Single payer healthcare is a form of rape
As I’ve explained to those who have been kind enough to reach out, I’m on an extended “leave of absence” from social media. My new employer requested that I stop feeding the trolls. Plus, my twitter account was banned simply because I described fighting back against a certain next door neighbor who repeatedly denied the existence of trans people. (Tip for the TERFS out there: if you don’t want me to poison your dog, don’t refer to my son as “he.”)
Yesterday, however, I heard I story that simply had to tell!
(Names have been changed to avoid harassment and death-threats. Trigger Warning: medical content, swear words, r-word, word-assault.)
My good friend Cressica has been diagnosed with Stage IV Morgellons. This is a rare disease that almost exclusively affects women who have made repeated claims of “unverifiable” trauma, and so of course the sexist medical establishment denies the existence. It’s so hard to get treatment that Cressica has to drive from Ontario to Akron just to find a doctor who doesn’t gaslight her.
She was visiting yesterday, and our discussion turned toward the high bills she had to pay for her treatment. Specialists aren’t cheap, after all, and her monthly bristling session was barely covered by her trust fund and book sales.
“I feel so bad for you,” I said. “If you could just find a specialist in your home country, you’d be able to spend your time and money on advocacy.”
She was shocked by my concern. I was even more shocked by her response:
“I actually like it,” she said. “In America, I can consent to healthcare. I have the freedom to choose from providers.”
Here, I knew it was my turn to shut up and just listen. Cressica is the survivor of over 500 rapes. Most of these occurred during Satanic Ritual Abuse she suffered as an infant, which was only recently recovered through repressed memory theory. The last several occurred during an art project she designed in college, in which she invited men to rape her and documented their responses. If anyone knows about a lack of consent, it’s Cressica!
She continued:
“Sure, I wish this cost a bit less. But that’s selfish of me. I hate to say it, but the healthcare in Canada is literally rape: you don’t choose your doctor, your doctor choose you. In America, whether or not you receive care is decided by the free market. By definition, the free market is incapable of sexism. In Canada… well, let’s just say I’ve found out what it’s like to have my healthcare given to me by brocialists.”
I became overwhelmed with shame. Of course single-payer healthcare is rape. What is rape, after all, if not a denial of a chance to consent? Canada, and other bro-run/pro-rape countries, force women to submit themselves to doctors that they didn’t even choose. It’s like the Handmaid’s tale, but much worse.
And the worst part is that I hadn’t even realized this before. In the past, I was even naive enough to entertain the idea of single-payer being good… my only worry was selfish and political, as I realized how naive it was to promise something voters something they want and like. In failing to denounce single-payer healthcare, I hadn’t just insulted my friend. I had supported rape culture.
By this point I was crying so hard that I don’t remember the rest of what Cressica said. I begged her to forgive me for attempting to mansplain healthcare to her. She said she would, so long as I shared my story with all of you.
And so I did.
