I absolutely reject the idea that NHS doctors, nurses & care workers are heroes. They are mothers, sons, wives & brothers. In this country, calling people ‘heroes’ just results in a dangerous apathy. Just look at homeless veterans. It is policies & choices that endanger them.

It’s a nice thought. A beautiful thought. But a hypocritical one when there is not a unanimous support for policies that increase their wages, give them time to breathe & life, ensure they are protected.

It is a dangerous habit. Heroising groups of people to absolve yourselves of any responsibility of taking care of them. They don’t have to be heroes. Because somehow being hero means they don’t need help or support. They are human beings, being brave. Respect them as such.

You don’t really respect them though, do you? Because if you did value them you would be unapologetically critiquing policies that have resulted in millions of these heroes being traumatised & helpless. Instead you say it to make yourself feel good. Performative allyship.

My good friend Alok Vaid-Menon & I touched upon this on our Instagram live yesterday with @galdemzine. The full video is still up. If you can, I implore you watch us discuss the political climate. https://instagram.com/galdemzine 

Vote Leave (like much of the current Conservative establishment) understood the love Britain has for the NHS. And they continued a decade long campaign of convincing the public that they truly cared about NHS workers, when at the same time they defunded it to breaking point.

The same goes now with calls to ‘protect the NHS’. These are the same people that invite American pharmaceutical lobby groups into their halls to help them campaign to desensitise the public to the importance of public healthcare.

Heroising them is one of those tools. Absolve yourself of responsibility. Make their work seem untouchable. Their personhood as distant from oneself (the voter) as possible.