effective Friday Night, 100% of AAA rated Sovereign Nations have Universal Healthcare.

Just sayin'

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. And some at BB+ are closer to it than we are

yup

[annabanana]

5. +1 !! . . . . . .n/t

[rrneck]

2. The bulk of our economy is devoted

to profit from human ignorance and misery.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. In my view we are about to get a

core values smack down... as more and more people will need help in ways we haven't.

[rrneck]

9. +1000 It's in the pipe. nt

[elocs]

6. So your husband was part of the responding officers? He is a cop?

Because we have DUers who have posted that not only are cops "pigs", they are "fucking pigs".

I've pointed out to them that undoubtedly some DUers or their family are involved in law enforcement but it made no difference to them, cops are still "fucking pigs".

Of the tools we need to rid ourselves of here at DU the first that should go is the broad brush.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Former cop

and while serving along side with cops in another country... I also saw some questionable behavior by LEOs, but also some outstanding behavior.

[elocs]

11. Cops are people, good & bad, unfortunately the profession has the misfortune to attract

exactly the wrong kind of person who should be in any position of power or authority.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. IT is so much about each department and leadership

It truly flows from the top

In my area of the country we used to have a lot of trouble, far more, than when they created the regional academy. That solved a lot of the problems. One of the departments with one of the worst reputations is LAPD... alas they are not part of the regional academy system.

Getting to see this close up gives you a lot of the reasons why.

My local city police department was a real mess (and is becoming a real mess again)... another reason for that, is leadership, but also pay. It is the worst paid urban department in the state. And don't get me started on the fire department, and they are both under attack, but people who are not willing to pay for it, treat officers like hired help and expect them to do their job in an unsafe situation.

Yesterday we had a perfect example A local cop was shot in the head. He was following a couple suspects wanted for a shooting earlier in the day, armed and dangerous. He had no back up. There was no back up.

One reason why I am glad hubby is no longer in the department.

[FirstLight]

7. Thank you for such a powerful story...

healthcare, mental care, aged care, feeding the poor...so many others do it better than we do. why? you are right, it has to do with the need to make a buck or maybe something inherent with capitalistic values. whatever it is, right now the PTB and most of society here value things, money and such more so than other people.

Somehow it became less important to care for someone in need than to care about your car or house or portfolio. maybe there were always people like this in every society, but it has gone to a psychopathic proportion. Even if regular people are doing mediocre, they will still participate in the hatred towards those less than fortunate. I have seen some downright meanness....these folks would rather burn the box on your hospital entrance than add to it! (and many of them call themselves christian!)

But just as this is an example of why we are where we are, it is also a call to awaken those of us who believe that community is worth fighting for. In fact i think community is going to be what saves some of us from the crumbling of the empire. My small town just implemented some neighborhood programs to do just this, and I intend to get involved. It's a non-political agenda, just working on emergency, snow and survival stuff, so if we are stuck together in 10 feet of snow with no services, we can deal. and ya, that kind of help has nothing to do with money... :)

edit:typos :blush:

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. You welcome...

I got a lot of those... unfortunately.