final blog post

Looking back at my index card, I find myself realizing that I was very broad in what I hoped to gain from this course. I had written that I was “interested in seeing how race, as a social construct, would influence history and medicine.”  Reflecting on my statement, I realize that this was the whole point of the course. As I contemplate if the readings and information we learned answered my question, I realize that the course had taught me much more. One issue that I found to be challenging prior to finishing this course was the idea of white privilege. Growing up in a town where there is limited diversity in almost every social aspect, I never looked at white privilege as something that pertained to me. I had never thought that based on someone’s skin color, a person have these hidden advantages in society. An advantage I never thought was given to only select communities of people was the feeling that my doctors were believing me when I said I was in physical pain. For many in the African American community stigmas and stereotypes have influenced society to project them as patients who "fake" pain because they are seeking more drugs to feed their addiction. This health discourse is so problematic because it hinders people's ability  to get quality healthcare.

After analyzing Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack during one of our class discussions, I had realized that I had been given, by society, a set of invisible advantages that other minority communities were not. I found this discussion to be very eye opening and one of the most important discussions we had all semester. After discussing the idea of white privilege, we had the special guest speaker Mario C. Brown come and discuss health disparities and difference in levels of treatment given to those in impoverished areas. During Mario’s discussion, he had explained the “platinum rule.” This was the idea of a physician treating their patients how they wished to be treated. He stated that several physicians dont follow this rule because their treatments are often led by racial biases which result in poor and unfair medical treatment. He explained that racial biases were taught and shown through the medical field and that the “invisible knapsack” the white community has is extremely influential. From this discussion forward, I had learned and placed high importance on how influential white privilege really is. From our class discussions, I have concluded that white privilege has been constructed through the suppression of the African American and minority communities because of the idea of "race". Race has allowed for the white community to categorize African Americans as inferior. The idea that the African American and minority communities can be seen as inferior, “dirty” and “uncivilized” has influenced the perception of certain communities as more deserving to be medically treated better. I found the readings we did during this course, especially in the books Fit To Be Citizens by Natalia Molina and in Sick From Freedom by Jim Downs, had supported and showcased the perception of the African American and minority communities as being inferior and undeserving of fair medical treatment. These historical events displayed in these books showcase that health disparities within these communities are not due to the people within the community. These disparities occur because of the racial biases cornering these African American and minority communities into the socioeconomic position they are in.  I think that the lack of acknowledgement of the invisible knapsack of privileges by the white community has also fed into why health discourses continue today. I think that after this course, my major question is what can society do to eliminate the white privilege that society has emplaced, and how can it be eliminated within the medical field to better the treatment and care of the suppressed communities?