Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:06 PM Jun 2017

Canadian Woman Demands 'White Doctor' in Video Captured at Walk-In Clinic

A Canadian woman at a walk-in clinic on Sunday demanded that her son be treated by a "white doctor," launching into a rant that was captured on video as others in the waiting room accused her of being "extremely rude and racist."

"Can I see a doctor please that's white, that doesn't have brown teeth, that speaks English?" the woman said in the video captured at the Rapid Access to Medical Specialists clinic in Mississauga, Ontario.

"You're telling me there's not one white doctor in this whole entire building?" she said to clinic staffers who told her that she would have to wait a few hours if she wanted to see a pediatrician who is white. "There's nobody that's Canadian? Nobody that was born here?" the woman added.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, claimed that a previous doctor could not understand her and did not properly treat her son, who was suffering from chest pains. "He was not speaking English. His teeth were brown. I do not need his help," she said.



The video shows witnesses in the waiting room confronting the woman, accusing her of setting a poor example for her son and telling her to seek medical treatment elsewhere.

"Seeing it so openly, without any fear, in front of so many people, without even fearing that someone can report her – it was really shocking," Hitesh Bhardwaj, who recorded the video, told CTV Toronto.

http://time.com/4827286/canadian-woman-demands-white-doctor-video/

America is becoming so great that deplorable behavior is expanding northward. Or Canada isn't always as liberal as they would have us believe.

The woman was identified later as having a mixed race child and an Indian-Trinidadian boyfriend/baby daddy. She might like dating brown guys but doesn't like brown people otherwise. It's a strange concept.

Or when people get upset and frustrated, it brings out the bigotry and prejudice they've been quietly feeling inside but kept hidden.

The video also shows when she decided that she was the real victim being attacked and outnumbered by dangerous people. In America, people have been shot and killed for less.

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Canadian Woman Demands 'White Doctor' in Video Captured at Walk-In Clinic (Original Post) IronLionZion Jun 2017 OP
Sounds like she needs an appointment with Leghorn21 Jun 2017 #1
Well we can see why Trump is so healthy IronLionZion Jun 2017 #4
I'm a white Physician Assistant. Aristus Jun 2017 #2
I saw that -- It was appalling, and somewhat surprising whathehell Jun 2017 #3
It goes both ways trixie2 Jun 2017 #5
It makes no sense IronLionZion Jun 2017 #6
Wow! trixie2 Jun 2017 #7
Canada has white doctors who speak French as a first language IronLionZion Jun 2017 #8
Four of the best doctors my family has ever had are from other countries. CozyMystery Jun 2017 #9
All my dad's doctors were SE Asian SharonClark Jun 2017 #10
A very heavy accent can be quite difficult to understand, and can... 3catwoman3 Jun 2017 #11
That guy sounds like a real piece of work IronLionZion Jun 2017 #15
I can understand wanting a doctor who can speak English well Skittles Jun 2017 #12
There are a lot of whites who don't speak English well IronLionZion Jun 2017 #13
correct Skittles Jun 2017 #17
kaiser member shanti Jun 2017 #14
I'm a Kaiser member IronLionZion Jun 2017 #16

Aristus

(65,985 posts)
2. I'm a white Physician Assistant.
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:15 PM
Jun 2017

And I would have kicked her racist ass out of my clinic in the blink of an eye.

whathehell

(28,938 posts)
3. I saw that -- It was appalling, and somewhat surprising
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:15 PM
Jun 2017

If you see it and read much of the commentary following it, you'll realize that big bad bigotry isn't just on our side of the border.

trixie2

(905 posts)
5. It goes both ways
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:29 PM
Jun 2017

When I was layed off a couple of years ago I went on the ACA. I chose my plan, which I am very happy with, and was assigned a Dr. in my local area. I called to set up appointment. I had pneumonia. I could not get in for 5 months. I called the carrier back and explained I needed to get in right away. They assigned me another Dr., in my area. So 48 hours later, the time it takes for both sides to agree....I was, once again, told there would be a 4 month wait. I almost started crying and the nice receptionist said that I could get in to see another Dr. in 48 hours if I called and requested him. Same office, same insurance. His last name was a Middle Eastern name and the Drs they were assigning me were European names. I called my insurer and requested the Dr. and was seen 48 hours later. I asked the insurer why they did not give me him in the first place. They said because Americans tend to want a European heritage Dr.

How crazy is that? I love, love, love my Dr. and we have a great relationship now.

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
6. It makes no sense
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:42 PM
Jun 2017

I can understand if someone doesn't like one individual and want to switch, but having a preference for a particular heritage is insane to me.

My grandmother was a doctor in the 1960s and had a hard time building a practice because many patients of both genders would request a male doctor. In liberal New York City

trixie2

(905 posts)
7. Wow!
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:46 PM
Jun 2017

When I was of age to see a GYN I told my mother I wanted a female Dr. I was a teen and felt more comfortable for my first exam to be with a woman. My mom asked if I was gay. She said it was odd I would want a female to look at my pelvic area.



My mom was a very independent woman and fought for civil rights, women's rights etc. To this day I feel a little less of her, gotta say.

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
8. Canada has white doctors who speak French as a first language
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:48 PM
Jun 2017

and of course many brown doctors who were born in Canada and speak English with a Canadian accent.

It would be hilarious if she got a native/first nations doctor

there are so many combinations that highlight the absurdity of her request.

CozyMystery

(652 posts)
9. Four of the best doctors my family has ever had are from other countries.
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 01:51 PM
Jun 2017

My cardiologist is from Syria. He saved my life. He is wonderful in every way -- his knowledge, his implementation of it, and his relationships with patients and staff.

My kids' former pediatrician is from Iran. She is wonderful in every way, too. I wish my kids could still go to her, but they are 21 and 23 now.

One of my sons has a surgeon from Lebanon. His reconstructive surgeon is from India.

These doctors practice in a small town in western PA. They are far superior to the doctors we had in Boston. The cardiologist not only saved my life, he also made it possible for me to walk with out extreme pain when he diagnosed me correctly and fixed the problem.

When we moved here, I was scared. The doctors here were not from Harvard Medical School, what if they were no good?

We are very fortunate, and we make sure to thank our doctors and tell them how much we appreciate their care.

SharonClark

(9,998 posts)
10. All my dad's doctors were SE Asian
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 02:08 PM
Jun 2017

He kept calling his primary doctor "Dr Swami", which was not his name. After Dad died, I spoke to the doctor about my dad shortening and mispronouncing his name and the doctor said it didn't bother him because my dad always treated him with respect. Respect is a two-way street.

3catwoman3

(23,746 posts)
11. A very heavy accent can be quite difficult to understand, and can...
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 05:29 PM
Jun 2017

...interfere with understanding what a health care provider is saying, but that is no excuse for acting the way this woman did. She could put it on herself, and say something like, "I'm really sorry, but I have a very hard time understanding people with heavy accents."

I quite agree with the woman who spoke up and told the mom that her child's biggest problem was who he had for a mother.

In the early 80s, I spent 6 long, miserable months as the temporary head nurse on a pediatric unit in a small rural hospital in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The only "pediatrician" there was from Pakistan. I put "pediatrician" in quotes, because he was not board certified. Rumor had it that he had taken the boards twice, and failed twice. No one was sure if this was due to a language deficit or a knowledge deficit - maybe both.

He had an extremely heavy accent, and was very difficult to understand. His idea of my role as head nurse was to follow him when he made his daily rounds, and hand him the instrument case with the otoscope, etc. I could not debase myself sufficiently to assume that handmaiden role. I would go into the rooms with him, put the case on the patient's bed, and then step away and put my hands behind my back. I justified my accompanying him at all by the obvious need for someone to explain to the obviously puzzled parents what this man had said. The population served by this hospital was generally not well educated, and no one would ever think to question a doctor about anything. The parents would just sit there and nod uncomprehendingly.

He admitted lots of kids with ear infections for oral antibiotics. His usual justification for admission would be that a child had vomited once so was "not tolerating oral medication- must give IV." I found this really puzzling, so I started using the unit otoscope myself to see if these were unusually severe cases. Nope. One time, as I was looking in a kid's ears, the mom came in and wanted to know how things were looking. The ear drums were picture perfect and could have been put in a textbook as an example of healthy ear drums. I knew I could not say that, as I was not the doctor. I thought fast and said, "It looks like they are responding well to treatment." Seemed a safe enough thing to say.

About an hour later, along comes the doc to do his rounds. Mom still there, asks the same question. Imagine my shock when he said, "Oh, looks much worse today." How can you look worse than perfect? I was horrified. I couldn't tell if he really didn't know that the eardrums looked fine, or if he was lying to the mom to justify keeping the kid in the hospital so he could charge for hospital visits.

I would not have trusted that guy to untie my shoes.

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
15. That guy sounds like a real piece of work
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 07:02 PM
Jun 2017

there are plenty of bad apples. There are plenty of good apples. If the last apple had worms and someone expects the next apple to have worms, that is what apple bigotry is all about.

Here are some good apples. If anyone has trouble understanding these two, the problems are not with the doctor. One was born in Michigan, one is an immigrant. Even with recent immigrants from South Asia, some speak much more clearly than others. Check out English language newscasts from there.





My first white girlfriend was abusive, a serial liar, a serial cheater, and had some addictions and refused to get treatment. It would be easy to expect the next would be terrible too, but she wasn't. The next white girlfriend was wonderful and very normal.

Skittles

(152,918 posts)
12. I can understand wanting a doctor who can speak English well
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 06:01 PM
Jun 2017

and I don't think I would care for a doctor with bad teeth

it's the specific request for a WHITE doctor that is troubling

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
13. There are a lot of whites who don't speak English well
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 06:42 PM
Jun 2017

conflating race with language is very troubling.

There are millions of non-white Canadians who have Canadian accents. There are millions of white Canadians who have French accents that can be difficult to understand.

It's the same with bad teeth.

Skittles

(152,918 posts)
17. correct
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 07:32 PM
Jun 2017

it's the specification for a white doctor that makes it pure racism

I selected a Korean doctor for my colonoscopies, on a recommendation. Not always easy to understand but I just had to pay more attention than usual. He is good!

shanti

(21,668 posts)
14. kaiser member
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 06:50 PM
Jun 2017

and all of my primary care physicians, with the exception of one, a white woman (who was the worst!) have been asian. my current md is a filipino woman, as was the one before her. she's great! the specialists and surgeons seem to have a higher percentage of white docs though.

IronLionZion

(45,162 posts)
16. I'm a Kaiser member
Fri Jun 23, 2017, 07:06 PM
Jun 2017

my primary care doc is a Latina woman. She was born here. Most of the docs listed in my area have Asian names.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Canadian Woman Demands 'W...