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Subscribe to RSSAn African-American nurse is suing a Michigan hospital after she says staff there agreed to a swastika-tattooed father’s request that no black nurses care for his new baby.
Tonya Battle, 49, sued the board of hospital managers of Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mich., and Mary Osika, a nurse manager, on discrimination grounds after Battle said she was reassigned to accommodate the father’s request.
“I didn’t even know how to react,” Battle told the Detroit Free Press, which first reported the story.
Battle is a neonatal intensive care nurse who has worked at the 443-bed public teaching hospital for nearly 25 years. She said she was caring for infants as usual on Oct. 31, 2012 when the infant’s father asked to speak to her supervisor, according to a complaint filed in the Genessee County circuit court.
The father told the charge nurse “he did not want any African Americans taking care of his baby,” the complaint said. While making that statement, he pulled up his sleeve and showed a tattoo “believed to be a swastika of some kind.”
Instead of denying the request, the complaint said, the charge nurse called Osika, who advised her to reassign the baby to another nurse.
“Plaintiff was reassigned on or about Oct. 31, 2012 because she is African-American,” the complaint said. “Plaintiff was shocked, offended and in disbelief that she was so egregiously discriminated against based on her race and re-assigned.”
The next day, the complaint alleged, Osika told staff members the request would be honored. When Battle returned to work on Nov. 2, 2012, the hospital posted a notice on an assignment clipboard that read: “No African-0American nurse to take care of baby.”
No black nurses were assigned to care for the baby for the following month, despite notice from hospital lawyers that the notice should be removed and that the father’s request would not continue to be granted, the complaint alleged.
Hospital officials, however, said that while the father’s request was “initially evaluated,” he was then told it could not be granted.
In a statement posted online, Melany Gavulic, president and chief executive of Hurley Medical Center said the man’s swastika tattoo created “anger and outrage in our staff.”
“This resulted in concern by supervisors for the safety of the staff,” she wrote.
Battle filed discrimination charges on Dec. 11, 2012, with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Battle’s lawsuit seeks punitive damages. Neither Battle nor her lawyer could immediately be reached by NBC News.
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The nurse manager who obliged the racist request should be fired immediately. Those who perpetuated the request should also be fired.
The man should have been told point blank that his racist requests will not be fulfilled and he could take his baby elsewhere if he didn't like it.
What a ridiculous response from the Nurse Manager and her staff who let this go on for over a month.
While I do not condone racism, I think the decision was prudent. The guy was clearly potentially volitile, and possibly dangerous, so to do as you said may have gotten someone hurt. I think the nurse should have been more understanding, and why the heck would she even want to care for that family's baby? I would gladly steer clear of them, and I am white.
It was a no-win situation for the hospital, and regardless, the charge nurse should not be fired.
Why yes, and then the hospital would face a lawsuit by the father of the baby, and they could have possibly had bodily harm done to the nurse who tried to sue the hospital. Yeah, that works out.
Race card, it'll always be played by any and every side until the last man / woman draws their final breath. Isn't it lovely?
I suppose,then, that they should have condoned,also, a request that no Jewish doctors or Jewish nurses should not touch the baby ?
Where,exactly,in your thinking,does racism and hate have boundary lines ?
No, this is a no win situation and the best thing would be to show some tolerance for the idiot that made this request. You really have to put the baby first, and the people working at the hospital should have been professional enough to not have their feathers ruffled so easily.
These boundary lines were drawn in the last few years... If the father made a request, it should have been carried out.. There was a way to keep that info under wrap... As stated before, this man could have been dangerous.. You could have alerted Security, but allowed his wishes.. Why would anyone get so offended.. I might have been hurt, but get over it and move on...Everyone is out to make a buck on the race card. What ever happened to broad shoulders?
I don't think she should have been more understanding she is there to do a job no matter what color, race or sex any patients are!I am a nurse and I feel offended. Nurses do not see color, race or sex we are there to help others. If that baby needed a nurse, it shouldn't matter what color he or she was that nurse should have been able to care for that baby. It is a slap in the face when the hospital you work for do not stand behind you and put a posting that everyone to seen that states no African American nurses to care for babies. That is just rude and stupid!
I agree, the baby comes first. That baby needs to be adopted out to a loving family with tolerance!!
I don't agree with the request but who is paying her salary? When whe are paying we can choose.
IF the "safety" of hospital personnel was on the mind of the "charge nurse" or anyone else in the hospital THERE IS SUCH A THING AS THE POLICE that could have put this bigot in jail for the night AND POSSIBLY LONGER. Now the hospital should be sued ALONG WITH THIS RACIST FATHER and forced to apologize with a full page add in the local news paper condemning such actions and letting ANYONE ELSE WITH THOSE KINDS OF RACIST ATTITUDES THAT THEY ARE NOT WELCOME.
I am a nurse, and I am offended when I go to a patients room and their is a sign on the door that says "Female Providers Only" . This is the US and a teaching institution. If we honor this request (and we have to) so not to offend Muslims, whats the difference?
A hospital today is a very, very dangerous place to work. Many angry, possibly dangerous people coming in on their own or being brought in by police. I thought the hospital did the right thing in trying to just defuse the situation by shifting the staff to avoid trouble. I work hospital security and I can tell you that the hospital's handling of this was prudent and correct.
I am on the side of this nurse.Hospitals can't refuse service to anybody but they could have denied his request.If they had security they should have escorted him out of the hospital.I think that this was not handled correctly but I don't see that the nurse has a legal foot to stand on unless she sues this bigoted man.His wife should go directly to a divorce lawyer as she is obviously in a marriage with not only a bigot but a control freak.
On one hand, this is extremely racist. Did he not allow Jewish or Asians either? Or was it only African Americans?
ON the other hand if they were afraid for the nurses safety, should they not be concerned for the childs safety as well? If this man may be volatile, is there a chance he could harm the child as well?
I believe the father has the right stand by and refuse any care for his baby or to move his baby elsewhere. He does not have a right to another nurse. He should also understand that if the baby dies from his refusal of care he may be held responsible. He needs to be advised that if he moves his baby to another hospital it doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a white nurse there.
I do not condone racism, but I think that what the charge nurse did was the right thing under the circumstances. Like it or not the patient, or in this case the patients parent who was empowered to make medical decisions for the patient, have an unequivocal right to say that they do not want certain medical personnel taking care of the patient.
I do not understand the nurse filing a discrimination suit against the hospital over this. There was no harm done to her, she did not lose any pay or promotion, and she was not asked to do anything that other nurses do not do. The fact that the father made this request was no reflection on her as a nurse and was not taken that way by anyone. I honestly think that this lawsuit is just someone looking for some easy, free money. What happened is not what we would like to see in our society, but when you come right down to it, the hospital did not discriminate against the nurse, they simply honored a request from a racist @!$%# in order to prevent a very touch situation from becoming dangerous and causing problems for everyone involved. The fact that the father indicated that he did not want any blacks taking care of his son was extremely ignorant. However, as a patient you do have the right to say if you do not want certain people treating you.
"Sir, I'm sorry but we will assign the absolute best nurse to care for your new born. This decision is made with no consideration to skin color or religion or any other consideration than that person is best qualified to attend to this child. If you can not abide by our policy then you are free to move your new born to any local hospital that will honor your demand. We will assist you in any way possible with this move. This police officer and security guard are here to also assist you with whatever course of action you may choose. We strongly suggest you move to another hospital you god damned, racist, red necked mother @!$%#ing son of a bitch." Thank You.
If this was a black panther and he requested no white nurses it wouldn't even make the news, they only want to stir up racism, thats all they have left.
He sounds like a nut job and lately you can't take any chances. He could have come back a week later with a gun and shot up the entire care unit. making the initial request could have saved some lives. No need to sue, always think of safety.
As offensive as this is, I have to ask, why did the nurse sue the hospital, and not the racist bastard that made the request. Money, that's why. No money to be made from the white-trash, but LOADS to be made off the hospital.
Whether it's ok or not, there will always be nasty, vile, bigoted people in the world. Instead of going sue-happy, why don't you just brush it off and move on? This is all about somebody screaming racism so they can line their pockets, and the lawyers are jumping all over it because they know they're gonna make BANK, and no one is going to really fight them because the white folk are all scared to pieces that they might offend someone.
@stopfreeloaders
Fixed that for ya. Also agree that freeloaders must be stopped starting with Exxon-Mobil, who freeload $9000 in subsidies every minute and pay no taxes. But somehow I get the feeling that's not who you are referring to.
Poor kid.
JS in SD - Your very first sentence is incorrect. You clearly condone racism. Removing a nurse based on his/her race is racism. Of course she suffered discrimination and should be compensated for it.
I don't understand all this "concern" about the father being volatile. Every hospital has security and every town a police force. If he became unruly, it's for law enforcement to handle, not for POSSIBLE bad behavior to be preempted by racism.
Nobody should be fired, no one should have went to jail, or even had security called on them. As much as I am repulsed by this guy's request, he has every right to make it. Patients/guardians of patients have the right to make their own care decisions, including who administers it. Unfortunately her lawsuit is baseless, and we certainly can't be giving up patient care rights to keep a small percentage of undesirables from offending anyone.
The hospital was in a no win situation. We had a man come into one of our hospitals and shot staff because he didn't like what the wife requested and the hospital performed-I believe it was a sterilization. There are crazy people anywhere. If the hospital would have told the man tough luck-he might have focused on black employees or the administration for not placating him. Dangerous world. She should not sue-get over it.
The hospital, fearing for its staff, could have gotten an emergency TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) keeping the father away from the hospital as he posed a potential risk to the hospital staff and also to the infant.
Nazis, neo or otherwise, have an absolute right to free speech and assembly. They do not have a right to impose their bigotted views on anyone else who is necessary to a well organized hospital such as the one mentioned in the article.
Better to accommodate his racist request than to not and have him find out you didn't and him return with a shotgun to take out everyone he felt did him wrong - don't you think? He might have taken his time and calmly waited 5 years to take his revenge hoping no one would remember him and tie him to the murders.
This nurse coming back with a lawsuit seeking money, for what, maybe saving her life? She just appears to be using the situation for financial gain.
What if he requested no male nurses attend his wife, or he wanted a female doctor because he didn't want any other man to see his wife naked? There's a whole other line of request people make. Racism is nasty, but sometimes prudence is the best course.
This man should not be allowed to procreate. His offspring will grow up in a warped household.
all those who think the hospital did the right thing by trying to defuse the situation because this man might have been dangerous totally miss the point. to cater to the demands of this one bigot is exactly how people such as this are enabled to continue to harm others. And whose to say that in allowing the demands of this individual that one or more hospital staff might not have become so inflamed as to be a danger to others. Just how far back in history should these racist and their actions be allowed to take us. For example suppose someone walks into a diner or a hotel with a message on their t-shirt that says they object to service by anyone who is black, Hispanic, Jewish, Muslim, gay, etc. should that be honored as well? No, it is the actions of the racist that should not generally be tolerated. Tolerance and then sympathy are exactly the elements of human nature that the likes of Hitler relied on in carrying out the genocidal near extinction of the 6 million Jews of Europe and elsewhere, + another 6 million others, while most the rest of the so called civilized world stood passively by tolerating the situation, including those at the highest levels of the US government.
Denise
I am a woman and would not allow a male nurse or doctor to provide intimate care to me except in an emergency. I am not only NOT a Muslim, I am an atheist.
Of course, some women couldn't care less who peers at their private parts. Perhaps you're one of them.
@BOULDERMAN
If I were the owner, or Manager of an establishment that "someone" came into, I would take him into the seating area, and in a very loud voice, I would inform him that he would have to SERVE HIMSELF, since there was no one, on staff who wanted HIM for a customer! How's THAT for descrmination? I'm certain, that out of embarrassment, he/she would leave, wearing their rotten "attitude" T Shirt, and looking like a total moron.
No one, gets to CHOOSE the color of the package they are sent to earth in. No one gets to choose, ahead of time, whether they will have blue, Hazel, or brown eyes. Some, are born missing arms & feet, so how IGNORANT are those, who descriminate, just because of physical appearance?
In the South, where people of color are STILL descriminated against (and the dark skin, being the reason,) there are more stinking TANNING BEDS, within a 25 mile radius, than anywhere else in the Nation. Why, if they are so angry at people of color, do they pay to make their "beige" skin darker?
To think that Hospital personnel, would be intimidated over a Tattoo, or any other "mark" on this ugly man's body, is unbelievable. Their staff needs to be re-educated, quickly, that any threat, verbal or otherwise, made to any employee, or Director of a hospital, is a very valid reason, for calling law enforcement. If this creep, could afford to Ink his body, with stupidities, he could certainly have afforded a Private Duty Nurse of his choice, to care for his child. All he had to do, without making a huge issue was to tell the Staff, that he had his own private duty nurse who would be taking care of his child in the hospital. For my money, I would prefer a Nurse (regardless of color) who had 25 years experience, in Neonatal ICU care, because SHE would have been the expert, if it were necessary to save my child's life.
I'm certain she would know a heck of a lot more, than a "rent-a-nurse" he hired, based on the color of skin, from a temp service. Can you imagine how HE would have felt, if the Hospital posted a sign that said "No family members who have tattoos, may visit or hold any child in NICU, due to the fact that the ink, may cause serious infection to the infant" and posted THAT and kicked his worthless butt to the curb, to stand next to his car, and figure out how he could overcome THAT descrimination?
Suppose the father was a Christian Scientist whose child had been brought to the hospital with a potentially fatal respiratory condition and all that was needed was administering intravenous antibiotics to save the child's life from certain death and the father refused the treatment for the child on religious grounds. Result: Father loses. Hospital gets court order to administer life saving treatment against the father's religious wishes. Not all religious tenets are deemed to be constitutional rights. Like the case of those in Florida who tried saying they had a right to use marijuana a a religious sacrament
Patter..................peering at your private parts is only in the mind of the beholder.......... your "parts" just aren't that important to the busy staff, only in your mind dear. Besides, a male nurse isn't generally going to bathe you anyway, that would be the job of a female CNA.
she was not discriminated against. She saw nothing other then hurt feelings over this matter. the baby's care was reassigned to another nurse. they did not fire her, nor did they cut her pay or hours. All they did was rearrange the workload to accomodate a father's request. was he bigoted? yes... but that is still his right to his own personal beliefs. if they did not follow his wishes he could have removed the child from the hospital and either taken him home or transferred him to another hospital.
i dont get where her rights trump his? i understand she felt hurt... but seriously she faced no consequences for this other then her hurt feelings. she wasnt denied a promotion, nor was she removed from her job.. she suffered no material loss. to sue the hospital because of hurt feelings... well that is just petty.
The guy is a racist slob. So what. Everyone has the right to believe and think what they want. I don't like this situation, but at the same time I disgustingly find myself defending the pig. He is a customer at a business, right? If you go into a restaurant and ask for a different server because you don't want the one you have (for whatever reason, maybe they are sick), the restaurant has three options...find the customer another server, deny the patron's request(in which case they will most likely leave anyway), or ask the patron to leave. A hospital is a business, and the principle is the same. Nobody's job was threatened, no employer discrimination can be claimed because the discrimination clearly lies with the customer in selecting the person they wish to hold the position...which is not illegal. This is like choosing a primary care physician. Nobody needs to know why you do or do not want an individual, but the choice remains yours.
When I worked as a nurse, it did occasionally occur that a patient would request a change of nurses. We complied. Big deal!
Strangely, no one is thankful he didn't just go enraged and snap the nurse's neck, like most racists are thought to do in Spike Lee-esque fiction. While this man is a pig, I'm very thankful that this man turned diplomatic and asked for a different nurse. Anyway, why would she WANT to take care of this baby? Just freakin' walk away lady. I'm sure they have bed pans you could be cleaning if you really are hard-up for work. Honestly... if the customer doesn't want you, you can't force them to want you, and throwing a lawsuit at your workplace will likely get you terminated. I don't see the hospital, or any hospitals, keeping this woman on or hiring her after this.
both these comments miss the point. you do have the right to believe whatever you want to believe. you do not have the right to dictate to an employer that they violate federal law because of your beliefs.
@Tseirpa
Did you read the article, where it said "a sign was posted" that only White Nurses could care for this child? The Father was probably a welfare bum, who couldn't afford a private duty nurse, obviously lacked "class" with his racist attitude, and could be the type to STIFF the hospital for the care his wife and child received, and the embarrassment he cause a highly qualified 25 year veteran in Neonatal Intensive Care.
This will cost ALL patients, but I'm glad she is sueing her employer, to set a precedent, if nothing else, that decisions involving threats and Racism, should not be tolerated by anyone.
How often have you found out, that the Sr. Officer on your airplane was Black? Did anyone refuse to fly with him, because of the color of his skin? Most people don't even look to see the color of a qualified Pilot's skin. As long as he is hired by the Airline, he has to have an ATP rating, and the necessary training, to handle whatever type of aircraft he is flying you in. Can you imagine a sign, hanging next to a seat on an airplane, that says "White Flight attendants ONLY, may serve this customer" That request would get a passenger kicked off an airplane, faster than they could say "Please fasten your seatbelts, and make sure your tray is in the upright position for take off"
All of this defending this moron, "because he's the customer" is the "politically correct" crap, that has taken this Country to the Toilet. This Nurse, was an EXPERT at taking care of Infants. She may have had a Masters or a Phd, in Nursing, and she would probably have cared for this child, as if it were her own, but because of her color, all of her skills were ignored and she was made to feel less than a CNA? Sorry, but she didn't just get her "feelings" hurt, she was, in spite of being a highly educated and experienced woman, treated as if she was a piece of dirt, "because the customer requested this".
When you purchase a ticket, on an airplane, you must abide by certain regulations, when you pay to be cared for, in a hospital, the same thing applies. Everyone's welfare is at stake, in an airplane, or a hospital and NO ONE, customer or not, not even Donald Trump, has the money or the right to treat the caregivers, First responders, or Pilots that kind of abuse. Period.
His baby, his call.
I once had a hospital staff person kicked out of my room and forbidden to return. I was just out of very serious surgery and the person was obnoxious. As the patient, I had/have every right to advocate for myself.
We have every right to set our own boundaries. If those boundaries offend others, the problem is theirs.
Ever hear of anti-discrimination laws? Even as the payor, your right to choose is limited. You can base your decision on many factors (affordability, training, experience, etc...), but not on characteristics covered by anti-discrimination laws. The hospital should not have complied.
many are still missing the point. this man had an absolute right to object to any black person, Jewish person, or any other person he hated, taking care of his child. In fact he could have walked right up to the nurse, rolled up his sleeve and showed her his symbol of racism and said I really object to you, a black nurse, caring for my child, so long as he did it in a nonthreatening way so it was not considered the crime of hate speech. Then if the nurse went to the hospital admin and requested to be reassigned and they approved, that would be different. But here the hospital appears to have reassigned against the desire of the nurse, and posted a sign, which not only discriminated against her but also against every other black staff person or type of person named on the sign. It does not take a loss of job, or money, or vacation time or position to be discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, or age, disability, etc. it could be as simple as THE EMPLOYER assigning parking spaces based on the above.
In the past, the worst racists in America always had African-American caregivers for their children; this new racism is even worse than during slavery and Jim Crow. The man was attacking a nurse's job as well. The hospital does not have to accommodate him; there is a good question of whether this man is a fit parent for the child with such attitudes. The child may have special needs, and Nazis also have a history of rejecting and discriminating against people who are disabled as well as people from other races.
It isn't a case for a lawsuit alone, but a case manager evaluating the family to see if they are fit parents. Nobody has to play nice with somebody with such attitudes.
Why is this nurse suing the hospital? Did the hospital do something to her that made her unable to carry out her duties of taking care of another patient? Doesn't the hospital get to choose whatever nurses should look after whatever patients?
Anyone who has needed a nurse in the hospital request a specific one for many reasons. For instance, it might be easier for the patient if they spoke the same native language. It also might be that a particular nurse failed to listen to the patient's needs and the guardians preferred another. As long as this nurse has work to do, why on earth should she care what patient she treats? Since when does the nurse choose what kind of work she should do?
THIS ISN'T ABOUT RACE, THIS IS ABOUT MONEY. The hospital wasn't acting in a racist manner. They tried to make the patient's parents as comfortable as possible since they were already under stress. Maybe this nurse was upset because the father didn't like her. Guess what? Too bad..... Not everyone is going to like you.
How many people on this site needed a nurse who spoke spanish, or russian, or italian? If you were a nurse who only spoke english, should you then sue? Afterall, this is an American hospital right, where english should be spoken?
Even if the father was racist, unless she is a specialist in her field, she should of just stepped aside. Again, this is about the money. She needed something to sue the hospital for.
Poor baby! ALL of them! Even the real baby.
So what happens if the hospital said "no" to the request but then the charge nurse heard about the racist request so she drops his baby on it's head?
Every bigot has an excuse...
They especially love to play he "what if" game or threthen to intimidate or act out - unless they are accomodated!
So next you claim its a Race card or Gender card or Agist card or religious card - just who is the victim... in your small minded world?
I don' want any woman cop giving me a ticket or trying to arrest me - so, she can just call a real cop to come arrest me?
I'd rather die than get a transfusion or organ donation or medical care ... I don't care how long it'll take to get me the kind of transfusion, organ, doctor, nurse, surgeon, cop ... I prefer. This was covered before and now zombies walk among us?
If your military, police officer is a midget, black, Jewish, lesbian, woman ... can you ask for a replacement? How about your house is on fire? What if you fell on the subway tracks - and the only help is a bunch of godless, democratic, atheists reach down to pull his sorry a55 out of the path of certain, death danger.
Here's the deal - he doesn't get a choice. he choice was made when the nurse, earned her degree at the same school every other nurse earned her degree. He paid his taxes (if he pays taxes at all)for the services - not for a Dr. or nurse of his choice.
I'm pretty sure that there are many black people who are insulted to be arrested by Bigoted, a55-wipe cops ... but honor the badge - even though they despise the clown wearing it. Mr. Nazi could take his own advice and go back to Germany where his peculiar version of hate orginated ... Oh, thatss not possible. Americans, real Americans ... made sure that problem was rectified.
Who gives a @!$%#? If he didn't want a black nurse she should have just said piss on him and moved on. Hell if a black person made a requet that no white touch their baby i wouldn't want to touch it. No big deal. Let people be who they are. Nobody short of God or that man himself is gonna change him. If i heard somebody yelling for help and found a black man sinking in quicksand and reached to help him and he said i don't want a white or a Indian touching me i'd go on and let him sink. That's his business. i wouldn't be offended by it. Believe me there are blacks out there who feel the same way that man does. All you people saying they should have made him do this and made him do that and called police and called security that is just the ignorant action that brings people back with the assault rifles you are so afraid of. You don't job a mad dog with a hot poker. Your best bet is to stay away from it and leave it alone. It should be his choice. It should be all of our choices.
@Barry-NJ, hope you're not an attorney, your legal theory is far off base. The discrimination laws have nothing to do with a patient's right to choose in regards to their medical care. Now if the hospital had taken disciplinary action against her for his racial directive, or in any way condoned his direct discrimination of her (racial slurs, etc), she would probably have a case. She deserves compensation? She was being compensated for working already, the man asked someone else to have her reassigned, he did not confront her. She didn't lose a dime of her pay for this, nor was she directly abused in this case. I understand this is a negative situation, but stop being so PC people, even jerks and racists have rights in this country!
His dime, time and kid. Get over yourselves. If this were a Caucasian nurse there would be no story. Just like how most of you have not heard of Julius Bender and Yahaziel Israel.
@!$%#ing POS. Take your swastika and stick it up your white ass. If the hospital management had any balls, they would have told his white trash ass to take hisniggering baby somewhere else for care. What is wrong with america ?
Ugly situation, with no easy solution.
patter123
What's next ... you want proof your female attendant is heterosexual?
______________
Regarding the racist father and hospital decision: Submitting to bullying never works. The hospital decision was total wrong and the nurse will properly win her suit.
I see posts here saying that it was okay to grant the racist request based on the possibility of violence from some skin-head.
I guess that if he then wants no black teacher that a school should accommodate? And no black nurse at school? And no black bus driver? And please don't put any black children nearby that could affect his kid?
This is racist. This is disgusting. This is illegal... handle it calmly and slowly, but the nurse should NEVER have been reassigned. The idiot should have been told that fulfilling his request was not possible and, if violence did result, the police should be called. This is the kind of determination WE need to show in the face of "racist" determination. There are no gray areas here.
JS in SD
JS, I may be all wet, but I think you need to rethink your post and view this from a different perspective...
I think that next time I go to the hospital I'll just shave my head and put a few fake tattoos on... then request that any nurse or doctor that touches me or my kids be of pure Aryan descent.
Racism is racism. we either stand up against it or not. Your post does not.
Patter: I am with you 100% and I do it every time I am in the hospital. I'm a senior citizen and I refuse to have ANY male doctor/nurse near me when my grand kids are older than they are. I broke my hip last year and had a huge male nurse come in and say, "It's time for your shower." I told him, "Not in this lifetime - get out." When they sent the survey around to rate the hospital I immediately noted that they should check with the patient to see if they're comfortable with a member of the opposite sex caring for them on a personal note.
Wait, they told us she is African-American but they didn't say whether she is black or not. That would make this into a non-story real quick...
What is this mentality ?
Bend over backward and accommodate any idiot's request cause he might come back and "shoot out the place"...
Is everyone that afraid and without spine ?
Many of you keep stating that their was a "safety" concern. If this is the case then the police should have been called to investigate this matter. Has anyone ever heard of "Hate Crime"? It is a Federal Law.
Also, your rights as a patient are limited. You do not have "carte blanche" when it comes to the staff, only regarding the type of care/medicine you receive. You are not allowed to turn away a staff member because of the color of their skin. This hospital is in huge trouble. I hope they have lots of money to part with. Why do you think the hospital's own lawyers warned them against this idiot's request?
ThaMonkeh
I'm sure they have bed pans you could be cleaning if you really are hard-up for work.
You have obviously never worked in management This is a nurse with 25 years NICU experience. She has saved infants' lives in countless life-or-death experiences. No hospital would ever even consider wasting her skills, knowledge, talent and experience on bedpans.
There is no evidence that this man is dangerous other than a swastika tattoo. Every poster suggesting hospitals should kowtow to any person they believe may be dangerous, please consider that hospitals could not possibly provide the excellent care they provide if they were expecting to base their decisions on all of the nuts who are visitors or patients. And there are plenty of bonafide dangerous visitors and patients who assault staff. We resolve the situation and continue our workday.
Jkatze
Your care provider was obnoxious. You refused care based upon mistreatment, not color of skin.
StopFreeLoaders
I believe that if a black panther requested no white nurses, his request would been denied.
If enough patients were granted requests for no African-American nurses, there would become grounds for a hospital to stop hiring them. She should sue to prevent precedence.
This is amazing. So now we have to concede to requests that are clearly and totally racist to keep a racist from killing people? Wow. How sad is that? She was qualified, hadn't done or said anything to warrant her removal, yet a racist can demand she be reassigned only on the basis of her skin color and everyone curls up in little balls of fear and says sure!??
So give the baby to another nurse is bad enough, but putting a sign on the clipboard that no African-American nurses may care for the baby???? would have served the idiot well to have an emergency come up for his baby with only black doctors available. So sad, too bad, little one. Your father doesn't want competent care...just white care. Wow. So now we have to smile and nod to every racist just so he won't come back and hurt us? How sad that is...wow.
As a twist on an old MASH episode I remember, they should have dyed his baby brown before presenting it to him.
Ok this guy is an a-hole but those of you that are sitting there talking about security and the Police...Really?? Call the Police? Why?? Because he made a request?? Not sure what crime that is. So you'd call the Police to FORCE him to have someone care for his baby he didn't want care for it? The Hospital did right at first by defusing the situation. Whether or not we agree, people have the right to have care from anyone they want and the right to say no to anyone they want...It's not a "hate crime" as redskin put it...If you can tell me what "crime" he committed I'll agree with what you said....
Why is the nurse suing the Hospital? They aren't the ones that discriminated against her. They mearly granted a request by the family of a patient. They did the right thing to avoid a conflict. Could you imagine if they denied the request to begin with and the guy went off on a racist tirade because the nurse is holding his baby? It probably would have ended with the nurse going balistic and getting fired. Then turn around and sue the hospital for wrongful termination.
The hospital gave in to the demands of Nazi. That is a problem.
Defuse the situation? If this man was threatening to the staff, then he was dangerous and should be removed. His child should be taken away and put some place safe--away from the abusive influence of white-supremecist brainwashing.
Oh no!!! The poor nazi's right's are being ignooored. We've got to help him make America a haven for racist trash. The woman should sue the hospital for giving into the demands of a nazi.
People tatted-up with swastikas are STILL allowed to reproduce?
someone hurt my feelings the other day and said some hurtfull remarks to me... Can I sue everyone who hurt my feelings...???? common!
America is a Brady Bunch pile of wimps!
The nurse didn't harmed... the hospital kept a stupid Nazi from making a scene... and everyone lived happily ever after...
Why is the nurse suing the hospital? ohhh I know why... cause they got lots of Obama money! haha
PS- I am not racist, and I think they Nazi is dead wrong in his beliefs... but still, let him go his way and be ignorant...
If she was a strong black nurse, she wouldn't let something so small bother her.
Don't let nazis tell hospitals how they should be run. Don't let nazis control public services.
The hospital could have said, "You don't make the rules here. Take your kid someplace else."
stratocumulus he was threatening the staff?? Really?? Didn't see that anywhere..Were you there?? And Enneagram1...Refuse care..Good idea..Guess you know the hypocritic oath and not the hippocratic oath, huh?? Then the guy could sue because they turned him away....Would you rather have that??
I counted ten question marks in your short remarks. That key on your keyboard must be stuck--better have it checked on. People know that a sentence is a question with only one question mark at the end and not multiple; unless you are shouting, which is rude. Other than that, your comments are not worth responding to.
No enneagram...All caps is shouting. Multiple question marks are a reaction to assinine comments that aren't thought through very well and I am just flabbergasted that someone actually came up with something stupid like that...So understand now?????
Enneagram1 ~ Yet you replied to his comment! LOL. You have no viable response, so you must belittle another person for their opinion and use of punctuation!! Get a life, bud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <-- See what I did there? I used a lot of exclamation points. Quick, someone call the punctuation police!
The father is a total a-hole. Having said that, if they had NOT honored his request, he more than likely would have forced his wife to give birth at home, putting her and the baby in danger. Then HE'D have the ability to sue for the hospital "refusing" to treat his wife and kid. I think the nurse should be more devoted to her job to protect that baby AT ALL COSTS, including having to deal with racist moronic crap like this. After all, the baby didn't ask to have a POS for a father. The nurse needs a thicker skin, or she should at LEAST sue the right person, and that happens to be the racist dad. Sue him for inflicting trauma through his racism. At LEAST put him in as an unnamed co-defendant, since HIPAA regulations will not allow you to name him by name.
Nah, she doesn't need a thicker skin. She saw $$$ signs when they told her no, 'African-American' nurses could work with the infant. Oh, the race card is the biggest reason people sue.
How about if the skinhead father stated that he didn't want an obvious jerk like you, touching his baby ? You would have great difficulty proving that you aren't a jerk...would that still be your ticket to a lawsuit ?
No he wouldn't let NyNy take care of his kid. NyNy always were his hood on backwards. The stupid f*ck can't see.
The infant was already in the neo-natal unit.
There is more to that nurse's feelings at work. If the babies nurse went to lunch, and the baby went into distress, it takes more than one nurse to perform cpr. If the nurse is restricted, her license could be suspended or removed. While the baby is suffering, the african american nurses have to stand by and watch this child die when it could be saved!! Nurses do not look at color, We look at the best care we can give. There is more to nursing than color. If the baby is in neonatal icu, it has some problems. No nurse can look at a child or adult dying when they can be helped!! That father put not only his Child at risk, but administation should have had legal and administration call a conference and tell him our nurses are competent and we do not make decisions based on color. The child should have been moved to another hospital. a 25yr nurse has a lot of experience as opposed to a nurse who came 2yrs to the icu. That nurse had a lot of legal issues to deal with. Its not the money, but what would be expected if the child needed help? its sad in this day and age people want to dictate who cares for whom. I am an advanced practice nurse, and i would have quietly moved that baby quickly out of my hospital. I have seen racism in its highest form, but it does not save lives. I think she is right to file a suit, the hospital should have been behind her. Sometimes its not the money but the principal. Say what you want, I would ask to move to well baby nursery until that baby was gone. I would hate to be around if that infant went into distress.
Mon the only one: I'm sure that if the child went into distress she should have attended to the baby. Perhaps then, it might have changed the way the baby's father felt about her. But otherwise, hospitals are there to cater to the patients and their families, not the nurses.
Unhappy, If the baby went into distress, and was forbidden to care for it, I would hope she did not go near it if it went into distress. She could have been sued for taking care of a baby that was written explicitly not to have any af. am. Nurses. The father would have gone ballistic if he knew a black nurse was touching his child. That puts the nurse in a catch 22. He prob would have felt she did something to that baby. It was clearly written on a clipboard. Management should have moved their AA nurses and swapped them for white nurses in well baby nursery until the baby left. All would have been well. If the baby died, it would not be blamed on the nurse. The regulations on nurses are very high, and they have to meet high standards. Hospitals make a decision based on what they are told. There is no more catering in hospitals, you go in, take care of the patients and give the best care and they go home. Normally teaching hospitals do not pay the nurses salary, the state does. if you do not support your staff, they can make or break you, I have seen it. She should have stood up for her nurse and said, "we will meet with the interdiciplinary team and get back to you today." Not make an on the spot decision. What a poor manager
I think you are the one that's mistaken. Patients pick certain hospitals because of the people who work there. Catering in hospitals does happen to a certain extent, because otherwise patients would request to be transferred or would simply choose another hospital.
I agree that management should have swapped for white nurses while the baby was there to avoid a lawsuit by the parent's. That is why the management assigned her to another baby. She didn't like that idea of being moved which is why she is suing the hospital. You have just proven my point. The manager made the right decision.
wrong... not in an emergency. If it were planned, its different.
If she was unable to leave the hospital, safely ... they have the legal obligation and right to treat her regardless of his wishes, as they see fit..
As previously noted - security or city police are available to enforce policy. they would be legally absolved of any consequences of his juvenile behavior.
We do not negotiate with terrorists! Once you do, then you set a precedent for the next and the next... call his bluff, then let the cards play as they land. If he wants to be in jail while she is giving birth - then accommodate him. Its a public hospital - not a private, good ol' boys club. Since when does a patient, set staffing policies? There was a case where parents were refusing to feed their child, based on hokum pseudo-science; eventually they fed him and jailed the parents.
What the hospital administration did was devalue the skills and education of that nurse... she is well within her duty and rights to sue the administration... not only for herself - but for the Philippine nurses, Asian Doctors, Jewish anesthetists - etc.
Where was the terriosts? Get carried away don't you?
Last I checked the KKK and other aryan groups are considered terrorist organizations.
Ugly situation, with no easy solution.
She has reason to be offended and no hospital should allow someone to dictate such terms, however this would hardly traumatize someone to the point that they need a million dollar payday to recover. As a black woman she's probably faced racist situations many times in her life.
Just as Rosa Parks had before she made her historical decision to face them silently no longer.
As a white person, I don't accommodate racism in any form ever (occasionally, to my detriment), why should this nurse? Tolerating racism is cowardice and only serves to perpetuate the disease it is.
One time I worked for a trucking company delivering food products to grocery stores. One store in the ghetto said "no white drivers". I was sent there one time by mistake, and that was one rough delivery. They even debated refusing the load. I wasn't offended at all, couldn't care less about it. Of course, if I was black and the situation reversed, could have played the race card and made some big dollars. Not being a lemming Politically Correct person, made it a non-issue to me.
I don't believe you.
Patients or parents have the right to expect safe, competent care when in the hospital. They do NOT have the right to select who among the staff will care for them or their children. They certainly have no right to compel the hospital to engage in the unethical, immoral and illegal behavior of discriminating against their employees, regardless of the basis for that discrimination.
Were I in this situation (and I have been, its not as rare as you might think) the first approach is to tell the father that the assignments of nurses are based on matching the skill of the nurse to the needs of the baby. Remind him that Tonya is an outstanding nurse who will provide expert care for his child and that it is illegal discrimination for the hospital to make assignments based on race. Most of the time the parent/spouse backs down at this point and the case is closed. If the father's behavior deteriorates you have to make a judgement call. One route is to call security and have the father escorted out of the hospital. Another is to temporarily reassign nurses to de-escalate the father's behavior and then muster the administration of the hospital to deal with the situation.
It sounds as though this second route was taken. The problem is that when the hospital administration told the father that they could not grant his request, that message didn't get back to the unit or the unit leadership elected to ignore that message. Before I could agree that the suit is justified I would need to know how the miscommunication occurred and it the nurse tried to resolve the issue with the hospital's administration or just decided to sue.
How about when you are considered sub-human by other people because of the color of your skin, YOU talk to me again about growing a thicker skin. smh.
Clueless ...
Saffie-862604
A total "straw-man" argument. A hospital manager cannot grant racist requests based on the possibility of violence... that's what drove racism in the south for too many years... remember the KKK?
Joemike404, you expressed the matter beautifully.
I too have been in similar situations as the administrator. I have always told the patient that we do not discriminate, and that if the patient believes that they cannot be treated by someone of another race, religion, gender, etc., then they are free to seek care elsewhere. I have been threatened with many lawsuits by angry patients, and not one has made it past the lawyer's desk.
Discrimination in a public hospital is not only wrong, it's illegal. They can lose federal support for their actions.
culheath:
Why don't you believe it?
I work in sales, and I can tell you that at my company several minority accounts are assigned to minority salespeople in order to facilitate the sales process. People buy from people like themselves and that they can identify with in their business frame of reference.
It's not that the clients made it verbally clear, they purchased more with the current account manager than they did when the account was assigned (multiple times) to different non-minority account managers. It's subtle, but real, and that's why smart businesses hire the best candidates across a diverse spectrum of applicants.
Is it any better when the "discrimination" works in the less traditional fashion? No.
Is it likely that the both camps deny themselves the opportunity of a complete solution because the experience is limited by the "one type" of person with whom they've chosen to collaborate? Yes.
In business, does racism, by its' very nature exclude the best possible outcome over a period of time, because it excludes areas of client growth and excludes internal talent that fuels innovation and success? Absolutely.
Will human nature EVER be able to overcome that fact that even within races, and certainly between races, there are tendencies to attach ourselves to those that look like and appeal to our individual ethnic groups? Unfortunately, probably not.
Once we acknowledge that fact we can use that information to examine why that bothers us, and push for a better acceptance of each others differences without fearing them. It also allows people to rationalize that fear isn't always based in fact and that we are universal in our human aversion to things like crime (which is always a them issue).
Our biggest opportunity is to recognize that different groups allow a full range of experience, emotions, and relationship possibilities. That to be fundamentally human is to recognize the differences aren't bad. They are, by definition, the greatest opportunity to advance humankind, so they need to be embraced, understood, and where mutually beneficial, assimilated by all.
While I think the father is being a jerk, I do think he had the right to make the request. The two times that I've been in the hospital I've refused male nurses and the hospital didn't have a problem with it, in fact the first hospital asked me my preference. It's pretty much the same thing. And before I'm jumped on for my request - there is nothing wrong with male nurses and they are as qualified as female nurses, I'm just not comfortable being cared for by a male. As a woman, I prefer to discuss things that may prove to be embarrassing to me with another woman.
I'm okay with that (I am a nurse BTW) provided you're consistent. Are all of your physicians female?
Racism is learned and taught, not inherent to human nature.
Watch kids of mixed races play together for proof.
What you are talking about is like musicians wanting to hang with musicians.
We had this debate on the local radio here and there were some nurses who agreed with the hospital. These included a psych nurse who didn't want to give anyone unstable a reason to get violent and hurt people and a white nurse who was often forbidden from serving black patients that didn't want a white nurse (she gave up nursing when one of those patients beat her up). And before someone says they don't believe it, I have a white neighbor who works as an orderly at a mostly black hospital and I worry for him working there (not because of the patients, but his black co-workers who openly complain when a 'cracker' is hired). Racism works both ways and I wouldn't want to deal with any of them.
On one hand his behavior is nothing short of disgusting.
On the other hand, his racist expectations are a part of his belief system. So, in liberal America do we slam him for holding true to his beliefs? Do we blame the hospital for accomodating his requests?
To both questions, absolutely.
We have something called the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which overrides systems of personal belief systems when it comes to equality before the law regarding race and other classifications.
Mr ProFreedom,
By not allowing the staff to do their job, he is putting his very sick child at risk. He is endangering the life of his child because of his "sickness" about race.
I have a friend that had to accomodate such a request. She was the resident in an emergency room she is African American. There was a woman with a young daughter seeking treatment. The woman's first language was Italian. She told the staff that she did not want my friend to treat her daughter because she was African American.
My friend is fluent in Italian and spoke to the woman in her native tongue, but the woman still refused. She voluntarily gave the patient to another physician, but she was so taken back by the experience because she always thought her training would surpass issues like these.
culheath:
No I'm not. What I'm referring to is the fact that our very basic nature notes differences. It's part of our animal and genetic make-up. It makes animals congregate and procreate with like species, and observe and investigate others not of their kind.
Even children who play together recognize that there are differences. Whether they act upon those differences and what those actions are is a different story. Small children on a playground are in a safe environment and recognize many different levels. First human versus say, dogs or cats, then adults versus children. Then older children versus younger children. Then it gets to things like skin color, hairy versus bald, skin versus shirt or skirt, etc.
After that it is the experience that determines many things. A small child may play with anyone, but if the person beats them up, instead of sharing, then they learn a response of wariness and protection of "their" stuff. If a dog initially plays with a child and then bites them after the child pulls the tail, unless the response to tail pulling is repeated, the child thinks the dog is the issue, not his tail pulling.
I'm not being simplistic in my view, I'm acknowledging that at the basest levels, there are things we, by nature notice. As a father of 4, I can tell you from personal experience all of our children articulated skin difference (without any preconceptions) at some stage of development.
The funniest example I can think of was when my middle boy (of 3 boys), noticed our newest addition (our only daughter) quizzically inquired during a diaper change as to why Caitlin had "butt parts in the front?" After we stopped rolling around laughing, we explained that she was a girl, like Mommy, and that just like boys had parts like Daddy, girls have parts like Mommy. Of course, that also led into the discussion that boys become men, because little children see adults as a different type of animal. They don't perceive that Daddy and Mommy were just like them at some point.
When one of the boys asked why the neighbor was "chocolate" and if he "tasted" like candy, our first response was, "Do you mean Johnny?" (thereby reminding him that the boy, while different than him, was a child, a friend, and wasn't to be identified by his race first, but by his name). We then explained that no, he just had more of the same stuff that gives me, (his dad), freckles in his skin.
These responses are age appropriate, and allowed a dialogue to begin.
My observation is that people, during their normal course of the day, tend to feel MOST comfortable being around people with common frames of reference, including race and culture. This isn't racism, unless it informs your opinions and actions to the point that interferes with your ability to live in the society, as a whole. Even what I call semi-racists (of all creeds and colors) can be in our society and function. These are the types I described above. They won't vote with their dollars to do business with a non-African American. These are Public Institutions of Higher Learning, and they would never knowingly condone any behavior like this. But they are also human. It's not in your face, it's not stated, and fundamentally, it's not right, but it does exist.
And in recognition of that, when we felt we had a person that was the right fit for all the right reasons (professionalism, experience, etc. - the very same as the previous non-African American sales people), and that individual happened to be African American, we assigned them to the accounts. Subsequently, discussions went from perfunctory, to productive and ultimately resulted in business. These clients are great people who are a joy to have as clients, and some have become friends over the years. The institutional culture just allows and protects racial preferences. I don't condemn that. I just recognize that they aren't as far along the racial equality spectrum, as some others.
So while I definitely agree that racism (or generally any "ism") is taught, to deny that in our coding there isn't the instant and base observation of differences is reducing everything to a "nurture" argument. It doesn't mean that we can't learn that those differences aren't really germane to human existence in the fullest sense. But, our continuing challenge is to understand that our acceptance of that fact is individually, and at the societal level, somewhere along that racial equality sliding scale and to nurture the understanding required to continue movement in the right direction.
And this happened in the great liberal north??? Where are all the south-hater's comments?
I'd like to have seen a twist on a certain old MASH episode. They should have dyed his baby brown before presenting it to him.
The head nurse made the wrong call. Staff may only grant requests to improve the quality of care for patients.
A doctor or nurse who is rude or obnoxious to a patient lowers the quality of care for that patient. A request for a different nurse is prudent in this case.
The color of a doctor's or nurse's skin has NO affect on the patient's quality of care. A request for a different nurse in this case is unfounded. In fact, granting such a request would LOWER the quality of care for the patient.
Worse, if there were an emergency, and half the nursing staff is excluded from responding due to race/gender/religion/etc, then guess what? The patient dies, and since this is a baby we are talking about, the patient doesn't have a choice in the matter.
The father would rather his child die than have a black woman touch his "pure" baby.
Sue their asses into the ground for discrimination and child endangerment.
Greg Shep,
I admire your writing ability, but what you have offered is merely rationale.
First of all, in terms of human species hard wiring, there is no basis to your theory for the simple reason that there is no such thing as race biologically, race is a social construct.
Hence any appeal to ingrained or genetic predilection for "races" to "seek out their own" is not valid in that racial differentiation is a developed construct and not one written into the DNA of our species. Further, we do not see blue-eyed or red-haired or short or tall people flocking together ion order to satiate the imperative you are asserting.
While I agree that humans have a tribal/familial xenophobic tendency built in, it is easily over come and turned into inclusiveness by mere proximity over time. Racism is subject to the same loss of potency unless it is deliberately maintained by a mindset of willful ignorance and preservation of peer group credential.
Familiarity may breed contempt, but it is also the cure for xenophobic fear.
Ok but you could also have someone from a foreign country who has religious beliefs that may not allow certain people to treat them in a hospital. So what do you do? Go against their wishes and violate their belief system? It's an ethical dillemma and if the skinhead doesn't want certain people treating his family the hospital has to accomodate.
When in Rome...
Your example has no real world correlate I am aware of...
I disagree completely. The hospital is in no way responsible for acceding to the bigotry of it's patients. The patient is welcome to refuse medical treatment for any reason and can take their needs elsewhere. The civil rights of the patient or client in no way should be allowed to over ride the civil rights of any of its workers.
They were probable afraid if some thing went wrong with critical ill baby parents would make a law suit. Very wrong patients and families get their way every day. I don't like it but that's the way it is. Evil people get sick and the customer is always right attitude prevails in every business. Parents are big gots. The nurse was better off not having to deal with people who would look for any excuse to make trouble for her.
Oh Hell No! No public institution that gets any of MY hard earned money needs to reinforce such racist stupidity. They should have told him that his ignorance ASS will not dictate policy in that hospital and he was free to take his freaking baby against medical recommendations to any exclusive White hospital of his choosing! THAT IS HOW YOU DEAL WITH A IGNORANT RACIST!! The customer is NOT always right if open your hospital up to lawsuits for discrimination and general ridicule for being afraid of a red neck!
GA Girl, I wouldn't want you to take care of my baby with a mouth like that. You can't even speak English correctly, could you have read orders? I had no idea there were EXCLUSIVE WHITE Hospitals. Did any of you know that? I shall always look out for people like you and maybe that is why he made the request.
"probable afraid", "critical ill", "make a law suit", "big gots" ? Damn. You are stew - pud gurl frend.
This racist man "bullied the hospital" by insisting that black nurses not care for his baby Who makes such request in this 21st century? More immportantly, who would carry out such a request? If MLK, Medgar Evers, Rosa Park and, yes, some of the brave white abolitionists were cowardly as this hospital was, then many rights that people of color enjoy today would not be. Yes, we have "medical rights for patients" what happens to our bodies and so forth, certain treatments and life ending care, but this? This idiiot man's request was not a right. So many are concerned with the repercussions of the hospital's decision but the nurse manager had no right to make such a call. The nurse, and by extension, the hospital fed into his racism. In effect, they legitamized his racism by complying with his requests. The African American nurse had every right to file a lawsuit. She has been insulted and minimized by the hospital's actions. They did not stand up for her and they should have. There was not a legit reason to sue the idiot father, she is not employed by him; people with the dismissive attitude have no idea of what it is like to be treated in this manner, black and disregarded for the simple reason that you are black, no other reason. Clearly the nurse in question was competent given her work history. That hospital should pay for their cowardly way of handling this matter. I say hit them in the pocket, next time they will think before they make such a stupid, insensitive call.
GA-Girl, under the patient care rights the patient or the family have a right to request another caregiver regardless of the reason. The guy was a jerk but it isn't for the nurse or hospital to judge, their first obligation was to the welfare of the infant.
If I was that baby's father, I would have sued that nurse. As a parent, you get to choose who you want for your baby. It doesn't matter the reason. Try taking that away and most parents would have moved the child to another hospital.
He has the right to pay at a private faciility too!
Private vs Public!
Exactly. Thank you.
if she wins the lawsuit........believe me, it won't be the hospital out any money. it will be us...good ol' johnQ taxpayer. our medical insurance will go through the roof more than it already has. i think people need to stop making such a big deal over every little thing. just let it roll off your back and go on with your life, u will be much happier and less stressed in the end.
GA Girl : You reinforce the myth that all southerners are ignorant. Tell us about your tattoos.
stormrider you are incorrect. Patients/families are given a list of their rights and responsibilities when they enter a hospital. Choosing caregivers based on race is NOT one of these rights. No right exists whereby one party may require another party to do something that is ILLEGAL.
He has the right to request who takes care of his children. That is his right, but it is also the right of the Hospital to request he seek other arrangements for their birthing needs. Since he already knew that he would not want an African American taking care of his children, why didn't he go to a private Doctor or make this request way ahead of time, not just when he shows up for delivery.
But he does have the right to refuse medical treatment for him and his children.
SAFETY is the issue here. If this jerk went off on the staff what would all your comments be?
The hospital is liable for reassigning the baby and for posting the sign. They did so, not based on the performance of the nurse, but because of her skin color. And that is in clear violation of federal law:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
And because they allowed this to occur, the nurse and any other African-American nurse working the neonatal ward during that time can be entitled to compensation:
the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
Even if no law was violated, which it clearly was, you should have honored the oath you took upon graduation...
I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.
No where in that oath did I read that that becomes second when a question of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin or sexual orientation arises. In fact, if this was reversed, i'm quite sure the nurse would have been fired... At least the hospital can apologize to her and pay her for the trouble!
People tatted-up with swastikas are STILL allowed to reproduce?
I recognize that this is priceless fodder for you liberals with your fake compassion, but there is absolutely no grounds for a lawsuit here except for the fact that our courts are full of activist judges. No doubt one of them will likely try and make a name for themselves out of this.
If a patient doesn't want a black, Asian, Indian or White nurse tending to them then that's their prerogative. This black woman needs to respect his right to interact with who he wants and just go back to work. She won't, though, because all she's seeing is dollar signs right now.
Actually the best thing here wiould have been for someone to put a round intothe fool and then maybe the baby would have a chance to grow up as a reasonable person.
He's not a fool for disliking blacks, Steve, but you're a fool for thinking that anyone who doesn't embrace the entire human race is a fool.
We let you gays and gay-lovers have your deviant lifestyle and your gay pride and Folsom St. parades, so how about you let this dude associate with who he wants?
1st Amendment only apply to liberals now, or what?
They should have complied, after a press conference stating this man's name, address, place of employment, and that he did not wish for what was best for his child. CPS should have also been called, because it is obvious this person had no interest in what his child needs. What if she needed emergency surgery and the only surgeon available happened to be black?
StephAce - Spoken like a true liberal tool.
Funny how you bleedin' hearts are the cruelest of all when you run across someone who doesn't share your fantasy of a world populated with butterflies, unicorns and candied rainbows.
Grow up and deal with the fact that no matter how badly you want it to be so, this is a harsh world.
It shouldn't be difficult given that your party's platform of immoral, deviant behavior and the complete erosion of anything remotely resembling morals or a value-system is responsible for most of it.
She was not removed because she is black, she was removed to protect her from an idiot.
If the hospital personnel was afraid of this man because of his flashing his tattoo to intimidate the hospital staff, then hospital security and the police should have been called and have him removed from the unit for threatening behaviour period. CPS could have been called to represent the interests of the child.
What if this man had requested/demanded that all minority children in the NICU should be removed would the supervisor have done that too?
If this man was Muslim - you know one of your many bogiemen that some of you folks looove to hate on- and he requested that his child be taken care of by Muslim nurses only.... should his request be granted, just like that KKK man's request was granted? How about the sign on the bed stating ... Muslim nurses only to care for child"? Would the Muslim father have the right to make such a request? Do you think his request would have been granted? Think the supervisor would also have hung such a sign on the child's bed?
How about each ethnic/religious group asking for only members of their own ethnicity/religious group to take care of their infant or other family member..... what then? Think their request should be honored?
What if the father was a gun owner and flashed his concealed carry Tattoo, or weapon and permit after requesting only nurses who are gun owners to take care of his child.....should his request be honored? Or would his request be honored? Or would he be honored by a visit by the hospital security and the police as he is arrested for threatning behaviour for showing his Tattoo or weapon and permits as a punctuation to his request? After all couldn't the showing of specific tattoos be misconstrued as or be viewed as a threat or an implied threat?
One could go on and on about the various senarios of the various groups doing the same as that racially biased man did .... what would the hospital or hospitals do then if each ethinic, religious etc group did this every day?
One has to draw the line somewhere and simply abide by the law. What the hospital did was illegal and so was the actions of the supervisory types.. Now they will have to pay for their actions period.
Peace..... perhaps one should think twice and act once? LOL
Carryingconcealed - Your too funny. Saying that Liberals are without morals or a value system when it is completely obvious that Liberals follow the bible more then Republicans ever will. Republicans are all about themselves and what they can take. They are for the rich and screw the poor. So sorry if I am still LOL laughing at what you wrote, because it's complete and utter Bullsh!t. As far as who is living in lala land, all you have to do is ask who won the election and who listened to fox and rush when they said Mitt would win by a landslide. He didn't even finish the race.
I'm sorry to say it, but the customer is always right and the father has the right to choose who cares for his child. As a nurse myself I've had my reasons for requesting another nurse to care for my children...my reasons were with regards to competence not skin color, but this dad has every right to request another caregiver for his child. The hospital did cross the line when the made public the dad's request and they should have handled this in a different way (ie, not posting it on a public assignment board). My husband, also a nurse, was kicked out of a patient's room when we lived in Georgia for being a "Yankee" since he's from Massachusetts-but that was the old man's request and the hosptial honored it.
We had a hospice case of a black family requesting no white nurses. The problem was, we didn't have enough black nurses in the dept.. for full coverage. We tried to acomodate them as best we could; we spoke with the family about the problem, as well, and it worked out. You can't really change racism once it's fully embedded, but the medical system can try to help these people with as much kindness and honesty as possible.
So people will probably call me a racist, however, I don't think she should be able to sue. Here are my reasons why.
1. I didn't read in the article that she lost her job over this, or was forced to take a leave of absence. She was merely re-assigned to a different patient. Unless the hospital pays it's nurses per patient (which I don't think they do_, she didn't lose out on any pay, and she didn't lose out on any work hours, unless this was the only baby in the hospital, which I highly doubt.
2. My husband works in post-partum. When I had our baby, I requested a different nurse, because I wasn't comfortable with a male nurse that my husband works with every day, especially one who was over at our house for dinner several times. While it was not racially motivated, I did request a female nurse, which means that I basically discriminated against that male nurse because of gender. That request was immediately taken into consideration and we had a new nurse within the hour. The hospital didn't need to tell the nurse why she was being reassigned. I think they could have handled this a bit better.
So, I'm confused as to what she's suing for? Hurt feelings? Did she lose money? Did she lose her job? If not, I'd say to get over it. I understand that this is easy for me, not being the person in question, but I really don't understand why she is suing. You just can't sue because your feelings get hurt. If that were the case, there would be even more crazy lawsuits than there are now. If she had lost her job, or if she were put on a leave of absence or something because of this, then I would say she had a better case, but I just don't think she does.
Seriously?
Does someone, anyone have the patience to explain the difference to this lady? No matter how much you want to explain away illegal acts by a hospital or just one administrator - no one will ever believe that Mr.Dad had nothing other than hate in his request.
I suppose, if Mr. Dad were educated, he could have gotten the same thing done, saving both the administrator and the hospital from the coming law suite as well as having all the employees being required to attend sensitively training. He was crass enough too make sure everyone knew he was a card carrying racist, skinhead, punk. I'm pretty sure the nurse could have cared less.
However, the issue is the supervisor willingly submitted to aid and abet an illegal request. I don't like midgets, retarded people, gays, The Irish or Jews, Mexicans and especially Asians... my Dad fought them in WWII - so, do I go into Sears or maybe the DMV - tell them that I refuse to be waited on by any of those people? Or do I become the ass that I am and start demanding someone else to wait on me?
I think Women should not be in sports; yet believe it or not, Dana Patrick, was banging paint with the big boys at Daytona this weekend, I heard that Navy wives were upset that women sailors were being assigned to Nuclear submarines - some of those subs have tours that last 6 months - a year, in close quarters where the ship will not need to surface for the whole year. The military understood their complaint, but assigned the women anyway... trusting that a professional sailor - male or female - was qualified to do the job within the requirments of the job they were assigned.
If the Captian, the sailors or the wives couldn't deal with it - then they needed to be relieved ... not the nurse, sailor or driver. Its not a personality cult, its a business which assigns professionals to do the job they were trained to do, to fit the requirements of the job.
If this is a public hospital.. then they should immediately LOSE any support from the American Tax Payer
Why is that?
Why did you use capitols for tax payer?
Are you running for public office? Seems like it.
mrs obama? is that you?
Mitt Romney...I knew you'd be back. But...remember we don't capitalize "tax payer" on public forums. You capitalized on them enough at Bain.
Go get em girl, your ethnicity/race
should have nothing to do with how you take care of anyone. As above in the patient's bill of rights there is no statement regarding the color of ones skin as a prerequisite to who can take care of a patient. Best of luck to you, tired of all of the racism, we've come to far as a country for that.
The nurse manager avoided conflict with a racist.
What can you do? Get in trouble for kicking the pregnant woman and the father out of the hospital for being racist and get sued?
Deny his request and have him possibly flip out in the hospital?
They made the right choice.
I agree the right choice was made. I don't agree with racisim, but we have to take the patients wishes into consideration. This is something that comes up sometimes. Not against any one race. We have many people who have many different requests. Sometimes it could be requesting female doctor, not male doctor.
Agree! He could have become violent if not right away, come back a month later and shoot everyone. Tread lightly around the crazies.
After all, it worked out great for Neville Chamberlain...
You're right. You gotta treat angry white loner types with kid gloves or they will certainly come back later and go all Anders Brevik/Adam Lanza on everyone. Its better to crap all over a black lady's civil rights than to piss off an angry white racist; that is what this country was founded upon, afterall.
I'm really sick of 'it's because i'm black' coming out of ppls mouths, but in this case, i hope that lady sues and becomes richer than Oprah.
I don't see anything wrong with it. The father simply asked for ni .. bla... people of African heritage to not take care of the child. It was not the hospital doing the discrimination. I am certain if one of Obama's Muslim friends had asked no Christians take care of their kids, it would be done with no fanfare. I prefer to go to a hospital that does not allow or treat anyone with HIV or AIDS for any surgeries. The entire hospital turns away anyone infected with that disease. I don't see them getting sued or complaints.
If you don't like the father for being a bit prejudiced, don't hold it against the hospital. That is stupid. The hospital is just accommodating the customer as almost any other business will. I won't go anywhere AIDS or HIV are known to be present. Race does not bother me. Muslim & Islam do. I will not be treated by anyone that does not have a strong religion that believes in Peace.
The lawsuits are stupid. They are just serving the customer. If the employee does not like it, she is free to find a job eslewhere. This is MY opinion.
I could understand the nurses lawsuit if it was discrimination by the hospital, but it was not.
She should have been glad she did not have to take care of the child since the father obviously did not want her to do so. She should have been glad the hospital took the case to prove they had no anti-sementism against the father or his beliefs.
She has no right to sue the hospital for de-fusing a situation that could have a bad outcome.
She was not kept from the baby due to the quality of her work. Even if she was the top rated nurse, she should be happy that the hospital showed her compassion as well as the family of the baby.
This is just another baseless lawsuit by someone that let their feelings overcome their common sense.
Good story in a way as it shows how some people are prejudiced & others are just as prejudiced in the other direction. My Opinion.
Right Choice?So if I enter McDonald's, flash a gang sign and tell every White worker not to prepare any of my food, they'd be 'smart' to comply?
Oh, and then have Mgt post a sign in the break room instructing ALL White workers to follow my racist demands for the next 30 days straight...White people should be OK with that?...And not complain or sue?
Do you hear yourself?
Puh-leeez...Don't even bother trying to sell me that crap...but feel free to teach it to YOUR kids if you're that stupid!
Squirrel-616692
McDonalds does not have the work ethics required by hospitals. They also do not deal with life & death situations. If you are that racist, McDonalds has the right to ask you to leave. Hospitals have to deal with it in a different fashion. Hospitals can not turn people away like that. Why don't you deal with that, since you are so ignorant of the differences. My opinion.
Numb3rTech - Wow, just wow. First of all if you refuse to go anywhere AIDS/HIV are present I hope you are staying out of the local Walmart, Target, supermarket, movie theater, etc. I don't know where you live, but if it is in the United States, there is no hospital to refuses to care for, or excludes, patients with AIDS/HIV. You're delusional.
Second, as soon as the hospital grants this idiot's request, they are engaging in discrimination. If I ask you to rob a bank and you're stupid enough to go do it; you can't claim as your defense that I asked you to rob the bank. If the hospital makes assignments based on race, it cannot claim as its defense that it was just doing what the customer asked.
She didn't make the right choice, the administration directed her to not comply with the father's request. And they have security and police at hospitals so the father could have easily be escorted off of the property.
The Nurse teacher was highly qualified to take care of that child. Also the posting of "No African American nurses to that child on a Post" Is not only insulting to the nurse who is assign but the rest of the AA nurses in her unit. The supervisor mad a horrible call, by ignoring the hospitals orders, and the degrading the qualifications of her team.
No, they didn't make the right choice. No, they shouldn't tip-toe around a possible crazy person. You stand up to racist bullies, which is what the father is, tell him sorry, it's not hospital policy. Then bring in two security guards every time he show up at the hospital to specifically watch him.
If the father had requested another caregiver "period" without giving a reason, we all wouldn't be here posting as any patient or guardian of a patient in a hospital has the right to request another caregiver be assigned to themselves or their loved ones and don't have to give a reason.
Unfortunately the father gave a reason - he's racist. And the hospital complied in order to defuse what could have been a volatile situation.
So now of course the nurse is blinded by $$ signs and an easy life of early retirement.
EVYERYTHING is not a lawsuit guys - the hospital did not discriminate - the FATHER DID. But of course he's not the one with the deep pockets, huh?
Good luck finding another job in another hospital lady if they get wind of this lawsuit, especially if you lose and need another job - I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole - sue happy people are not popular at ANY business, regardless of the reason.
Kimbo47,
Agreed,She is out for the money.we are a sue happy Country.
Kimbo, no hospital is obligated to honor requests for particular staffing, etc that patients and families make. I'd like to ask that those without any intelligence like you and Ster2 not be allowed to post here, but this is like a hospital. I can make the request, but the site can continue to allow anyone who desires to place a post.
Larstar,
You are the perfect example of ignorance,you do not even know me but assume Im ignorant simply because I agree with someones comment that this is about money...Al Sharpton is involved..I really need not say more on his intentions.
However read this story as well as the original report from The Detroit Free Press,I doubt by your lack of knowledge of Hospital's obligations and the risk assessment of dealing with someone who displays literally his hate for Blacks on his skin,I'd say you are the one displaying your ignorance right here in Black and White ;) Have a great Day...Try to enlighten and educate yourself today,And try not to be so judgmental ;)
This guy doesn't have to allow anyone of any race he doesn't like to care for his newborn.
This doesn't violate her friggin' civil rights because it's one citizen simply refusing to deal with another citizen, and we all have that right in the private sector.
The hospital did the right thing in honoring his request because his request was well within his own civil rights, contrary to what you naive, ignorant liberals want to believe in your make-believe world.
She's a sue-happy black woman who is so goddamned giddy right now over what she believes is her future windfall, she's probably choking on a chitlin as I write this.
I had two babies in the NICU at different times and I couldn't have cared less what race the person was who was caring for them as long as they were competent. Thank God, however, that we still live in a country where if I didn't want someone of a particular race touching my baby, it's my right to make that preference known and it has to be respected, and if you liberals disagree with that then you can kiss my white a$$!
This ain't your world and you don't make all the rules, as much as you'd like to believe differently...
Carryingconcealed, you're pretty much a dumb ass! BTW I would love to kick your (in your own words) white a$$. Just for the record I carry concealed TO!!!!!!!!
Another keyboard tough-guy. Blow me, ass-bag, and by the way . . . it's "TOO" not "TO," brain-child.
We live in a society where people are not afraid to walk into hospitals with guns and shoot nurses. The patient, and in this case, the patient's family, has the right to request whomever they wish to care for their child. If they want only female doctors then the hospital is required through patient satisfaction initiatives (which affect government reimbursement) to make every attempt to provide a female doctor, if they want only ham sandwiches for lunch then the hospital is going to make them ham sandwiches for lunch, and if they don't want a certain nurse or a certain type of nurse then the hospital is going to make sure that they are happy by fulfilling that request.
Turning this one around, is it then discriminatory for the little old ladies to request a female nurse when my husband is given their assignment? Or is it discriminatory for parents to request that a female nurse do a urinary catheter on their daughters rather than a male nurse? Yes, but its what makes the parents and families comfortable. This nurse knew that and is simply making a stink over his tattoo.
Very ugly situation-caused entirely by the father. Would have woke the Hospital Administrator out of bed if necessary to arrange immediate transfer of the child to a different hospital.Would let darling sperm donor do the requesting of no black nurses to possible new hospital. In any case dad and if mom is like minded-need to be discharged and banned from the hospital, and baby released as soon as medically safe.Keep that crap out of the hospital-if the parents go public-LET THEM-in the end they will see REAL INTOLERANCE.
The ugly situation is being caused by Tonya Battle
OHHH, really ? How about if the swastika dude ALSO insisted that Jewish doctors and nurses not be allowed to touch his baby ? How about if the nazi insisted that dickheads not be allowed to touch his progeny ? That would eliminate your job at the hospital.
Yes liam-1161783, How about if, How about if. That's about the only intelligent comment to come out of your mind your entire life. Incomplete thoughts. Defective personality disorder. That will probably get you permanent disability, that is if you have ever worked in your life. Go for it.
I cannot believe some of the comments in response to this situation; including yours topangadick - At least your moniker acknowledges your shortcomings (of which there are several; I'm certain) - The hospital should have calmly informed the creep that his request would not be honored, and that if this displeased him, he was free to take his family for care elsewhere - The idea that anyone defends the decision to allow his request sickens me, as it should sicken us all
liam if he said no jewish doctors well then he'd have a real problem,,cuase all that would be left would be indians,,,tough choice
He should have been escorted out of the hospital by security and his baby discharged...PERIOD!
TX Kitkat
While satisfying, and morally correct, the idea isn't based in reality.
Hospitals are REQUIRED BY LAW to treat those that present themselves for care. If this person wasn't on private insurance, was on Medicaid or Medicare, or indigent, it's even more difficult.
In our completely litigious society harm, or even perceived harm, caused by the failure to treat or injury that could be attributed to the transfer to the new facility, would create a lawsuit. You've seen the commercials on t.v., it's crazy.
Blend the security issues with the liability issues and you have a real legal problem before you ever get to whether the nurse had an issue with the way it was handled.
My bigger issue was the sign that was posted. This could have been handled in a staff meeting and discussed openly with the team. The management team could have discussed the security issues they felt overrode the repugnant nature of the request and allowed the staff to have input.
More than likely, this decision was initially made by a nurse manager running a short-staffed unit, on the spur of the moment, in order to address the needs of the whole unit staff and the patients. She wasn't trying to be or do "anything" except to provide the best possible care with the lowest possible interference with that care.
Given the mental and emotional instability of people these days and the unexpected meltdowns that result in spree killings, it was wise of the hospital to acquiesce in the father's demands.
That action may have saved the nurse's life, and the lives of others.
Greg Shep, hospital emergency departments are required by law to treat patients to the point that they are stabilized. Then they can send them packing. If you think hospitals can't turn patients away, try getting admitted to private hospitals without insurance. If you aren't emergent, forget it.
Larstar,
Wow you are ignorant,did you even read the story? A Hospital keeping a Baby for a month is an emergency situation,transferring a sick Neo-natal Baby only due to a racist father that could easily be appeased by putting a non Black nurse with them as a-posed to risking the Baby's life in transit is a no brainier for most intelligent reasoning people...
The Head Nurse and Supervisors took that risk assessment and felt the staff was better off making a change in schedule to keep everyone happy,This nurse did not loose anything but gained...By not having to deal with a jerk,And she got her feelings hurt.
Now had they(The head Nurse and Supervisors) not warned their staff of this racist and something happened then this nurse would be screaming her employer didn't protect her from Racism in the work place by making her and other A Americans work with this Jackass,either way she wants MONEY !!!
Ster2 - You just hit nail directly on the head. Funny how these ignorant liberals just can't seem to pull their ostrich heads out of their a$$es long enough to recognize that they do not, in fact, live in the Pollyanish world they continually fantasize about.
Nobody should be fired and nobody should be sued. So what, they honored the fathers request. End of story. Tonya Battle and her ambulance chaser are just ticks on the back of the citizens in this country. Move on, nothing to see here.
Hope you do not get sick and the only person around is a black doctor, who can save your life. Guess you would rather die.
I think the point is that it really shouldn't be that big of a situation, and certainly not one to sue over. We are all frequently subject to someone being rude to us, so get over it and move on. I would never make a request like that, so why would I care about the race or religion of my nurse, doctor, CPA, grocery store clerk or whatever? Tonya should be offended, but she is wrong to sue, especially the hospital staff that was probably just as surprised with the request, and had to make a decision immediately. Sometimes, we just have to get over it.
I'm with you; where would this country be if we didn't placate the loudest, most racist folks among us? Afterall, its not like he was a black man asking that no whites touch his baby. That would just be silly talk; all white nurses smell like Carnation Sweetened Milk, didn't you know that? Let's not make a big deal out of this. No white people's feelings were hurt in the making of this racial insult so lets just move on, shall we?
This was only a test. If this was REAL racism a white person would immediately let us know from their many years of suffering under The Man's cold iron boot of oppression, and they would then let us know what they think the proper response should be angry, racist dickholeness. Thanks Kemosabe; as always, how very white of you to make that determination for us!
well denise..depends if he got his degree cause of 'diversity' or if he really earned it,,,prefer to go to a white, asian or indian doctor cause i KNOW they are qualified, and didnt get into med school by receiving special priviliges
ciewy, 'real racism' is some balck unqualified student getting into med school ahead of a non black qualified individual..or doesnt that happen in your world? let him treat you...lol that being said the guy is a rasict and if i was the nurse i would be insulted,,,but suing for millions is absurd,,who hasnt been insulted at some point? get over it,,im asian background and face it almost every day.... mostly from blacks!
whats the big deal with honoring this guys request? if federal law does actually force you to let someone you dont feel comfortable with work on your baby it should be changed. a black nurse could be killing babies all day long and you could never fire her (and anyone out there whos worked in the government knows this is true). im sure there are super competent black medical personnel out there. look at all the black nobel winners in medicine like, uh, and, uh. well, anyway, this just leaves more black nurses to care for those black premies. i think we all know that blacks have a disproportionate share of premies, what with the drugs, teenage unwed mothers, aids, etc. what if the nurse hadnt washed her hands after her last hit on the crack pipe? obviously, with all the comments on here from all you wonderfully unbiased people, theres no shortage of patients for black nurses, at least if your asian pediatrician cant be reached. course, theres probably some black parents who dont want a black caregiver. you know, for rap, pimpin, and chronic, you cant beat em, but for like book learnin- maybe not. personally, i dont like middle eastern medics. in desert cultures, thorough handwashing is not a prominent activity.
Actually women who wait until they are too old and/or take fertility drugs keep the preemie wards busy. Handwashing is a problem for all races in hospitals as they substitute the gels which is inadequate. You do not have nobel prize winners working the hospital wards as they are in research. Your racism is keeping you from making sense.
Can you say Battle Medical Center?
Poor baby with a father like that.
Exactly Carolyn
I disagree with the premise that you accommodate requests based on racial, religious, or sexists motivations. No hospital, healthcare professional should bow to that kind of pressure. If no hospital or health care facility catered to that what would be the choice of the patient? Well, they would just have to accept what is available in regards to who cared for them. This happens ALL the time in regards to white female nurses. We had a male patient who requested only male nurses one time and the entire staff found it to be hilarious. It's a matter of cultural perception. If everyone understands that you're not going to get your pick of gender, color, or religion BEFORE you receive healthcare, a lot of these pathetic misunderstandings are going to be negated. WE have not done a good job in educating our citizenry that such attitudes will NEVER be catered to.
What we are really talking about in many of these posts as "to the rights of the patient" have nothing to do with the right to have a certain color, gender or religion take care of you or your loved one. There is no national law regarding a patient's right in the hospital and if there were it certainly would not include the right to cherry pick your caregivers based on any of those aforementioned categories.
Personally, I also find the argument that if it's an emergency you get whomever is available but if it's not then you get to pick whom you want to take care of you. Is there not a person on this board who wouldn't find it ridiculous for a patient to request only red haired people take care of them? It's the same principle. We would NEVER cater to such a ridiculous request and this racist's fathers request should never even have been considered for even one rational moment.
Here's a news flash: Caregiver preferences based on gender and culture are made all the time in hospitals, especially gender. Supervisors are usually careful to make sure the patient or other requester understands that it is a request, not a guarantee and the hospital will try to accommodate the request. Language is the most common request, and it makes sense because it facilitates communication, thus improving care. Many female patients request a female nurse, a few conservative Muslim male patients may request a male nurse. I perceive these as cultural issues, not discriminatory ones.
Racial requests have been very rare in my experience, usually made by white supremacy gang members. The nurses have been pulled into this decision because it's one that involves our safety- frankly no one wants to care for these guys. The patient is made aware that their request will be honored if possible- if the patient cannot accept the possibility that they may be given a nurse they do not wish to have, they are advised ahead oftime to make other arrangements. (naturally, these patients are no more capable of making "other arrangements" than they are of reading War and Peace in Hebrew, but there's the deal) This hospital's response was not unheard of, it was poorly carried out- Ms Battle should have been a part of the conversation from the beginning and the nursing staff should have been included in a quick staff meeting. This is not about "patient's rights", it's about safety for staff and patients.
I recently requested not to care for an elderly black man because he was openly hostile to non-black females (every other non-black female nurse who had cared for him agreed with me) I could not give him appropriate care because he did not trust me. In other words, care was the deciding factor, not discrimination.
People are making racist decisions under the guise of language preference. I have had a patient pretend not to speak english and demand an hispanic nurse. Actually the mother of a pediatric patient and it was interfering with the child complying with care. The father arrived and spoke to them in rapid clear english. The delay had extended the time the child had pain post surgically. Rather than deal with this nonsense it would be better to step aside and work with patients who you can give care to without the distraction and interference of hostility.
Very nicely expressed California Nurse
FIrst off...the dad was a complete @$@#$@!@, however, much as I think he's is a jackass and as much as I support the nurse as a professional, the supervisory staff was in a tough position. I'm often requested when my patients want a female physician, is this not discriminatory against my male colleagues? At my hospital, we try to accommodate a patient's request *if it is possible* because we want the patient and family to have less stress. I've had male Muslim patients who have refused me as a physician because I'm a woman. Am I offended by this sexism? Yes, but I accommodate them if it isn't a matter of safety because I'm a professional and I don't let it be a personal insult. The world is full of narrow minded folk. I don't know that a NICU is the proper place to fight that battle against a narrow minded jerk. If there was a non-African American nurse on shift, it isn't unreasonable to try to accommodate the jerk father...if there are only African American nurses on shift, tough nuts to the father. I wouldn't go so far as to change schedules to suit the father's wishes, but if it's just a matter of changing nursing assignments for the day, the better part of valor is to maintain peace in a high stress environment like the NICU. Does that make the father right? absolutely not! But there is a time and a place to fight a battle and the NICU isn't that place.
I totally agree...make the assignment shift for that day only to keep the peace. Once that shift was over, though, administration should have had the guts to inform the dad that his wishes would be considered but would not be policy on what nurse was assigned. He should also have been informed that he could transfer his child IF the mother agreed to another hospital (obviously with a level 5 NICU) if they agreed to take the patient. Under no circumstances should a sign have been placed anywhere that said "no African American nurses." Something like that is equal to a sign on the bathroom that says "white only."
It is one thing to accomodate a patient's or family's request for a certain gendered care giver due to religious or other psychosocial reasons (as a male obstetric nurse, I have deferred to my female nurse peers for women with a history of sexual abuse- that is the right thing to do). There is no good reason for this insult- I am not a lawyer and not versed on the law, but the hospital should have a policy to direct decisions such as this and not leave a 25 year nurse veteran in their employment hanging out to dry. Frankly, they don't deserve such a professional.
Patients or Patients families can request a new caregiver any time they are uncomfortable regardless of the reasoning. Do I think the guys a jerk absolutely, but he is the parent and the hospital isn't a jail, the Patient Bill of Rights gives the patient the right to choose care giver and a guarentee of treatment regardless of racist beliefs.
why is it that if someone doesn't have the same beliefs as "others" that person is automatically the "jerk" and "ignorant" we are not supposed to be or think the same as others, thats what makes our country great. the fact that we can all have our own personal beliefs and feelings is a great freedom that i would not change for anything. but thats just my opinion....and i'm very thankful that i am able to have it!
stormrider - nowhere in the hospital's patient's rights information does it state that patients can choose their caregiver without providing a reason. It allows patients to file a complaint if they are concerned with their caregiver. That's all.
Amen doc.
I would like to know why nurses are so worried about protecting peace in the NICU? Is it that violent? Is this a common occurence where you are gingerly walking around violent parents who might explode at any moment? If this is the case, wouldn't it be a good idea to report the parents to CPS and remove the fragile child from such a violent family? Is it possible that the child was born damaged and needing the NICU because the violent, hateful father had beaten, abused the mother and this is the result? Where is the real concern for the BABY? Turn in this hateful man, have him stopped on the way out of the hospital doors, not the NICU, and let the police deal with someone who you are afraid is so violent that he may go off at any moment! If I had a child in that NICU I would want my baby removed to a SAFE hospital where the dictates of one crazy, was not causing stress on every BABY!
Melissa, the NICU like other intensive care units and Emergency Departments can become hostile very quickly, not so much from the patients (NICU babies are not going to jump out of their incubators and riot) but because they are high stress environments that most parents are not prepared for. Any little thing that goes "wrong" can set a parent off to where he/she becomes violent or beligerent simply due to lack of knowledge and/or stress.
Think about it, you have new moms and new dads who planned the "perfect" delivery who are thrown into a foreign planet. Their newborn child has been taken away from them, they don't get to hold him, the child has tubes all over (in the worst cases, these babies have breathing tubes, IV lines, heart monitors, temperature monitors), the whole world is intimidating to parents...it was for me and I'm a nurse! Its enough to stress anyone out, add to that hormones from mom and dad, it can become a powder keg in seconds...
As ridiculous as this is because of the race issue the truth of the matter is that a patient or patients family has all rights to refuse any nurse and they never have to give a reason why. So the head nurse was only doing as she has been taught. In the nursing field sometimes you just have to ignore ignorance.
He had the right to refuse, not the right to reassign her and other nurses to accomodate his racism. The hospital should have denied his request as it was ludicrous, racist, and involved unnecessary and unreasonable staffing changes. If he didn't like it, he was free to have his son moved to another hospital at his expense. The hospital should have stood up to this man because now they have opened the doors for all sorts of hateful requests. Should patients be provided with a menu when they arrive so that they can pick and choose their caregivers based on race, gender, religion, policital affilliation, and sexual orientation? Good for Ms. Little for standing up to the administration and letting them know that what they did was wrong.
He has the right to refuse and if there is another nurse available to care for the child, the hospital has to provide that nurse. No matter how many times some of us WISH we could just tell these people to take a hike, we can't. I especially love the ones who you find smoking in their rooms no matter what they are told. We have all kinds of pipes running through the walls, some carrying oxygen to outlets right next to the heads of the beds. Yes, we can take the matches or the lighter and leave them at the nurses station, but we can't kick the patient out of the hospital. If they want to smoke, they can but they have to leave the unit AND sign a waiver that the hospital is not liable if they are injured while doing so and has information explaining that it is not in line with medical advice for any patient to leave the unit to smoke.
KevNC, those doors have been opened for a long time now. People will sue for the most ridiculous reasons and sadly, so many cases get settled because it is cheaper to do so than go to court. I could tell you stories of the level of risk prevention we have to do in hospitals now...amazing and expensive but it is part of the norm now.
If this were a Muslim father demanding that no infidel Christians were to care for his child, everyone would honor the request the same folks screaming "sue them!", would be strangely quiet right now.
Your right, racism is ok if you are the right race.
Hospitals are in the business of service to their customers and they have the right to refuse service or not. There's a whole lot of racist people out there of all colors, get used to it.
I know a lot of blacks that are more racist than some white people. So is that ok because they are black?
Did you not get the memo? ONLY white people can be racist!
Hell no, racisim is wrong. period. You know that, but that is not the subject. The prevailing question is should the nurse have taken this so personally? Many opinions here; mine is: she was treated with disrespect as a competent employee of that hospital. As I said, the hospital was to cowardly to handle the situation and they didn't stand by her so she should sue, yes sue.
well then i hope you enjoy paying for it if she wins.....cause thats who its gonna be, us poor old working slobs that keep paying more and more every year for medical insurance. and whats really funny is that we pay more every year and get less and less coverage and its all because of these frivolous lawsuits. that lady should just put on her big girl panties and get over it.......its not even worth stressing over
Greg-2505403
You're not correct in this statement. Hospitals are not permitted, by law, to refuse a patient presenting themselves for care. That's why you often see a VERY eclectic blend of folks waiting in the ER. It was instituted so that issues like racism, poverty, lack of insurance (often linked to employment and poverty), or citizenship (legal or illegal - so don't get nuts on the immigration issue here) are not considered when evaluating and treating emergent matters.
That doesn't mean that a patient who is uncooperative, abusive, a drug seeker, or under arrest aren't seen and then discharged once the medical, ethical, and (increasingly) legal conditions are met. However, the NICU is where the most helpless are involved, and really isn't a place to be medically unsound, based on principle. As loripuff noted above, there is often unreasonable requests accommodated in the name of overall patient care.
It should never compromise that care, and the situation should be stated that while Registered Nurse Battle is the best available care giver for your child, since we have other nurses available, we can request a switch. But if your child "codes" and is dying, and Nurse Battle is the nearest and best hope to keep them alive, I would like you to sign this Waiver of Liability stating that any outcomes, including the death of your baby, is a possibility because of your request and that you're O.K. with that and won't have any legal recourse against the hospital or staff. Make them both sign it or have them realize the stupidity of the request and move on.
If they signed, management should have pulled the nurse (actually the team) aside and explained the situation, along their safety concerns for the staff, listened to their feedback and then moved forward, as well. This validates their confidence in Nurse Battle, while educating the ignorant parent that there are possible negative ramifications to the request.
Seahorse troll: Your Muslim comment is pure inflammatory BS! In umpteen years of working with a very diverse population, the only Muslim objection I ever had to my WASP self was based on gender, and it was respectfully and apologetically rendered. Stop trying to stir up the religious pot.
As a shift nurse, I had to take over a female muslim patient from the origingally assigned male nurse once. It was no big deal to either of us since it is ingrained in us that cultural differences must be respected. Other times, I had to take patients when their nurses somehow offended them. Things happen and the patient has the right to say "I don't want that person as my nurse." If someone else can provide the same care, a change is usually made for fear of litigation. I have had patients request to have a different nurse because I wouldn't give them their pain meds before the scheduled time or when their vital signs indicated it would be contraindicated (that killed me when I would explain that the BP was too low so I could not give the med or it might kill them and they still wanted it!). It is what it is...a very personal situation for the patient and they can say they don't want a particular caregiver for whatever reason. It actually is under the patient's right where trusting the healthcare provider is discussed. One young woman I worked with, one who looked liked she was young enough to still be in high school actually, used to field questions about her age all the time. I don't know if she was ever taken off or not assigned to a patient because of it but if you do this job, you learn that there are all sorts of patients out there, some are just lovely and some are not. The problem here that I see was at the insensitive manner in which the supervisor handled the reassignment and subsequent posting of that note on the chart. I don't see that the employer will be held responsible for the questionable behavior of the supervisor in posting that note unless there are more instances supporting that this workplace is a hostile environment based on race. Just my view...for what it is worth.
Wrong, Oh so wrong...
Several Islamic adherents, Hindus and other non-Christian (or Old testament believer sects have tried to use the sharia Law to excuse beating family members (progressive daughters, wives getting drivers license, sons dating asking to not be forced to complete arranged marriages). In their countries - Islam law is also secular law. Fathers, husbands, uncles have the right enforce their will on female relatives to include beatings all the way to death. We do not recognize that privilege in this country; we have refused to recognize Old testament religion which gave those rights to some christian sect as well.
Your privileges, self defined or backed by 100's or 1,000's of years of religious doctrine or political barbarism, do not nullify the rights of USA citizens nor the laws of this country.
This has less to do with the failed prerogatives of a defeated Axis eunuch and more to do with an attempt to abridge the constitutionaly granted and enforced, rights of American citizens.
Hey, NyNy, are you a racist? Your comments imply it.
And who pray tell, set you up on a pedestal and gave you the right to declare who is and who isn't a racist. For that matter, it isn't against the law in the USA to be a racist; it is illegal to discriminate in the areas of the workplace, banking/investing, and some other areas of modern life, but no law can demand that Americans believe a certain way.
If you are a Christian, it IS against God's Law, to be a racist. He created each one of us, the way He decided we should be, our color, height, weight and features. How absurd it is, to hate people with straight hair, in favor of those with curly hair. How moronic is it, to dislike people who are fat, thin, tall or short, just because of those physical attributes.
I hope, that all those who call themselves "Christians" will do more than "call themselves", and work hard, through EXAMPLE, to stomp out racism, once and for all. Everyone bleeds RED when injured, and everyone, regardless of color, feels agony, and cries, when someone they love, dies. To those who are mired in racism, and can't stand people who are "different"...you don't need to take it out on those who God made in a different color than you are, and you don't need to take out your fear and anger of anything different than you are on those who are. Have a conversation in your prayers, with God, and ask Him to take away your fear of a darker colored skin than yours, or your anger because you expect more from people of color, but not of yourselves.
What we DO need to do, is make certain, that we get to know them as members of the Human Race, just like you are, get to know their heart, and their mind, before you pass judgement on their abilities. Think back, on all the contributions Black Americans have contributed to our Country, from the Tuskeegee Airmen, to Bill Cosby, and all the entertainers in between. Our lives have been enriched, by people of other Races, and Nationalities, and one last thought:
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, can you even imagine how BORING the bottom of your Christmas Tree would look, if every gift was wrapped in the same paper? God gave us variety, in the other humans He put on this earth with us, and we are all dependant upon the Planet He gave us, on which to survive. United we Stand, Divided we Fall. I prefer to be united, with my neighbors of every color of the Rainbow. Hatred only hurts the person who feeds it.
IGHwoman,
but no law can demand that Americans believe a certain way.
but the Progressives are sure trying,when you don't think as they do,then the race card and name calling flys,And the Media is in the game of slandering,demonizing and taking out of context of those that are not of their like mind.
We DoNot have the RIGHT to not to have our feelings hurt or feel insulted.
We have only heard part of the story And with Al Sharpton as Mrs.Battle's Mouthpiece,Im hesitant to give it much credit.
The Head nurse said after seeing the Mans Tattoo she went to her Supervisors who felt that for the safety of their staff it would be a good idea to have no AAmericans tend to THIS baby.The note saying so was for a short time put on the Assignment clip board....That's not placed at the front door of the Hospital for all to see,It was strictly for those nurses in that area for that baby.
This woman has no reason other than being money hungry to sue for a real nice retirement,and pad Sharptons pockets and let him hear his own voice.
How about the children (she's 49, so her grandchildren) having to live with Ms Battle; a woman who believes that the Court system of the USA is a cash cow for her to plunder? What life lesson will they learn from her suit?
Did it ever occur to you that Ms. Battle might be pursuing a lawsuit for reasons other than 'a cash cow for her to plunder'? - Perhaps she is disgusted that this was allowed to occur, and is trying to make some positive change - Further, I suspect that she has been a very good role model for her children/ grandchildren; having worked as an ICU nurse
She has worked at that hospital for 25 years. You must not be able to read. I work in healthcare, COO, she has a rock solid case and she should pursue it to the full extent of the law. BTW had the child needed a tranfusion/plasma would the father know the color of the donor. Of course not and he would gladly have taken the blood to save his child. This was a jerk being a jerk. The hospital should have demanded should he not like the care to transfer his child at once.
The part where you mention the blood issue is brilliant. That should have been brought up to the father.
IGHwoman, what will people like you and Nazi Daddy do now? How are you going to carry out your ignorant discrimination against everyone different from you when it will only lead to more minority suckling from the teats of the cash cow that is our court system? It's just like black people to ruin us white folks' infringement on their civil rights by seeking justified redress through legal channels! Thanks a lot black people! You take all the fun out of being backwoods, inbred, dumbass white people! Now our only hope is Honey Boo Boo.
Furducken,sbs,
Just because someone works in a certain profession does not in and of itself make them a good role model anymore than all cops are good role models.Yes the guy is a jerk a racisist and had Mrs Battle's supervisors not made that decision to keep AAmericans away from this man and his child and had he assaulted her or another AAmerican they would be screaming nothing was done to keep them safe...So her lawsuit is just about money PERIOD. Any time Al Sharpton is involved it is suspect.
We had a similar situation at our hospital. The patient was African American female and wanted only African American nurses. We did it to avoid conflict. The patient had mental illness and was later sent to psych floor. Don't know if she had African American nurses there. Also, we have had Muslim women have us place signs on their doors to not allow men to enter due to their religion and wanting to have their face and head covered around men. Is this sexist?
I agree with you completely. When my wife was giving birth a male nurse came in and asked if it was alright for him to check how far along she was. My wife didn't care but could have requested a female nurse. They would have voluntarally "been racist" for the mental well being of my wife. This woman didn't loose her job or hours just got put with a different baby.
Why is it okay to appease someone due to their religious beliefs and okay when an African American only wants an African American provider and when a white father wants a white care provider for his baby, it is racist. You people are so full of crap. Thin skinned, out for money. Pull the race card everytime any situation arises. Complete BS. As far as the lawsuit, she has a case against the hospital because they posted signs stating discriminitory situations. She has a case, the hospital discriminated against her.
The muslim women may appear sexist but in reality, it is their religion. We have religious freedom in this country.
Gunner: the article doesn't say where the sign was posted. Was it posted in the staffing office so that all the supervisors were aware of the request? This is appropriate communication (for a possibly inappropriate action) Was it posted where other parents or the general public could see it? (violation of HIPAA, among other things)
I think this issue will become more pointed as we increase the diversity of our population. In nursing school, we discussed cultural sensitivity a great deal, but you're right to question how far we go with it? How do we decide which groups get protected and which don't? Is it up to us to make a value judgement of people's motivations for their requests? Can we restrict caregiver assignment based on gender but not on race? Good questions to debate.
California nurse,
If you go to the link provided in the article on the first to report the story "The Detroit Free Press"they say the note was posted on the Assignment clip board for a short period.
And Gunner she has no case,her employer supervisors made up of 15 had her and other AAmericans safety as their concern after the head nurse was made aware of the guys Tattoo that scared and intimated her and the staff,so I don't see a lawsuit except to bring baseless accusations,If anything the Hospital has a Defamation case against Mrs. Battle and Al Sharpton the mouthpiece.
Neonatal meet neo-nazi
As a RN for the last 12 years, crazy people make all kinds stupid requests including racial ones. That being said, as a black nurse I feel the hospital should not comply with anyone's requests of that nature, period. There are black,yellow, brown and red nurses and doctors. This is America! for God sake. Tell the racist bastard to put up or shut up & go somewhere else. And to the people above who believe we should comply with a crazy man, you are crazy. Crazy is as crazy does. It is not the racial card, it is common sense and I am disappointed in that hospital administration. In my experience as a nurse we (black, white, red, yellow and brown) nurses completely ignore nonsense like that racist man. They soon get the idea that that behavior is not tolerated and it ends. Instead of choosing the high road these guys chose the idiot road.
Sincerely, Your local black nurse
I would have tried to keep the creep happy because these days you just never know what the outcome will be if they get angry.
Jeanette, you can't allow racists to reshape society in any way they like just because you're afraid of them. Grow a spine.
@!$%# this white trash POS. Take your freakin baby somewhere else.
@Nicole, The problem is that the hospital's priority is always unfortunately, liability management. Denying a patient's guardian's care directives carries an almost certain risk of liability, reassigning a black nurse to a different patient carries almost no chance of liability. Why do you think they have a Risk Management department? This unfortunate, but true. Lawyers run this country......
I agree. However, what if it was a man asking for only a male RN or Dr? I know from personal experience, the opposite request is honored without thinking twice. Religious requests are routinely honored, if at all possible. We respect these types of discriminatory behaviors in the name of accommodation and you can't pick and choose which discriminatory behaviors you condone based on your repugnance to a particular type of discrimination.
If you only see one choice of action in all situations, you end up with a crazy rules that imply "zero tolerance" or "3 strikes and you're out" which don't allow for real world situations that require granularity and flexibility to work through.
Racism is a blight (from and to peoples of all colors), but it won't be solved by mandate. It will be solved by education against ignorance and the fear that ignorance produces.
GS is right here about picking and choosing discriminatory behaviors. Goes back to how we decide whose motivations have merit and whose don't?
I'm a charge nurse. I would have granted the request. Everyone would and everyone does. This happens ALL THE TIME. Patients make requests for nurses based on gender on a daily basis! The hospital is not a prison, patient's can choose their care. It's our job to create a peaceful environment for patients to heal, not get into wars with them over easily remedied requests.
People here saying she should have been fired are out of your mind, and you clearly have no hospital experience.
Absolutely Aaron, I am a charge nurse as well. THis is pretty common.
I heard somewhere the customer is always right. Whether they are actually right is another question.
What kind of mentality is that? 'Everyone would and everyone does'? - Not so long ago, 'everyone' condoned slavery as the natural order of things, and 'everyone' said that women are clearly intellectually inferior to men, and 'everyone'......well, you get the idea (perhaps) - Although this may indeed occur in your workplace, and even others, this does not by extension mean that it should be condoned
I do at a corportate level. Should the standard of care he was receiving not meet his needs he has the right to transfer the child out. That should have been explained to him. If the child need plamsa would he ask the color of the donor?
I reckon the hospital staff acted in a manner which took a potentially difficult situation and diffused it. Who knows what this crazy person could have done if his wishes were not honored and why take that chance. The suing nurse could be dead or injured at this point instead of just pisssed off!
So now nurses have to bow to the wishes of racist white trash ? Because of what they might do ? Hope she wins a lot of money !!
Bull@!$%#. I am a white retired charge nurse. That request would never have been granted in any of the hospitals I've worked at. Patients can request to not have certain nurses take care of them but race is not a legitimate reason and as a supervisor I would never have allowed any of my staff to be singled out like that. I would have calmly told that father that in no uncertain terms would I reassign the baby's nurse based on race. I would have then contacted the legal department and given them a heads up. How could any supervisor look an employee in the eye and tell them that they had to be reassigned because they were black? I'm glad she is suing and I hope she wins.
@mrsmcmamabear, I am sure you were an excellent nurse, you should stick to that, you are not an attorney or Risk Management specialist. That is who the hospital administration unfortunately consults in these matters, and who they get their directives for management from. It's all about the Benjamins and liability these days.......
I'm sorry, but as a male nurse, I find it just has horribly offensive being reassigned due to gender as it is for race. No male patient that I have ever seen in my hospital experience of 30 years has gotten to refuse a female nurse but it happens ALL the time with male nurses. It's wrong. It's offensive. It's discrimination. And it just shouldn't happen. EVER. There are some departments in many hospitals, such as OB and the Nursery, where male nurses aren't even allowed to work to this very enlightened day.
@nurse1505064 - I choose to have female caregivers (doctors, nurses) if at all possible etc. It's my choice and my choice should be respected. If I ask for you to be reassigned based on the fact that you're male and I want a female nurse it's nothing personal towards you. I just don't feel comfortable with male nurses. Sorry!
mrsmcmamabear,
I wish you had been my charge nurse or supervisor when I started out. It was a complete shock to me to see what was done to reduce liability even if it meant compromising what was fair or a generally held ethical standard in terms of the treatment of the staff. It is something none of us liked but we would ignore when we could because there is just so much that we can actually change. The reality is that hospitals have adapted to the constant specter of litigation. I left floor nursing to work as practitioner several years ago, but I still remember the shock and dismay of some of the nurses with LONG careers (some 40+ yrs) bemoaning the fact that nurses are not accorded much respect now at times and that the administration is too aware of offending the "customer".
As a teacher I've had children on my class list whose parents have made it clear that they don't want their child in a class with "that KIND" of teacher. I'm just as happy to not have "that KIND" of parent to deal with. It's not worth the aggravation.
There's no one on this vine that isn't prejudice to some degree and if you deny it, you are a liar.
You are likely right, but sadly, you are right for the wrong reasons.
Human brains are hard-wired to favor their own interests. That much is true. But we also have certain attributes that Abraham Lincoln once called "the better angels of our nature."
A cultural sense of fairness, empathy, and above all, reason, goes a long way to rooting out prejudice and evil. In other words, we are not prisoners of our vices to the extent your post implies. We can do better, and often do.
I would have to agree. I would say I am prejudiced against the intentionally stupid- no matter the race, gender, religion or sexual preference.
Greg the all seeing GOD! Who appointed you to make absolute statements about everyone?
People act like this was a new situation. Nope--it has been going on for years but Hurley actually put it in writing. There have been so many times that I was assigned to take care of jerks because they were such jerks that they didn't mind voicing their racism. Unfortunately, being the right color I was stuck with the jerk. The black nursing staff would threaten to go home, call the union or sue if they were assigned to someone who disrespected them because of their color. Looking back, now it seems like I should have filed a lawsuit because I was discriminated against. The fact is that we just used common sense--made out & accepted assignments that got the job done with the least amount of drama, providing the best care we could.
Ever hear of WET? The White Entertainment Network? Neither have I.
Or Miss Black America Pagent,Negro College Fund,
it's amazing that African Americans can tolerate
those and many other "all black" institutions and not
see them as slightly racist,I guess it's all in the perception.
Amazing isn't it. Double standards everywhere. I wondered why Al Sharpton was all over the Zimmerman case but they never go and talk to the Gangs in Chicago.
Only white folks can be racist!
Black organizations exist BECAUSE of our country's long history of racism against blacks. These organizations were created to help blacks achieve in society rigged against them. They are not racist organizations (as in anti-other race) they are pro-race (supporting a particular race in the face of racism against them.)
The White Entertainment Network? Isn't that ALL of the other networks?
I call it the US Congress.
Or...Maybe its because you only find what you are looking for?
the first Miss America of African descen was in 1984. In 1984 Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America, beginning the year as one of the best Miss Americas ever, in the eyes of many pageant insiders. Oh, and she was Kicked out, on rather vague alligations.
But went on to have the best career of any of the others.
Miss German-american , New York city
Miss Irish American, chicago, New York
You make this too easy
What happened to customer service. Keep the customer happy, Customer comes first and all that rhetoric?
Opportunists in every corner.
I'll bet if a Black Patient requested no White Nurses, this wouldn't even be an issue. You see Folks, the double standard is creeping in more and more and more......ad nauseum ad nauseum....
Only a double standard in your racist mind. I was thinking the same thing, what if a Black parent had requested no White nurses. Except in the real world, not in your right-wing fantasyland, all Hell would have broken loose, the White staff going ballistic, if not going to their lawyers.
Not true, for instance, I know of businesses that won't hire anyone but blacks.
Ever wonder why all these Hollywood folks want to adopt Black babies, but you never see Black folks adopting white babies?
Black folks can't seem to get through adoption as quickly
There aren't any white babies available, Lazaro. Whites either keep their kids or have abortions. Blacks have a lower abortion rate.
Homesick,
Really?? Whites have more Abortions ? That's a new one...
Almost true... but real close to BS...
For some unknown reason, the number of White babies being drowned, strangled, shot by family members, are conveniently forgotten. Also you need to understand the most celebrities then to adopt kids from Somali, Ethiopia, Eritrea, The Sudan, in other words... They seem to prefer East African kids. They are not the same as Americas of African ancestry.
Middle class Whites tend adopt old Soviet east European countries or girls from China.
However, I do remember a case where a White and an Asian kid were adopted by Black Military families. The father, in both cases were War buddies of the fathers of the kids they adopted. They had made pacts (promises) to adopt each others kids, should death find them before they got out of the military.
As the men explained - it was difficult, even with a Will documenting the fathers wishes. People were coming out of the woodwork trying to break the will. It took years for the adoptions (in both cases) to be finalized. The kids were fully integrated in the family and accepted by the neighborhood. But once they started to attend High school things started to go sour.
Blacks traditionally have been had a history of keeping its children in the family or close family friends have stepped in to take the place of historically abusive state run group homes, orphanages.
What a bigoted POS and he'll raise the child to be a bigoted POS as well. Those people need to crawl under their collective rocks.
Sorry...Bigotry everywhere.
Wrong. Not in my head and not in my house, not among my friends and not even in my neighborhood. It's all mixed, even the marriages. Some of us have evolved past all that sorry and immature garbage.
The neighbors to the south of my middle class house are a Latino and White mix marriage and kids. On the other side White. Immediately across the street is a mixed race biker family. Next to them a mixed couple with mixed kids. Next to them a White grandmother whose black grandson comes over to visit regularly. Everyone gets along quite well and watches out for for one another.
This is central Florida, where there is a serious hangover racism present to be sure, but it is definitely not everywhere and it is definitely on it's last legs, especially among the kids.
I feel sorry for the child, already growing up in a home environment full of hatred and lacking critical reasoning.
This child will be failed by its parents should they further decide to home-school. Sad.
Kind of the way I feel about same sex parents.
Greg, you are no different from this ignorant father. It sounds like the hatred and lack of critical reasoning in your home comes from you. Have fun at playdates with NaziDaddy.
Then you better feel sorry for 1000's of black kids who have homes that are filled with hatred towards white people.