Drs. Wakanda and Jones, both graduates of the University of Minnesota’s medical school, talk.
Dr. Wakanda: Did you see what happened at our alma mater during the white coat ceremony?
Dr. Jones: Something about changing the Hippocratic oath, I believe.
Dr. Wakanda: Yes. Let me read two lines: “We pledge to honor all Indigenous ways of healing that have been historically marginalized by Western medicine. Knowing that health is intimately connected to our environment, we commit to healing our planet and communities.” *
Dr. Jones: It’s about time. Too much white privilege has dominated medicine for a long time. And we all know that many of the illness we treat are the product of a polluted planet. So, good for those school officials.
Dr. Wakanda: You find nothing wrong in the change?
Dr. Jones: No. Most doctors are white like me. It’s time to re-evaluate the profession and its methods and goals. Heck, with regard to the planet, even religious leaders like the Pope have recognized an obligation to save the planet.
Dr. Wakanda: Yeah, most American doctors are white. I just saw the stats. Fifty-six point two percent. But that’s not a big majority. Do the math, Jonesie. Forty-three point eight percent aren’t white. That’s a hefty number of doctors. And look here, this is the list as of a couple of years ago: **
American Indian or Alaska Native 2,570
Hispanic 53,526
Asian 157,025
Black or African American 45, 534
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders 941
And some other categories or unknowns make up the rest, namely 133,715 doctors.
Dr. Jones: Well, look at that. But still your list shows 516,304 white doctors.
Dr. Wakanda: Yeah, again. But how many of the 347,777 non-white or “unknown” doctors practice “indigenous medicine”? In my native land of Wakanda, after which I’m named, there are medicine men and witches who practice “indigenous healing.” And I’ll admit that some of it works for some ailments, taking ginger, for example, to help the stomach.
Dr. Jones: Right, maybe we should be prescribing some gingerale for an upset stomach instead of a synthetic chemical.
Dr. Waklanda: So, you’re in favor of “indigenous medicine” in general?
Dr. Jones: I’m just saying that like the University, we should be open to treatments used for generations in indigenous cultures. They have passed the test of time.
Dr. Wakanda: But note what the University made the students say: “We pledge to honor all indigenous ways of healing….” Would you include any Cheyenne medicine dance?
Dr. Jones: Well, no, but indigenous people did use plants and minerals to heal. Think of the people who went deeply into Mammoth Cave to get epsomite off the cave’s walls. Were they using it as a medicine? It is after all, magnesium sulfate, and don’t our modern pharmacies stock it? Epsom salt, as you know, can be both a magnesium supplement or a laxative. Seems to me that the native Americans millennia ago recognized it as a “medicine.”
Dr. Wakanda: So, as of right now, we’ve identified ginger and epsom salt as part of the indigenous medicines that have some practical application. But without any clinical work, how much did the indigenous healers administer to the patients?
Dr; Jones: But we could go through a whole list of indigenous practices, including the administering of herbs.
Dr. Wakanda: Sure, but when we find that an herb works for something, we do so through clinical trials, not through word-of-mouth as passed down from shaman to shaman. I’m willing to put aloe on an irritated skin, but using it doesn’t justify abandoning hydrocortisone or some anti-bacterial topical ointment, nor does it justify using aloe for skin cancer.
Dr. Jones: I’m not saying…
Dr. Wakanda: So, that other part of the revised Hippocratic oath, the part about the environment, what’s that really mean? Does it mean that “white medicine” that advises against polluting water or drinking polluted water is a newfound way of saving the planet and its inhabitants? What’s the point here? What happens when one tries to mention every possible politically correct term or include every possible ethnicity is that someone might be left out. Consider “do no harm” as meaning “do no harm to anyone.” Why doesn’t the newly revised Hippocratic oath contain specific mention of Australian aborigines? Why doesn’t it mention Hutus or Tutsis in particular? What of Andean Peruvians? Or let’s take the indigenous practice of chewing betel leaf. That’s an “indigenous practice,” isn’t it? But there’s some evidence that suggests an association between chewing it and getting oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Yet, indigenous peoples in numerous Asian countries continue to chomp on it.
Dr. Jones: Well, as a white person, I can testify that I have a tendency to ignore traditional healing and medicines though I can see your point about indigenous medicine practices.
Dr. Wakanda: My point is that “do no harm” requires a clinical approach. Yes, some traditional medicines might work, but many are a worthless as elixirs of petroleum that charlatans sold in the nineteenth century as cure-alls. Think about all those old commercials and advertisements that associated doctors with smoking. One that I recall said, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” *** So, that was a version of an “indigenous” practice." Should we respect it?
Dr. Jones: Well, that’s different. We didn’t know about tobacco and cancer or about betel leaves and cancer back then.
Dr. Wakanda: My point. It was modern medicine—supposedly “white man’s medicine” that exposed the dangers of indigenous and word-of-mouth practices.
Dr. Jones: Well the people at our alma mater had good intentions. They wanted to show their inclusivity and reject their white privilege.
Dr. Wakanda: Even though I am one of their representative graduates? Have you noticed my skin color? I’ll leave you with this: “Do no harm” means “do no harm to anyone.” It doesn’t distinguish. It is inclusive.
*https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/10/14/minnesota-medical-students-take-ideological-oath-including-among-other-things-to-honor-all-indigenous-ways-of-healing/
**https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/figure-18-percentage-all-active-physicians-race/ethnicity-2018
***YouTube: More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette. See also https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS965US965&sxsrf=ALiCzsZAvIcRvcUFZ06g6zlxOJMPqMioxw:1666442919386&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=four+out+of+five+doctors+smoke+camels&fir=v43N9yPlYsQyWM%252Cvb5_bPIVS0p6jM%252C_%253BAbBswfK2vewjKM%252CTllqAFsPhIP61M%252C_%253BmF8v0DBEcHD2uM%252C04U1P-ebtUe1ZM%252C_%253BUxqFeU-MGRqB9M%252CTllqAFsPhIP61M%252C_%253BVgtB11kzkKnfRM%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BwwIQl46eyTmVMM%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BFEeRSrhQXkViGM%252Cvb5_bPIVS0p6jM%252C_%253BKPfAlgjRsqdTFM%252C6h2QLqT9A03cgM%252C_%253BFDdrstG348ZM9M%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BnmsSRse-Vj4crM%252CGRiy6gO_VFr9FM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kSGGuOvIn4JjRcet_41AR_LtN2vtw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8g_7R7_P6AhUCElkFHXtvAWoQjJkEegQIExAC&biw=1460&bih=1251&dpr=2 One advertisement boasts for its brand that “20,679 Physicians say, ‘Luckies are less irritating.”
Dr. Wakanda: Did you see what happened at our alma mater during the white coat ceremony?
Dr. Jones: Something about changing the Hippocratic oath, I believe.
Dr. Wakanda: Yes. Let me read two lines: “We pledge to honor all Indigenous ways of healing that have been historically marginalized by Western medicine. Knowing that health is intimately connected to our environment, we commit to healing our planet and communities.” *
Dr. Jones: It’s about time. Too much white privilege has dominated medicine for a long time. And we all know that many of the illness we treat are the product of a polluted planet. So, good for those school officials.
Dr. Wakanda: You find nothing wrong in the change?
Dr. Jones: No. Most doctors are white like me. It’s time to re-evaluate the profession and its methods and goals. Heck, with regard to the planet, even religious leaders like the Pope have recognized an obligation to save the planet.
Dr. Wakanda: Yeah, most American doctors are white. I just saw the stats. Fifty-six point two percent. But that’s not a big majority. Do the math, Jonesie. Forty-three point eight percent aren’t white. That’s a hefty number of doctors. And look here, this is the list as of a couple of years ago: **
American Indian or Alaska Native 2,570
Hispanic 53,526
Asian 157,025
Black or African American 45, 534
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders 941
And some other categories or unknowns make up the rest, namely 133,715 doctors.
Dr. Jones: Well, look at that. But still your list shows 516,304 white doctors.
Dr. Wakanda: Yeah, again. But how many of the 347,777 non-white or “unknown” doctors practice “indigenous medicine”? In my native land of Wakanda, after which I’m named, there are medicine men and witches who practice “indigenous healing.” And I’ll admit that some of it works for some ailments, taking ginger, for example, to help the stomach.
Dr. Jones: Right, maybe we should be prescribing some gingerale for an upset stomach instead of a synthetic chemical.
Dr. Waklanda: So, you’re in favor of “indigenous medicine” in general?
Dr. Jones: I’m just saying that like the University, we should be open to treatments used for generations in indigenous cultures. They have passed the test of time.
Dr. Wakanda: But note what the University made the students say: “We pledge to honor all indigenous ways of healing….” Would you include any Cheyenne medicine dance?
Dr. Jones: Well, no, but indigenous people did use plants and minerals to heal. Think of the people who went deeply into Mammoth Cave to get epsomite off the cave’s walls. Were they using it as a medicine? It is after all, magnesium sulfate, and don’t our modern pharmacies stock it? Epsom salt, as you know, can be both a magnesium supplement or a laxative. Seems to me that the native Americans millennia ago recognized it as a “medicine.”
Dr. Wakanda: So, as of right now, we’ve identified ginger and epsom salt as part of the indigenous medicines that have some practical application. But without any clinical work, how much did the indigenous healers administer to the patients?
Dr; Jones: But we could go through a whole list of indigenous practices, including the administering of herbs.
Dr. Wakanda: Sure, but when we find that an herb works for something, we do so through clinical trials, not through word-of-mouth as passed down from shaman to shaman. I’m willing to put aloe on an irritated skin, but using it doesn’t justify abandoning hydrocortisone or some anti-bacterial topical ointment, nor does it justify using aloe for skin cancer.
Dr. Jones: I’m not saying…
Dr. Wakanda: So, that other part of the revised Hippocratic oath, the part about the environment, what’s that really mean? Does it mean that “white medicine” that advises against polluting water or drinking polluted water is a newfound way of saving the planet and its inhabitants? What’s the point here? What happens when one tries to mention every possible politically correct term or include every possible ethnicity is that someone might be left out. Consider “do no harm” as meaning “do no harm to anyone.” Why doesn’t the newly revised Hippocratic oath contain specific mention of Australian aborigines? Why doesn’t it mention Hutus or Tutsis in particular? What of Andean Peruvians? Or let’s take the indigenous practice of chewing betel leaf. That’s an “indigenous practice,” isn’t it? But there’s some evidence that suggests an association between chewing it and getting oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Yet, indigenous peoples in numerous Asian countries continue to chomp on it.
Dr. Jones: Well, as a white person, I can testify that I have a tendency to ignore traditional healing and medicines though I can see your point about indigenous medicine practices.
Dr. Wakanda: My point is that “do no harm” requires a clinical approach. Yes, some traditional medicines might work, but many are a worthless as elixirs of petroleum that charlatans sold in the nineteenth century as cure-alls. Think about all those old commercials and advertisements that associated doctors with smoking. One that I recall said, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” *** So, that was a version of an “indigenous” practice." Should we respect it?
Dr. Jones: Well, that’s different. We didn’t know about tobacco and cancer or about betel leaves and cancer back then.
Dr. Wakanda: My point. It was modern medicine—supposedly “white man’s medicine” that exposed the dangers of indigenous and word-of-mouth practices.
Dr. Jones: Well the people at our alma mater had good intentions. They wanted to show their inclusivity and reject their white privilege.
Dr. Wakanda: Even though I am one of their representative graduates? Have you noticed my skin color? I’ll leave you with this: “Do no harm” means “do no harm to anyone.” It doesn’t distinguish. It is inclusive.
*https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/10/14/minnesota-medical-students-take-ideological-oath-including-among-other-things-to-honor-all-indigenous-ways-of-healing/
**https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/figure-18-percentage-all-active-physicians-race/ethnicity-2018
***YouTube: More Doctors Smoke Camels than Any Other Cigarette. See also https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS965US965&sxsrf=ALiCzsZAvIcRvcUFZ06g6zlxOJMPqMioxw:1666442919386&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=four+out+of+five+doctors+smoke+camels&fir=v43N9yPlYsQyWM%252Cvb5_bPIVS0p6jM%252C_%253BAbBswfK2vewjKM%252CTllqAFsPhIP61M%252C_%253BmF8v0DBEcHD2uM%252C04U1P-ebtUe1ZM%252C_%253BUxqFeU-MGRqB9M%252CTllqAFsPhIP61M%252C_%253BVgtB11kzkKnfRM%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BwwIQl46eyTmVMM%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BFEeRSrhQXkViGM%252Cvb5_bPIVS0p6jM%252C_%253BKPfAlgjRsqdTFM%252C6h2QLqT9A03cgM%252C_%253BFDdrstG348ZM9M%252CUYkBfBpDkgbZsM%252C_%253BnmsSRse-Vj4crM%252CGRiy6gO_VFr9FM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kSGGuOvIn4JjRcet_41AR_LtN2vtw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8g_7R7_P6AhUCElkFHXtvAWoQjJkEegQIExAC&biw=1460&bih=1251&dpr=2 One advertisement boasts for its brand that “20,679 Physicians say, ‘Luckies are less irritating.”
RSS Feed