Once upon a time, a white, middle-aged man was having major surgery at a University Hospital somewhere in the US. The surgery’s nature was such that, he needed the care of two anesthesia providers. On call for the procedure of that nature were two brown-skinned anesthesiologists. Let’s call them Anesthesiologist A and B (AA and AB).
When AA and AB met the patient prior to surgery, he appeared nervous and uneasy and they attributed it to anxiety. Who wouldn’t be nervous before such a big operation? AA asked a nurse to give the patient an anxiolytic.
They saw the patient again about thirty minutes later in the operating room. He was already on the table. While AA got stuff together to place invasive lines, AB exposed the patients upper arms and torso to place external monitors. The sight that met his eyes took him aback. The patient’s upper chest and arms were covered with tattoos. That was not the problem. It was what the tattoos said that rattled him. They were signs, symbols and abbreviations from a rather dark part of this country’s and European history. AB pointed to an abbreviation on the patient’s left shoulder. It was made up of a letter, repeated three times. Even though AB knew what it meant, without knowing why, he asked the patient:
“What do those letters mean?”
“The patient at this point had gone pale and had a sheepish, frightened look on his face. He muttered:
“I was young and stupid then”.
“Is it like a secret fraternity? Can I join?”, AB probed.
There was no answer from the patient. An uneasy silence filled the room.
At this point AA came over, having noticed the tattoos and the exchange. He stood close to the patient on the left side and smiled at the patient.
AB broke the silence:
“I guess it must be really secret. Don’t worry, we will take good care of you.”
And take care of him they did.
The patient did well during the surgery and was taken to the intensive care unit afterwards. About ten days later, he left the hospital for rehab.
What is the point of this rather true narrative?
If two doctors could bring themselves to take care of a man, who probably hates them for the color of their skin and in other circumstances would do them harm, giving him world-class anesthetic care for a complex operation,
HOW HARD IS IT TO BAKE A CAKE OR EVEN MAKE A BOUQUET FOR TWO PEOPLE OF THE SAME SEX WHO WANT TO SHARE THE REST OF THEIR LIVES TOGETHER?
A CAKE? A BOUQUET?
Think about it!