Monday, August 3, 2009

Ugly Americans (And Yes, I Was One Of Them)


Wait. I thought I was gone for like ten days. But when I checked the news when I got back, it was still the same shit that was going on when I left. People were arguing about whether it was appropriate for Obama to drink a Bud Lite on the White House lawn. Health care. People dying in foreign wars that we still don't know why we're fighting.
Etc.
And as far as I can tell, Brad and Angelina are still together and haven't had any more kids.
Okay. There you go. I did not miss much.

The one funky episode we had on our entire vacation involved an American. Of course. Okay, four Americans. Me, my husband, a guy and another guy. We were sitting in a beautiful place on the square downtown in Cozumel having an after-dinner birthday drink and we started talking to the guy sitting next to us. He has a house in Cozumel and so I assume that he's not exactly poor. He seemed nice and we were enjoying talking to him and discussing the ways the island has changed over the years when suddenly, out of nowhere, he said, "Obama is trying to ruin America with that socialized medicine. And dammit, we already have the best health care in the world!"

Well, you know Ms. Moon. I could not keep my mouth shut. Mr. Moon looked at me with pleading eyes but there was not going to be any stopping me.
"Best health care in the world?" I asked. "If you can afford, it sure."
And it went from there.
He insisted that although he never had insurance, he and his wife (who died of breast cancer) had the best health care available anywhere in the world, right there in the county hospital in Texas where they lived for nothing more than a $35 co-pay at the county hospital and that any county hospital in the country would do the same.

Well, as you can tell already, that argument was so shot full of holes that it looked like swiss cheese on a morning after a rat had gotten into it.
"How can you have a co-pay if you don't have insurance?" I asked.
He kept insisting that this "service" was available to anyone who walked off the street with a medical need. Which- when you think about it- sounds a lot like socialized medicine. You go in and the government pays for your care. Right? And when I told him that the county I lived in didn't even have a county hospital, or any hospital at all, he just wouldn't believe it.
And when I pointed out that you can't just drop into a hospital and ask for a colonoscopy or a mammogram, he replied, "Look, you start shitting blood and a hospital will take care of you."
Right. So let's wait until the cancer is so bad you're shitting blood and there's very little hope for a cure and the hospital will take care of you. Whatever that means.
The man was ignorant. I started giving him facts and figures about how our country spends more money per capita on health care than any other industrialized nation with millions left uninsured while other countries manage to insure everyone. I also told him that we have abysmal rates of infant mortality here.
He countered all of this by announcing that he listens to Glenn Beck. Proudly. He announced this proudly.
Well, there you go.
I just didn't understand any of his arguments because if you're rich enough to own a second home in a good neighborhood in Cozumel where the real estate is no cheaper than it is in the US, how the hell can you qualify for whatever kind of county assistance he got? Why would he deny others the same care for the same price he got? And so forth.
Meanwhile, the two people sitting next to him were obviously listening (and how could they have escaped our impassioned argument?) because the dude in the couple said to me, "You just don't have anything good to say about America do you? Why don't you try living somewhere else? Have you ever lived overseas?"
And Mr. Moon, bless his heart, said, "I have."
And I said, "Whoa. I haven't been discussing one thing about America except for health care. And just because I think things can and should be improved, doesn't mean I hate my country. I just want it to be better."
Now of course the really ironic part of all of this is that we were ALL IN MEXICO! Where, by the way, I am told by the ex-pats who live there that they have amazingly great health care for cheap.
That's what they told me.

By this point, Mr. Moon scrambled for the bill, paid it and he hustled me out of there before things got REALLY ugly. Because I don't listen to Glenn Beck. I read things like The New Yorker. I listen to NPR. And oh yeah, I'm not a racist asshole.

And then we hopped on our scooter and drove to a bar where there was dancing and happiness and we danced a little bit, enough to shake the googlies out of us, and then we went and got some ice cream (hey! it was my birthday!) and then we drove home to our little condo where the palm trees were blowing in the wind coming off the sea and it was so quiet and so lovely and the air smelled of jungle and salt and all was well.

And guess what? When I got home, Obama still hadn't ruined the country by somehow magically making congress adopt socialized medicine.

Dammit.

28 comments:

  1. Sorry you had to deal with those assholes on your special day.

    I detest Glenn Beck. He is a moronic imbecile.

    Glad you're back. I missed hell out of you.

    Love, SB.

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  2. excuse my french (or my FREEDOM), ms moon, and everyone, but fuck!

    my coffee and brains are officially spewed across my computer screen. officially.

    ignorance and patriotism (regardless of fact) are clearly bliss. or assholedness. take your pick.

    god bless america, government subsidized corn syrup solids (and the obesity, cancer, and addiction that come along with them), freedom fries, and personal f-ing resposibility.

    yeah, i said it.

    i concur ms moon.

    dammit. sorry. but dammit.

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  3. i think the family of esmin green would sorely diagree with that asshat you were trying to educate.

    *shakes head*

    xxalainaxx

    in some sort of cosmic irony my word verification is 'conform'.

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  4. Welcome back Ms. Moon!

    I am imagining the scene and Mr. Moon quickly paying the bill and you two hopping on your scooter. Other than that, I don't know what to say. I am terrible at arguing but yeah, I totally see your point and would have been annoyed too. Especially when the other guy said you hated your country. Sometimes it's the ones who can't have a discussion without insult and insinuation who annoy me more than the ones who disagree respectfully. Ya know?

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  5. I, too, get highly irritated with people who spew nonsense without being educated enough to even know what they're talking about. It is an irritant.

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  6. Well, you couldn't expect much else from someone who listens to Glenn Fucking Beck. Seriously, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that that man actually has fans.

    I love that you took up the debate with those dumb-asses. That's awesome.

    I heard somewhere recently that "not all republicans are racists, but ALL racists are republicans." I found this to be utterly amusing and true.

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  7. I love this story -- slightly different versions have happened to me countless times --

    I love the way you think and express yourself and am so glad that you're unashamed and unabashed.

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  8. Ditto! (to you, not the GB fan)

    I'm wallowing in yet MORE health care system personal issues and so exASperated that I would happily commit a crime to make a health care reform opponent actually need some emergency medical attention.

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  9. i would have liked to hear that conversation. your passion is one of the reasons i like you so very much!

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  10. Ms Moon, Happy Birthday!

    I'm so glad that I have had the chance to live in another country besides America. It is an eye opener. Health care is Ireland has a long way to go, too, even if it is socialised, Even so, I still have private insurance and a visit to the doctor costs 55 euros, but I would be referred to a specialist no charge. I love America, but it pains me to hear how ignorant we Americans can be, myself included, because I don't know who Glen Beck is. Maybe I don't need to know and in that way ignorance is truly bliss?).

    Would I move back to America for the healthcare....probably not.

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  11. I can never help preaching to the non-converted either. Never much use, really.

    Here's hoping that Obama manages to ruin the country!

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  12. Can anyone even imagine if he had not been elected? There would not be anything left to ruin!

    Good team work Moons!
    Verification word: "tries"
    No kidding!

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  13. Ms. Bastard- In a perverted way, it felt good. Like the argument I had with the Sour Lass. I think Mr. Moon knows I love these tongue lashings too much. I missed you too.

    Adrienne- Why would you apologize? Fuck the ignorant who are rich enough to own homes in Mexico. And the lamp? At the bar where this story occurred.

    Miss Alaineus- I am just hoping he went home and googled "infant mortality rates".

    Nicol- I do love a good argument. Probably too much. It gives me a huge rush. And not as in Limbaugh.

    Marsha- An irritant indeed!

    Lady Lemon- I don't know about that but I do know that these people were probably not proud supporters of Obama.

    Elizabeth- If there is one thing age has given me, it is the knowledge that I am AT LEAST as intelligent as most other people and the courage to let them know that.

    Nola- Uh. Can I get a password to your blog? Please, honey?

    Learner- Well. I am passionate and that is the truth.

    Aden- Amen. And Glenn Beck? Don't even bother to wonder.

    Mwa- Yeah, but there's congress to deal with so probably not.

    Ms. Fleur- We do what we can.

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  14. Dumbass.
    That's it.
    Some things just can't be explained no matter how hard you try.

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  15. One thing I'm trying to change about myself is SPEAKING UP when I disagree with someone. It is a hard thing for me to do. So I liked this story. I like how you share your viewpoint without fear. I usually just sit there silently, seething. But I'm working on it. Keep it coming Ms. Moon.

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  16. I like it when you're fierce.

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  17. Michelle- The weird thing is, I don't think he'd ever even considered any opinion but that of Mr. Beck. Even though his wife had died of breast cancer. In a way, I felt very sorry for him.

    Lora- Just get a little bit older, honey.

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  18. My boss and I have had several conversations lately about this sort of thing lately - how exhausting it is to try and convince people to see eye to eye with you. And how, since we work in the policy side of these issues every day (healthcare for me), our perspectives shift so much into the actual governing rather than the ideological side--even though we both obviously care very much. We just lose sight of the heart of matters sometimes.

    It was nice to "have lunch" with you and a new post again today, Ms Moon =)

    Oh - and Glenn Beck sucks.

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  19. May- I was a fierce. Believe me. My mouth opened and fire came out.
    By the way- I had so much fun with you and Jessie and Lily today that I am really wondering if we shouldn't start a cleaning service. But definitely not for crime scenes. No way.
    I love you!

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  20. You are such a smart lady, Ms. Moon, and I love it that you aren't afraid to tell people when they're ignorant assholes (in a respectful way, of course).

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  21. SJ- Health care is so vastly difficult and complex. Unlike Glenn Beck.

    Ginger- I don't know how respectful I actually was.

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  22. I'm sorry - I didn't mean to exclude you. Just didn't want to email you the blog invitation when you were on vacation.

    But you are back!

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  23. There are few things that irritate me more in life than somebody with means telling everyone how wonderful everything is. Let them eat cake, indeed.

    And anyone that can't see through Glenn Beck's demagogary can be safely ignored. I once said to someone "Oh, you listen to Glenn Beck.", gave them a look of pity, and walked away. That felt good...

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  24. Ms. Moon I love it that you spoke your mind! Go get 'em!

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  25. Nola- I will visit soon.

    Mr. Shife- I don't think Mr. Moon would agree with you. He HATES confrontation. I sort of love it.

    Mel- See above.

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  26. I hate it when the lemmings quote Beck, O'Reilly, Rush, and all those other inflammatory idiots. I'm going to start telling them if I want to know what they have to say, I'll just watch FOX "News" because they are parroting them. They don't bother to look things up and check facts and THINK!

    Now they are sending protestors to disrupt town hall meetings. At our worst liberals don't act like they do.

    Good for you for speaking up.

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