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OPINIONS/ Orge Ciwrlotte $uit
Thursday February 19, 2004
How to slap a happy face on life’s misery
COURTLAND
MILLOY
A recent federal report on
racial disparities in health
care was quite uplifting to
read, sort of like a State of
the Union address on med
ical treatment.
As Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy
G. Thompson sees it, the dis
parities in health care aren’t
so bad, and the situation is
getting better every day.
“Never before have
Americans had so many pri
mary care providers, special
ists, hospitals, and health
plans from which to choose,”
says the report, which was
released by HHS last week.
“Except in the most remote
frontier areas, some form of
health care is available, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.”
And if you’re living in a
remote frontier area, like,
say. Southeast Washington,
where access to health care
dropped precipitously with
the closure of D.C. General
Hospital, you can take heart
from this:
“Recognizing the superiori
ty of the U.S. system,
patients come from around
to globe to benefit from
health care available
nowhere else,” the report
says.
Now doesn’t that make you
feel better?
The National Healthcare
Disparities Report was sup
posed to be a comprehensive
look at inequalities in health
care and the reasons for
them. An earlier draft of the
executive summary found
that the problem was nation
al in scope and that race
played a major role.
Rape is still rape
regardless of the
victim’s situation
By Bill Fletcher Jr.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBUSHERS ASSOCIATION
Let me start with a basic fact. I am a parent. Perhaps, as a
result, I am overly biased. When 1 opened the paper the other
day and read a story about how a Kansas judge had deter
mined that homosexual rape of a child is worse than hetero
sexual rape of a child, I found myself stunned in disbelief
That’s right.
This judge concluded that a more severe imprisonment is
warranted for homosexual rape because a legislature has the
right to encourage and preserve the traditional sexual mores
of society.
If I understand the judge’s point of view correctly, the raping
of an under-aged girl by an adult male is somehow better
(socially and perhaps psychologically?) than being raped by a
lesbian because at least she is reminded while she is being
raped by the man that in this society relationships are suppose
to be between men and women.
On the other hand, the raping of an under-aged boy by an
adult man, if I am stiU following the judge’s thinking, should
warrant a stronger sentence because U.S. society allegedly
has an interest in discouraging homosexual behavior. Did 1 get
that right? Is there another interpretation?
I am not sure whether Judge Heniy W. Green Jr. of the
Kansas Court of Appeals has ever met any rape victims. If he
had, it would be inconceivable that he could or would write
such a ridiculous opinion. Rape is about power and punish
ment. It is about abuse. It is not about sex; it is about demand
ing submission. Whether such an attack comes in the form of
heterosexual rape or homosexual rape should not make a bit
of dilference. Both acts should be punished equally.
If my child were raped by someone of the opposite sex, heav
en forbid, am I suppose to breathe a sigh of relief that it was
at least not a homosexual attack? What sort of absurdity is
that?
Judge Green’s ruling is one more attack, not only on gays
and lesbians, but more directly on women. The judge’s ruling
has the effect of reinforcing what women hear all the time
about rape: it will not happen if you don’t provoke it.. .if you
are not flirtatious.. .if you do not give sway to your sensuality.
In other words, the problem is always that of the woman’s
rather than acknowledging that rape is about domination. The
judge’s opinion is compounded in its stupidity and insidious
ness because the case involved illegal sex with a minor. Thus,
those most vulnerable are being told that their victim-hood is
somehow of less importance if it is the result of one form of
attack rather than another.
Judge Green should be asked to immediately step down from
the bench and then be compelled to serve as a volunteer in a
rape crisis center for the duration of his natural life.
BILL FLETCHER JR. is president of TransAfrica Forum, a
Washington, D.C.-based non-profit educational and organizing center
formed to raise awareness in the United States about issues facing the
nations and peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. He
also is co-chair of the anti-war coalition. United for Peace and Justice
(www.unitedforpeace.org). He can be reached at
bfletcher@transqfricaforum.org.
Thompson didn’t like the
tone, however. He wanted
disparities played down and
successes played up.
“That’s just the way
Secretary Thompson wants
to create change,” said
Karen Migdail, a spokes
woman at the Agency for
Healthcare Research and
Quality, the HHS unit that
prepared the report, ‘The
idea is not to say, “We failed,
we failed, we failed,’ but to
say, ‘We improved, we
improved, we improved.’ “
It was the old glass half
full instead of half-empty —
except that if you looked
more closely at the glass, you
found that it was pretty
much empty
Consider an example of
“success” cited in the HHS
executive summary: Asian
and Pacific Islanders,
American Indians and
Alaska Natives have a
lower-than-average death
rate from all types of cancer.
Inside the report, however,
statistics suggest that we
hold the applause. A review
of the American Indians and
Alaska Natives served by
the Indian Health Service
found that their infant mor
tality rate was 24 percent
higher than for the overall
U.S. population; the rate of
death from alcohol-related
causes was 67 percent high
er; from diabetes, 318 per
cent higher; from accidents,
180 percent higher; from sui
cide, 92 percent higher; and
from homicide, 110 percent
higher.
Could it be that cancer
death rates are lower among
American Indians and
Alaska Natives because
fewer of them live long
enough to die of cancer? But,
hey, that’s such a downer.
Let’s look on the bright
side. If the Bush administra
tion can propose a plan to
allow more air pollution and
call it a “clear skies initia
tive” and encourage more
logging and call it a “healthy
forest initiative,” why can’t
Thompson close the racial
disparity in health care by
ignoring it?
“In effect, they white
washed the issue away, even
though they were told that
health care disparities are a
national problem and perva
sive and cany a significant
personal and societal price,”
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-
Calif.) told The Post.
Obviously, Waxman is not
a true believer. He noted
that problems mentioned in
the summary tended to be
those that are “less alarm
ing.” The summary says
some people didn’t get their
cholesterol checked as often
as they should, for instance,
or that they used hospitals
for primary care.
More serious findings were
What should Edwards do now?
D.G. Martin
“What would you do now if you were in
John Edwards’ shoes?”
A friend of mine asked me this question a
few days ago after another string of primary
victories by John Kerry.
Before I could open my mouth, my friend
let me know that he had the answer to his
own question.
“If I were Edwards, I would get out right
now. He has shown the country that he is a
good campaigner. He has made a name for
himself But the handwriting is on the wall.
Kerry has the nomination wrapped up.
Edwards is in a good place right now, with a
good shot at the vice-presidential nomina
tion. But he has to show people that he is no
fool either. He needs to demonstrate that he
‘knows when to fold them.’ If he keeps on
going, his money is going to dry up. He won’t
be able to compete financially. So he will be
without the resources to organize and buy
TV time. Kerry will clobber him, and by con
vention time he will be ‘damaged goods.”’
My friend stopped to take a breath. But
before I could jump in, he was off again.
“He just needs to be realistic. And the
Democrats need to unite behind a single
candidate if they’re going give any hope of
beating Bush this fall.”
With that, he walked away, grabbed some
body else, asked him the same question, and
gave him the same lecture. Maybe my friend
is right. But if I were Edwards, I would hang
in there as long as I had enough gas money
to travel from one state to another.
I think keeping Edwards in the race is the
best thing for him and for the Democratic
Party’s chances of beating President Bush in
the fall election.
From Edwards’ standpoint, he is cormect-
ing with the public everywhere he goes. He
continues to get constant daily favorable
press coverage. He shows his strongest
asset—a great campaigner—even when he
loses. The longer he stays in, the longer the
folks will remember him. The longer he
stays in the public eye, the more likely it is
that he will be able to secure a big-time
national position that will give him a plat
form from which to make a strong bid for
public office again someday. The day he
leaves the presidential race is the day he will
join Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, and
Carol Moseley-Braun, and Wesley Clark in
the oblivion that belongs to also-rans.
From the Democrats’ standpoint, Kerry
stUl needs a strong opponent in the remain
ing primaries. He still has not had a long
enough time in the spotlight to prove that he
is strong enough to withstand the
Republican onslaught that will face him or
another nominee in the fall. Something
strange could always happen under the
spotlight that falls upon a presumed nomi
nee, that same spotlight brought down
Howard Dean. It could show us something
about Keny, his record, his past, his person
ality, or his wife and family that turns us off.
Even assuming that Keny withstands the
scrutiny that comes to a front runner, a few
more weeks of competition with Edwards
will make John Kerry an even better candi
date. It already has.
With Edwards in the race, Keny has the
imperative to continue hard campaigning in
the upcoming primary states, and the
national news will continue to cover the
competitors. When those contests are over,
John Kerry is going have to work hard to get
on the national news every evening—at
least until the opening of the Democratic
National Convention in July.
In summary, the best thing for the
Democrats and John Kerry is for John
Edwards to hang tough. And even if it were
not the best thing for Democrats and Kerry,
I would stiU bet that John Edwards would
stay in the race until it is over.
D.G. MARTIN ho.sts “North Carolina
Bookwatch, ” on UNC-TV.
omitted from the final draft.
The omissions include:
Blacks and poor people have
higher-than-average death
rates from cancer; late-stage
breast cancer and colorectal
cancer are more likely to be
diagnosed in minorities than
in white people; and racial
and ethnic minorities and
poor people have an above-
average risk of dying of HIV.
Before anything can be
done about such problems,
they must be acknowledged.
Then again, maybe HHS is
banking on the problem tak
ing care of itself. The report
says, “People of lower socioe
conomic status (SES) and
racial and ethnic minorities
have in the past [italics
added] experienced poor
health and challenges in
accessing high quality care.”
But it’s better now. A lot of
them have already died.
COURTLAND MILLOY is a
Washington Post.columnist.
William
Raspberry
What to
do about
Haiti?
That Caribbean country,
already the poorest in the
Americas, is — again — on a
mad dash to chaos. As of this
writing, at least 47 people
had been killed in violent
demonstrations against the
government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and
it was generally acknowl
edged that the majority of
the protesters had voted for
Aristide.
Government forces man
aged to forestall a major
demonstration set for last
week by erecting huge, blaz
ing barricades. But rebels
remained in control of some
eight towns, including
Gonaives — significantly,
the starting place for the
1985 uprising that led to the
ouster of the dictator Jean-
Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
The government’s police
force is ill-trained and poorly
equipped, and there is no
army because Aristide dis
banded it for deposing him
in 1991. He returned to Haiti
from his American exile in
1994, with the aid of about
20,000 American troops, and
finished his term. Barred
from seeking consecutive
terms, he ran again in 2000.
Legislative elections that his
party won are widely seen as
corrupt. It is a thoroughgo
ing mess. So what shoifld we
do?
Doing nothing, the Rev.
Walter E. Fauntroy told me
when I put the question to
him, is not an option. The
former D.C. congressman
and current president of the
National Black Leadership
Roundtable in Washington
pointed out that the hordes
of refugees certain to be
headed for American shores
may be the least of it.
The corruption and insta
bility of the island, he said,
have encoiuaged organized
crime, and Haiti looms as a
major shipment point for
illegal drugs bound for the
United States and else
where. Unless the chaos can
be headed off, he warned,
Haiti’s problems will become
the problems of the
Americas.
Unhappily, he says, we
may have come to the time
for his eighth step: establish
ing Aristide in comfortable
exile.
WILLIAM RASPBERRY is a
Washington Post columnist.