Crayon Diversity Award

Today's Crayon Diversity Award goes to the Washington State Senate, for unanimously passing this bill, which institutionalizes the stereotype equating skin color with economic status

WHEREAS, A disproportionate burden of disease, disability, and death exists among people of color in the state ...

The proposed solutions include:

Consider opportunities to improve health status of people of color by addressing barriers to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care and health education materials and practices, including a review of opportunities to increase the number of minority health providers in the state through development of career ladder, expanded recruiting, education, and retention programs, so the entire health work force more closely mirrors the people they serve;

Is the Senate suggesting that black and Asian employees of say, Microsoft, have less adequate health care than their white colleagues? And what about that serious physician shortage in overwhelming white rural Washington?

As far as proposing that health care providers "closely mirror the people they serve" -- this seems to suggest that world-class neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson should restrict his practice to black folks, and that all those life-saving immigrant country doctors from South Asia should be replaced with native-born Americans. I hope that's not what the Senate is proposing, but I fear that it would be the inevitable consequence.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at February 26, 2004 12:03 PM