#healthcare system failure

[summerdragoness]

Dragoneer is gone.

I knew him before FA, then got to know him more when I became a moderator on FA many years ago. Dude was always someone who would go out of his way to help me when I was going through shit, he was always kind, and it wasn't just to me but to others, too.

In recent years we drifted and went our separate ways, as happens. So learning about his situation, why he is gone now when he was alive 4 hours ago, is infuriating. I am fucking furious.

[townpostin]

Pregnant Woman Left Unattended for 27 Hours at MGM Hospital

Fetus dies in womb; treatment begins after BJP leader’s intervention A pregnant woman was neglected for 27 hours at MGM Hospital, Kolhan’s largest government medical facility. JAMSHEDPUR – A pregnant woman from Turamdih faced severe neglect at MGM Hospital, lying on the maternity ward floor for 27 hours. The expectant mother arrived at MGM Hospital on Wednesday morning, only to be left without…

[quartzdecay]

I have a request for people with experience with wheelchairs, if you personally use/used them or have people in your life that do: PLEASE COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM TO ME! TELL ME ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN SUCK! IN GENERAL OR SPECIFICS!

I need this information for a project I'm doing in my design class, wherein my group is going to attempt to prototype a wheelchair with both offroad and indoor capabilities, per say, that is still reasonably light and inexpensive. I'm asking this of you all on tumblr because to begin our project, we need to familiarize ourselves with the nature of this problem. We want our solution to actually be made with the opinions of wheelchair users in mind. I would be incredibly grateful if anyone could reblog or comment with any gripes they have about wheelchairs, especially in relation to their maneuverability, but anything works! Thank you so much for your time!

[theperplexedpoet]

the middle men (deny, defend, depose)

sparks of the revolution this keg of powder blows within the institution deny, defend, depose here we condemn the middle men this brittle win answers to sin so here begins the fiddled hymn for middle men that we condemn sparks of the revolution this keg of powder blows within the institution deny, defend, depose mercy suspends with middle men their little wins for chaos sends the means and ends through riddled lens for middle men mercy suspends sparks of the revolution this keg of powder blows within the institution deny, defend, depose they left us no solution such cruelty imposed sparks of the revolution deny, defend, depose here we condemn those little men brittle system's profit margins and so begins those fiddled hymns for little men that we condemn sparks of the revolution this keg of powder blows within the institution deny, defend, depose with such greed and pollution this battle cry echoes sparks of the revolution deny, defend, depose here we condemn this whole system (1/04/25)

[mama-ships]

Fffffuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh.... I feel like someone's stabbing and grinding a screwdriver into my top jaw ssshshhhhĥhhhiiiiiiiii

[dodomingo]

I didn't know Neer but hits way too close to home

[spacedocmom]

Doctor Beverly Crusher @SpaceDocMom Your complex medical needs do not make you a burden. You don't have to apologize for them. You are not an inconvenience. Any system that makes you feel that way is problematic, and it's not your fault! emojis: black heart, blue heart, masked 1:26 PM · Jun 1, 2023

[cedarspiced]

they should invent a body that doesn't hurts

[vashti-lives]

my stepfather went to the ER tonight with chest pain and, thank god, it wasn't a heart attack but he was diagnosed with pneumonia and they like... didn't test him for covid????????????????????????

and the thing is he recently started taking a medication that a) suppresses his immune system which would make him more prone to ordinary viral pneumonia and b) has fluid in the lungs as an uncommon but known side effect. so there is a pretty high chance it's not covid but i had plans this weekend and i think i have to fucking cancel them if i can't confirm that he doesn't have covid.

i'm so mad. at this point all hospitals should have access to accurate quick turn around tests (IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS!!!) and also it should still be standard to FUCKING TEST PEOPLE WHO HAVE COVID SYMPTOMS AND MAKE SURE IT ISN'T COVID!!!

how can a person show up to the hospital with a pretty major covid symptom and not be tested?????

[timeisacephalopod]

When American politicians discuss doing universal healthcare in their country and start whining about the possibility of "medical tourism" where people would theoretically go to America to get healthcare I want to scream and shake them. That already exists- Canada is where Americans went to get their fucking insulin because their own government failed them so hard another country nearly had an insulin shortage a few times over the course of the pandemic alone.

If you want to talk about medical tourism and that """"straining""""" the American healthcare system then maybe take a look at the way Americans are consistently causing strains to Canada's healthcare!! And I assume Americans don't just travel here for healthcare either, so when American politicians act like they're Just The Best and everyone will go to America for healthcare I want to be like THE ISSUE YOURE BITCHING ABOUT EXISTS AND ITS NOT HAPPENING TO YOU ITS HAPPENING TO CANADA AND ITS BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO ADEQUATELY SERVICE YOUR POPULATION AND MORE THAN ONCE CANADIAN DIABETICS WERE THE ONES WHO'D SUFFER FOR IT. Like you want to talk medical tourism without ever acknowledging your population using other countries healthcare, which I guess is fine because it's not America footing the bill, really?

[raelyn-against-society]

It's not just American mainstream media, either. I was shocked to read this article out of the BBC. I expected them to really pick up on the anger at the health system here and delve into how that has mixed with our lax gun laws and "throw the tea in the harbor" mindset or whatever to result in this. Hell, maybe tie it into the labor movement and how unions are the compromise so that CEOs don't get shot, but we don't have a union type outlet for Healthcare so this kind of response could almost be expected.

Instead, we got this propaganda piece that mentioned Thompson's status as a father of two, categorized the response to the killer as a fetishization, detailed the threats made to the Mcdonald's and Altoona PD, and then spent a considerable amount of time focusing on how attractive Mangione is (and tying him to Ted Bundy and Jeremy Meeks), before pivoting to mention Briana Boston and the "normalisation of political violence." It acknowledges anger at the healthcare system, but that is not the focus of the piece. They pay lip service to it, and even give a little story about a woman who was denied experimental therapy that she then beggared herself to pay for in order to have minimal quality of life. And then they're right back to focusing on Thompson and the tragedy of it all.

I dunno, maybe I expected too much. It is a big deal that this was vigilante justice, whoever did it. Especially with this incoming administration, we really don't need to OK vigilante justice.

But I just kind of expected that the BBC, of all news outlets, would do a piece that focused on the dysfunctional healthcare system and how we got to a point where a man could get shot in the middle of the street and a significant portion of the population, across political divides, would go "Yeah, I get it." Like, that is not a normal response to violence, even in this country.

NYT has been discouraging reporters from sharing photos of luigi mangione - not due to concerns for his safety but to dissuade sympathy - and refuses to post his alleged manifesto in full. and today, they published an opinion by bret stephens about how brian thompson is the "real working class hero" of this story.

reddit deleted luigi's account, which was completely innocuous and consisted mostly of him giving out advice in health subreddits. they're also deleting any post that includes his alleged manifesto and banning users for sharing it.

luigi yelled that this was "an insult to the intelligence of the american people" while he was being dragged by police and news pundits are framing it as a deranged and violent outburst. news media are picking apart details of his life to paint him as a cold-blooded and mentally ill individual. even something as innocent as playing "among us" with friends is being framed as some insidious look into an assassin's disturbed psyche, ffs.

news media are also capitalizing on luigi's supposed "bizarre and impossible to understand" politics as an obvious way to paint him as a scary individual when the guy is... a centrist, at most. whose views are similar to those of your average college-educated white guy.

multiple news media also keep harping on about how luigi comes from a rich family. an obvious attempt to break the class solidarity that's been formed around this case by continuously trying to tell us "oh he's not like you guys" while ignoring the now pretty well-documented accounts of his multiple health struggles throughout the years.

and all this, and he hasn't even been found guilty of the crime he's allegedly committed. luigi is, as of right now, still innocent until proven guilty. and the news are trying to tear him apart because they obviously fear the symbol he's becoming for low and middle class america.

[capitalism-is-a-psychopathy]

The profit motive can hurt more than help.

In healthcare, for-profit hospitals prioritize profits over patients. They may cut corners on care to save money, leading to worse health outcomes. In contrast, public healthcare systems aim to provide quality care for all, not just for those who can pay.

Education suffers too. For-profit colleges often charge high fees but deliver low-quality education. They focus on enrolling as many students as possible, regardless of their ability to succeed. Public universities, however, aim to educate and empower their students, not just make money from them.

In the energy sector, profit-driven companies often neglect environmental concerns. They prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability, leading to pollution and climate change. Collective energy systems, like public utilities, can focus on renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions for the greater good.

Transportation is another area where for-profit models fall short. Privatized transport services can be expensive and inefficient, leaving many without reliable options. Public transportation systems are designed to be affordable and accessible for everyone, reducing traffic and pollution.

Even in housing, the profit motive can be harmful. Real estate developers often build luxury properties to maximize profits, ignoring the need for affordable housing. This leads to housing shortages and homelessness. Cooperative housing models focus on providing homes for people, not just profits for developers.

The trend is clear: for-profit systems prioritize profits over people. They can be inefficient, harmful, and exclusive. Collective systems, on the other hand, aim to benefit everyone. They prioritize public good over private gain.

The choice is ours: continue down a path where profits dictate our lives, or embrace systems that prioritize people and the planet.

[mushminofwonder]

The healthcare system fails us all

I've been taking ibuprofen for swelling bacause neither of my doctors heard me ask for refills of dyclofenac for arthritis pain

No one told me the bad side effects of meloxicam

So when i got yet another med whose warning was avoid excessive exposure to sunlight i just didn't take it

Not a single doctor seemed to care that i do heavy physical labor everyday at my job

I have been uncomfortable since my early twenties

I have not had a day without physical pain since 2017

My life is nothing but partial diagnosis because i never have enough money

My mind and body are so tired

It doesn't have to be like this

[jinglejanglemornings]

sorry i went off about family-based treatment for eating disorders and medical decision making for minors, do you still think i'm hot

[super-ultra-mega-deluxe]

Simply believing in ML, or joining an ML org, will not help when the lights go out or food runs out. How can we contend with that?

Marxism-Leninism isn't an arbitrary set of beliefs for one to adopt on a whim, it is a political theory and specifically action, part of which is in fact to "help when the lights go out" or even better, to make sure they don't! communist politics- and really any politic- are what those politics do. Marx explicitly frames it as such, as an ideological formulation that is a tool for practical application. taken outside of its context and application, Marxism is an absurd nothing, as again are all politics. i could provide examples of how communists facilitate the production and distribution of goods, or otherwise manage economics at variable scale and locale, which is rather what i assume you mean to be getting at with your question. your framing is rather nonspecific however: in what economic and political context is there a communist party contending with failures in energy infrastructure and food production and distribution?

the "help when the lights go out" strikes a particular chord, as somewhat recently the socialist nation of Cuba has been forced to contend with fuel shortages; their domestic oil production can't meet the needs of the general populace, and oil imports are inconsistent due to the US embargo. the people of Cuba are, thankfully, not becoming grossly immiserated or dying en masse despite such being the intention of the embargo. they have instituted fuel rationing and rolling blackouts to further conserve fuel and maintain essential services, such as their healthcare system. this of itself is obviously only a reactive policy; the state has also been rebuilding and expanding its oil storage facilities to better handle fluctuations in supply, and more recently they have agreed to a bilateral development agreement with China to substantially expand Cuba's nascent solar power generation. paired with their newfound partnership with BRICS- a move which undermines the aforementioned embargo in a much more material way than a UN vote- Cuba is on a path to fully meet the energy needs of its people and even expand access over the next decade.

that all said, i doubt you specifically care much for Marxist-Leninist experiments as they exist, and are more concerned with the prefiguration of politics before anything like achieving state power, and more specifically within the imperial core, where denying the possibility of effecting revolutionary politics is the most prominent. there are not presently many Marxist-Leninist parties of note in the US, the imperial core, but even less principled communist parties nonetheless consider the economic realities of the workers they represent first and foremost. the old Black Panthers were perhaps the closest to a truly revolutionary socialist movement in the US, and one of the policies they are most famous for is the free breakfast program and the broader Survival Programs they ran. these programs provided food and medical care and education and transportation for many who were subject to economic insecurity; the failure of these programs was a failure of militancy and counterintelligence and scope. the modernly popular if unfortunately less coherent and less principled PSL also runs health and wellness programs, such as kitchens and exercise classes and vocational programs and so on, which is their attempt at replicating such formulations.

it is rather specifically a concern of communists to organize the proletariat to provide for their own needs outside the purview of a capitalist state, and every revolutionary of note before, during, and after seizing power emphasizes such. the ability to do so pending a revolutionary moment is necessarily limited however; you cannot build an administration of economy parallel to an extant state without coming into conflict with that state. even non-communist organizations attempt to build up community programs, but they are either dissolved or incorporated into the state apparatus or otherwise operate under its purview. the ultimate goal is then as always the destruction of the bourgeois state machine and the building of a proletarian state machine, the armies of people organized in enforcing the will of the proletariat as a class, which allows for the more concrete and pointed organization of the economy broadly.

[mikoworks]

The Horse Metaphor in Mouthwashing

I’ve seen people talk about the visual metaphors of the Polle mascot and horses in Jimmy’s hallucinations, but not so much about how the Polle and horse imagery mirrors Pony Express’s capitalistic, abusive work culture.

Polle, the mascot for Pony Express, reflects how the company (and most capitalistic companies for that matter) views its employees like workhorses. Employees are expected to work long hours with minimal rest and be productive at all times (think of the metaphor “Working yourself to death”). Failure to follow company protocols results in employees being punished en masse or having their pay docked.

Jimmy’s comment about how Pony Express sells plushies of Polle to kids illustrates how the company indoctrinates children into a capitalistic culture. This reflects how toy companies in real life market products tailored to kids to indoctrinate them into a capitalistic society.

The choice to make Polle look cute and cartoony also reflects how companies in real life use such imagery to push their brand to as wide of an audience as possible. It’s like Corporate Memphis, which uses sanitized, colorful, simplistic imagery to appeal to a wide audience.

While the cute horse imagery outwardly promotes the idea that Pony Express cares about the wellbeing of its employees, we know the company views its employees as disposable. Below is a list of some examples illustrating Pony Express’s apathy toward its employees:

Lack of medical supplies, including supplies for women’s healthcare and serious injuries

Restrictions on employee’s autonomy (Only the Captain has access to certain supplies employees need to complete tasks)

Long work hours with few breaks and little time to sleep

Unsafe work environment for female employees (No locks on sleeping quarter doors, harsh punishment system that discourages reports of abusive behavior)

Harsh punishment system (listing this again because the punishment system also penalizes men and, in many cases, all employees as a group)

Lack of a fifth cryopod for Daisuke

Cold, industrial design of the ship

These examples show that the company’s end goal is to profit and “cut corners” at the expense of its employees.

In conclusion, the Polle mascot and the horse imagery are visual metaphors for how companies indoctrinate people into a capitalistic culture and abuse employees for profit.