My version of Hell

Was my morning ride in to KC this morning for the open house. Unbeknownst to me, today was also some sort of march on Washington protest against government funded health care. My metro ride is usually about 20 -25 minutes. Today it took almost 60 and it was 60 minutes crammed into a train with red necks. It was truly the worst of America. (and why you should only live in Manhattan, Brooklyn or San Francisco if you choose to live here at all...).

I was honestly trying to ignore it all and to not engage (even with the guy who'd spelled fascist incorrectly on his sign) but then this lady asked me for directions and I told her (amazingly I sort of knew) but with the caveat that I had just moved here and she should confirm with a local. I have afterall spent all of 2 hours on the Mall so may not be quite an expert at it. And then she asked me where I was from and I thought to myself, "oh, here we go".

Well you know me, if you ask for my opinion I will give it to you. And she asked. I said I supported Canada's health care system, flaws and all, because it meant everyone could afford and I believed deserved, a basic standard of care (two people in my program have been turned down by the KC's insurer and they are both young and healthy - what's that about? should they now be without healthcare for the rest of their lives at the ripe old age of 28?). She just kept saying that she wanted people to have a choice and why didn't I have a choice. She said the system was cheaper funded by insurance companies. So I guess it's just me who think they are pretty much second only to the drug companies when it comes to pond scum.

I said I didn't need a choice, there wasn't any need to choose one way or the other because I could go to any doctor I wanted to (assuming you can get an appointment - granted there are flaws to our system - but certainly the government doesn't tell me what doctor to go to). The concept that every citizen (and landed immigrant and permanent resident) of Canada got health coverage based on their citizenship alone was so foreign to her should couldn't grasp it. She said but then the government has access to your bank accounts (huh?) I said no, the doctors billed the government directly, the patient wasn't involved. Anyway, suffice it to say the amount of ignorance and fear on the train was palatable. Ultimately there was the expected racist overtones - there was a huge concern with any immigrant getting free health care ( I thought, ah, they are good enough to look after your children and clean your house, but they shouldn't get health coverage - I showed great restraint in not saying so!!).

The idea that your tax dollars should be used for anything other than "protecting themselves" was abhorrent to them - I did point out that protection could also include internal issues, but honestly it was like talking to the wall. I really stupid, ignorant wall.

The true kicker, this woman was a nurse.

Honestly, it made we want to run for the border.