yet people continued on without acknowledging that.

I don't really know what else to say. Katie Bee made the original statement, and she's not here to address this.

I said that I read her statement as hyperbole. I'm sorry that my reading of her statement as an understandable exaggeration is hurtful to lisah, Drew, and anyone else who has a connection to medical professionals.

Also, they said once before that it hurt when people said those things, and yet people continued on without acknowledging that.

To me, the way it was framed felt dismissive of the concerns behind it, frankly. I mean, yes, I twinge a little when people rail against the chosen profession of either of my parents.

But also for me, any hurt that comes from having medical professionals in my family (HI MOM!) is frankly outweighed (ugh, sorry for that term) by the fact that neither my father nor sister have been comfortable with seeing doctors on a regular basis because of lectures about their weight. I hate living with the fear that they'll lose years because they skip basic health care because of the way the medical establishment has framed things. Hell, I chickened out on a follow up appointment with my GP recently because I'd gained weight and couldn't stomach a lecture.

So I guess the defensiveness is tempered severely by knowing where the pain's coming from.

No, she didn't. But it seemed to me that several other people were saying that.

Honestly, there are ways to rant without resorting to blanket statements like "all ----- are mean people who suck."

Especially in this format, IN WRITING, when we have the time to look at our words and consider how they might affect the people reading them, there's really no excuse for a statement that broadly insulting. Try substituting almost any other word in that sentence for "doctors" and then tell me I shouldn't take offense. Put "teachers" in there. Put "Christians" in there. Tell me how it sounds to you now.

"Oh, by *all* I obviously didn't mean *you*" is just about my least favorite statement in the world. It's a bullshit way of avoiding saying "I'm sorry, I was angry and I overstepped."

[eta: And I should mention that my last paragraph is not directed at Katie, who hasn't been back in thread since her original post.]

I'm not saying people who hate doctors don't have perfectly reasoned reasons to do just that. I'm saying your friend just told you that it felt like a gut punch when put that way. And it's difficult, because this is a conversation amongst a bunch of people who wander in and out, and we all want to stick up for the point of view we identify with. I'm just saying the gut punch is as deserving of understanding and sympathy as doctor fear and loathing.

Try substituting almost any other word in that sentence for "doctors" and then tell me I shouldn't take offense. Put "teachers" in there. Put "Christians" in there. Tell me how it sounds to you now.

Or "men" or "women" for that matter.

I am pretty sure that Katie didn't mean to be hurtful and that her statements were hyperbole came from a place of pain--and I'm sorry that she has reasons to fear interactions with doctors--that doesn't lessen the pain I felt at reading them.

I would also like to note that my mom is RN/NP/OB/GYN, and overweight.

I wasn't offended by the ranting, but I do agree strongly with Willow's statement: A vague generalization is nobody's friend.

I don't think they're saying their experiences with the medical profession is better, though I could be wrong. I read that they were saying, "You're kinda calling my friend/family member a jerk, whether or not you mean to, and that hurts. Please stop."

There has been some sense of "you don't understand how hard they work/it is/the abuse they take". And you don't. But that isn't necessarily going to provide an insight.

Eh, I have lots of medical professionals in my family, but that has no bearing on who's been available for me when I've needed to see a doctor....What it has done, however, is given me the vocabulary to speak to specialists at least

Well, that's part of it. And you have a more comprehensive frame of reference -- you're more likely to know if something was "just not cool" or "dead fucking wrong" (and the ability to discuss those things with an informed party if you don't). It's not just "My Daddy is Dr. House so I get the bestest". You have a better clue. That's useful.

I am pretty sure that Katie didn't mean to be hurtful and that her statements were hyperbole came from a place of pain--and I'm sorry that she has reasons to fear interactions with doctors--that doesn't lessen the pain I felt at reading them.

And I can say with dead certainty that she didn't think Drew's parents wasted their lives. Or that she'd have hated a pathologist for giving her bad news.

Well, that's part of it. And you have a more comprehensive frame of reference -- you're more likely to know if something was "just not cool" or "dead fucking wrong" (and the ability to discuss those things with an informed party if you don't). It's not just "My Daddy is Dr. House so I get the bestest". You have a better clue. That's useful.

It's also something anyone visiting a medical professional should learn and probably could. Although maybe not the way I did (which was by running out of things to read and reading medical textbooks, lather rinse repeat for over a decade), but with a few trips to the library. It's critical for being a strong advocate for yourself. As my mother has lectured her non-RN sisters about frequently.