Let's take a break from Kenya. Let's talk about Philadelphia.
I think this is a story about hope gone bad. A misguided, out-of-control, switched-track sort of hope, of which we are all capable. Its a slippery slope. But I've hesitated writing this because I have frequently held that horrific events speak for themselves and many times we can engage in rhetoric without resolution? However, important issues were raised in a column recently published in the Philadelphia Inquirer concerning the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a local obstetrician who one worked against the mistreatment of people of color in the medical system. Outrage and disgust are two of the obvious terms that come to mind and so I'll dispense with them now so as to not trivialize the matter further. More descriptive words do not occur to me at this writing.
But there is power in language, nonetheless, and if through words, we can begin to consider creative resolutions or at the very least, how to avoid the path toward evil (the ultimate objective?), then let's see how we can begin the discussion,... meaningfully.
The story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell is one of profound sorrow. The alleged events that at least 8 infants were brutally murdered through savage abortion techniques, and that at least one mother was killed are indeed beyond human understanding; a tragedy for both victims and alleged perpetrators and far beyond sensible explanation. The specific issue of how the health care system and those responsible for safe guarding health health of the disenfranchised has been recognized and given voice over the years. Yet the larger injustice, of course, is that the conditions giving growth to this situation have persisted for decades and still the "victims" themselves of the non-functional systems remain voiceless. Unfortunately, unless political, economic and other societal staples are reconditioned, we''ll continue to be confronted by such health disparities and people will continue to die. Sadly, all said before without much change. But we know it doesn't have to be.
The story, for me, takes a personal detour here and in a different and profound way, begs a larger question: How did the life of a promising young physician turn sour? What happened?
In the early 1970's I was a student that the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now the University of the Sciences), in Southwest Philadelphia. A gentleman by the name of Herman Wrice, founder of the Young Great Society (YGS), came to speak to my class about volunteering in the surrounding neighborhoods, Mantua, Powelton Village, etc, for educating those in the neighborhoods about the value of appropriate health care, working at clinics, etc. For those of you unfamiliar with the civil rights landscape of Philadelphia in the late 1960's and early 1970's, the Young Great Society was created to combat some of the very neighborhood-damaging ills that are present in today's social environment: drugs, gang and personal violence, poverty, poor education, ..you get the picture. Herman Wrice was its founder and one of the leading neighborhood activists of that era. Accompanying him was a young physician by the name of Kermit Gosnell. Now, when told about the upcoming visit by Mr. Wrice and Dr. Gosnell, I expected a white, idealistic physician who would talk about the desperate needs of the neighborhoods without much follow-up. In those days, young black physicians or black role models of any profession who would come before a pharmacy school composed of mostly caucasian students were hard to come by. We were mostly trying to find our own way, not for neglect of others, but simply because we were oriented in the mold that after you find your way, then go back to your neighborhood and make a difference. That was the tract I thought I wanted to pursue. So when Dr. Gosnell walked into the room ..tall, lanky, proud,..clad in bell-bottomed pants, an open collar "superfly" shirt and an afro,..a sway of arrogance and defiance?,... sure, ..but personally, I was impressed that this was someone who had indeed come back to his neighborhood to make a difference in improving the quality of health care for his neighbors. He in fact proceeded to talk passionately about how we can achieve balance in health care in underserved neighborhoods. He asked for volunteers in this effort and I and my best friend, both African American (2 of 6 in a class of 150), gladly did so, and were the only ones.
As it turns out, not much came of that effort, but still, he had credibility with me because he was "hanging out" with Herman Wrice, one of the premier community organizers of our time, and because he gave an impassioned talk that realistically depicted the health care situation in the neighborhoods at the time. Students of the era at many institutions were inspired by the few who tried to embed some semblance of hope and encouragement in us when we were caught between not knowing how we could contribute to the upward mobility of society, and being bombarded by television images of police forces hosing and killing students on college campuses, if we dared to try. We think of Martin Luther King, ... but there were others,.. Leon Sullivan, David Richardson, Herman Wrice. Many of us went on to obtain graduate degrees and embark on a successful careers, while trying to meaningfully contribute to helping achieve equity in our society. Indeed, much of what has been accomplished over the ensuing decades has been because of those who tried to lead us by example, activism and sacrifice, and who (sometimes unwittingly) left lasting impressions while doing so. Among them, Dr. Kermit Gosnell. He and others showed that someone could, in fact, show care and hope in dealing with very real society issues, at the same time that a successful professional career was being pursued.
So, Dr. Gosnell's story leads me to ask : What happened? Can this derailment of hope and encouragement occur for any us? It can indeed, and so the even larger issue is: how do we remain hopeful and continually remain a source of inspiration for our young people in all professions? Its still rare to find professionals who are willing to share time,... we're all very busy and are distracted by other "more important" needs... being present takes time, ...showing up, takes time from other things. Leading someone through the discouragements of life takes time.
Perhaps we can learn from Dr. Gosnell's story that we are all vulnerable, despite an initial life attitude that seems admirable, but can, overtime, erode and become misguided. The full story isn't yet known, but we do know, or at least suspect, that Dr. Gosnell once held the hope that he could help his neighbors improve the quality of their lives. It is sad that someone whose gifts that are so desperately needed, did not continue to share those gifts for the betterment of the community he professed to love.
In this, we all need to be careful.... It is indeed,...a "slippery slope".
