I’ve been wrestling with something for a little bit. I’m really thinking about it now because I just got home from work. In my neighborhood, there’s a house with a sign in the front thanking healthcare workers, and it’s surrounded by American flags (A thread) 1/?

The longer the pandemic goes on for, the more healthcare workers are being equated with patriots/soldiers. On a surface level, I get it. It’s a ready, easy correlation. But it makes me uncomfortable for a lot of reasons. One, while I’m trying my hardest caring 2/?

for all of my patients, my fellow black and brown citizens are dying. I am a small part of a larger healthcare system which historically hasn’t done right by black/brown populations. These (3/?)

large segments of populations are dying, largely due to systemic racism. Plus, all of the people propagating anti-Asian rhetoric and assaults...could be COVID patients. As healthcare workers, we’re ethically bound to properly care for every sort of person. Doesn’t always 4/?

happen, but many healthcare workers do their hardest to do so. Idk, I don’t want to ramble, but the whole patriot equation is fraught for me. Patriotism is always invoked during hard times...but this country did very little to prepare for this. This country (5/?)

had ample time to, but chose not to. A patriot can’t very well stand up and act when their own country stacked the odds against them. Idk, the whole thing is a bit fraught for me. People thank me for my service, say healthcare workers are heroes. (6/?)

I appreciate all of those sentiments people have extended to me, and I’m acutely aware of how many med professionals have died, or are dying. I know that can easily be me. I know I struggle with being gracious when kind comments are sent my way (7/?)

and should probably just accept the patriot/soldier/hero thing at its surface level and keep it moving, but I just needed a minute (End of thread/rant)