Like another student, I too discovered that chapter six provided much food for thought. We see in it how politics, race, and disease interacted, sometimes in unscrupulous ways, in national and local politics. Overall, this book is interesting and enjoyable to read. However, I take issue with a couple of minor subjects in chapter six.
The last paragraph on page 183 oversimplifies and idealizes the controversy surrounding the disease, claiming that even conservatives could appreciate its implications for reducing drug abuse in patients. This paragraph seems to go against the grain of the book, which says that the disease caused disputes even among members within a constituency. I question how much the idea of funding the disease really appealed to conservatives, especially when one of the main arguments that was used to appeal to them was that funding research on the disease could help reduce drug addiction in the small number of patients directly suffering with the disease. In the same vein, today I could say that government funding for alternative energy research would appeal to Republican Congress members because it could help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and also help provide more jobs to the economy, but ultimately when such a bill came up for voting, it would probably be accepted by many Democrats and few Republicans, because those issues I just mentioned pale in comparison, at least in the minds of most people, to the issue of protecting the environment, which is more heavily advocated by Democrats. In other words, almost any issue can be made to look like it will appeal to people with diverse political views, but in practice it only appeals to a certain segment of people.
Wailoo also seemed to dismiss too readily the problem of Italian and Greeks saying that Cooley’s anemia should be given the same deference by political leaders as sickle cell anemia (p. 194). The books contains only one paragraph on the subject, and essentially dismisses it as “me too politics,” instead of giving the issue due regard.
I found Dying In The City Of The Blues to be interesting for the ways that it brought issues of race, medicine, and society (in the Jim crow south) together. It was interesting to see how the dynamics of these three categories worked together to shape how health care was provided for Memphis’ African American communities.
ReplyDeleteA few topics stood out for me in this book, which struck me as interesting for the ways race was viewed through societal and medical lenses.
One topic that was recurrent throughout the book was the health of mothers and particularly their children. It seemed that in several instances like ch. 2 we would see a health concern presented for African Americans, and little attention would be made unless it became an issue of saving children, at which point Memphis’ white society would feel embarrassed and try to rectify issues of care and treatment to at least cover the young.
Another topic I found interesting was how WWII as discussed in ch3 changed societal and medical dynamics for African Americans. In ch. 3 Wailoo says, “ There are thousands of negroes whose point of view is being decidedly changed by the army. They’re getting equality like they never dreamed of “ (P. 88). We also see for-shadowing of the sixties in message from a military man stating “ I’ve talked to dozens of boys over here, and everyone seems to think that the race problem will burst in our faces after the war” (P. 88). Surrounding these discussions of African equality we see interesting medical discussions of African fitness of body and blood for military and civilian life. We see debates on whether or not African blood should be used in white transfusions, or whether African American men can transport a white woman to the hospital.
One final topic from ch. 3 that struck me was how insurance companies looked to begin covering African Americans after WWII. It is interesting that in this section that it is not the health of African Americans, or their race this is important, but rather money, and the fact that African Americans represent a new segment for market growth which allows them to gain insurance.