What’s the Motivator?
I keep thinking about a conversation I had with my mother the other day. I was explaining to her about a thread on DeafDC, where the topic of my eye doctor violating my civil rights was brought up.
My mother said to me, “I don’t think Dr. Dragoo thought you were inferior even though he told you that you were somewhat intelligent. To him, everyone’s like that because he’s a doctor and he knows the best! And you’re right, even if he thought you were inferior, that shouldn’t affect how you think about yourself.
In my opinion, what motivated Dr. Dragoo to deny your civil rights boils down to two things: greed and control. Remember in the beginning, he repeated time again and again that interpreters were too expensive and he didn’t want to pay for it. Talk about greed!
It’s also about people telling him how to spend his money – a control issue. He also tries to assert control over the dialogue by telling you that you two will write back and forth, and use those ‘tumbling E’s’ whatever they are, and so on.
It has nothing to do with your deafness. It has everything to do with his greed and control issues.”
I can’t help but think she’s right on that, and she said it far better than I ever could.
13 Comments
Comments are closed.
Erick Ketcham said,
June 11, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Your doctor sounds like a real prize.
“Somewhat intelligent” that does suggest that he thinks you are inferior. It’s like saying “that monkey is somewhat intelligent”, or “that monkey is intelligent (but not as intelligent as a human being)
I’d have changed doctors if my doctor said that to me. And then on top of that he doesn’t provide an interpreter. That is breaking the law.
Best,
Erick
Erick Ketcham said,
June 11, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I forgot to add this:
Would your doctor tell a hearing patient “you’re somewhat intelligent”?
Dianrez said,
June 11, 2007 at 2:32 pm
(laugh) Another one of those super-educated, super-egoistic, tiny-minded doctors.
Get another doctor and save yourself the grief of putting up with nonsense. That his name has been linked with audism in public should be enough for him.
Jessica said,
June 11, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I had a eye doctor in that area who had similar attitude too. Something about eye doctors out there or what? In fact, I had two different eye doctors who had the same kind of attitude. One was Dr. Bearie which is a pretty well known doctor around there. You might have seen that name around? Anyway, I had some help from DEAF etc for advocacy on ADA, etc. so they were obligated to provide interpreters.
Belle said,
June 11, 2007 at 3:23 pm
True. We are sometimes almost too quick to claim our deafness as a reason for people’s inconsideration. Other people can have weird issues that have nothing to do with our deafness.
Useful reminder, thank you, Jeannette (or is it Jeanette? I am sorry, I tried to find your name on this blog again but couldn’t).
dsboyce8624 said,
June 11, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Ah, he was just being sexist!!!
It was all about him being a man, and you being a woman.
I figured why not, as long as we’re throwing out possibilities, let’s bring out the old standby.
Dennis
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 11, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Erick, yeah, totally a prize.
Someone who heard about this had the best response, ‘And you seem like somewhat of an asshole.’ 
It’s Jeannette.
Well, I ain’t changing eye doctors. That’s exactly what he wants, and I’m not going to give him what he wants. And I don’t think it’s only with eye doctors… I think it’s a problem with doctors in general.
I’ve heard a lot of stories about doctors – in fact, my mother told me that from her reading on case law and such, the top 3 who violate our rights are police officers (go figure!), doctors, and attorneys.
Bill said,
June 11, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I would agree that it is about money – what is the cost of an interpretor?
Jean Boutcher said,
June 11, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Capitalism in the 21st century is way way way out of control. At first, doctors took
Hippocrates’ Oath to heal people for over 3,000 years, but, when Alan Greenspan, a heir of Ayn Rand, became chairman of Finance Revenue, he influenced “greed,” to Bush and Republicans. That is how pharmaectuial corporates become bribers of doctors. Doctors choose either: to be true to Hippocrates’s Oath or to accept bribery from the said corporates. Some doctors need money to pay for their malpractice
insurance, so they choose the latter. In other words, they prefer greed to honour and glory as good doctors.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 11, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Bill, it varies on the interpreter because of their qualification/certification and the situation they’ll be interpreting in.
I would estimate that the average interpreter who has a RID (national certificate) would charge between $40-45 per hour.
Bill said,
June 11, 2007 at 8:12 pm
In reading this document from the MI DODHH, (which has lots of good information on your rights) I found this, which would aid smaller scale health care:
Tax credits are available for the expenses of accommodating patients who have
disabilities. The Access Credit, created by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of
1990, provides a tax credit of one half of the cost of interpreters and similar
measures that exceed $250.00.
That’s a credit, not a deduction. I am not sure that would work for interpreters, but I am sure it would help for other communication aids.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 11, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Yup, Bill. But I think I’m his only deaf patient, and the interpreter bill totaled $88 and something. If he had more deaf patients, he could use that tax credit.
A Deaf Pundit said,
June 11, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Oh, I forgot – Jessica, no, I don’t know that name. Sorry.