Commenting in The Guardian about British vs American Healthcare…

Oh dear. The first problem is anyone, American or British, listening to the right wing Republicans. These people truly could not care less what happens to average people for any reason, much less when it comes to health care. They view it as ’survival of the fittest’ , the fittest in this case being people with money,preferably people not of colour.

As someone who has a better than average familiarity with both systems, they each have good and bad points, like any other discussion. if you have a chronic condition that requires regular medication, I hope you have a good job in America with good insurance. Otherwise, you may not be able to eat if you buy your medicine. In Britain, try to get a good hospital, or the infection you get may be worse than the condition you’re being treated for.

Some of the things considered entitlements with the NHS would get you laughed at for even filing it with your insurance in America. Try getting an abortion in America free of charge, assuming they haven’t shot your doctor on the way into the clinic. Try getting IVF in American if you have no money. Not going to happen. American does have better, more cutting edge treatments for many conditions, and yes, the cancer survival rate is better. Provided you’re white, middle class or higher, and have good insurance. That’s the part they don’t tell anyone. Try getting in to see your GP, free of charge at POS in America. I can hear the laughing from here.

The NHS does good, basic care so much better than America that it isn’t even funny. America does the stuff that drug companies and hospital/university research programs like better because they make money. America does get you seen a lot faster (see the comment about middle class, etc), ask the thousands of Canadians that come to America for treatment every year, but even that is due to the sheer numbers of people the NHS has to look after.

The bottom line is, I’m willing to bet not one of the Republicans who are making these claims would know a British doctor or the British medical system if it were pointed out to them. Sort of like Sarah Palin and not knowing where Russia is. They will say whatever they can to make Obama look bad. Both systems need improvement, as any sentient person would tell you. While I hope I don’t need cancer treatment in Britain, as a person of modest means, I’m not sure I’d be any better off in America. Republicans suck.

Summer in London

London. The hottest summer in years.  Now by American Midwest standards, this isn’t hot. Not even close. It hasn’t been much above 80 yet. Back on the plains, we call this mild spring-like weather. But here in England, where air conditioning is much more rare, it’s hot. Sweat inducing hot. Nerve fraying, commuters snapping, keep your exorbitantly priced bottles of water close by, hot.  Thank goodness it wasn’t this warm when the tube strike hit a few weeks ago. There might have been physical violence.

The problem with warm weather in London isn’t that it’s really hot. It’s that people who have, shall we say, less than traditional ideas about hygiene become far more apparent. London, and the rest of England for that matter, is very different to (my English friends, take note. I said different to instead of the more American different from) most of America in that there is actually a decent public transport system available.  The English might argue the decency part, put at least it’s there. In America, public transport means there’s a road, right there. You’re free to drive your car on it. It’s open to the public.  What else do you want?

When you are on a train with someone who has, in the their infinite wisdom, decided deodorant is an unnecessary expense, and completely optional, it is there that the problem begins. What’s wrong with smelling natural? Lots, I tell you. Lots.

Since it is summer, and I notice far more American voices on the train, I think I’ve worked (English people, I used worked instead of figured. Aren’t you proud?)out where England gets a reputation for being a smelly country. Let me assure you, for the vast majority of people, daily showers, liberal use of deodorants and antiperspirants are de rigeur. English people for the most part smell just fine. And, as London is very multi-cultural, most of the people who are there from places outside England’s borders smell just fine, as well. It’s the ones who think smelling like ass and cabbages, when it’s frequently 35 degrees (that’s 95 to those of us stuck on Fahrenheit) or hotter on the Tube trains that kill me. Literally.

Today I heard a woman who had to be from the northern Midwest, judging from her accent, (those big, round vowels you hear in Minnesota. Oh yeah. You betcha)comment on how bad one man smelled. The poor woman was in the unenviable position of standing near him, while he extended his arm to hold the overhead rail. I was probably three feet from him, and my eyes were watering, so I know she had to be dying. And, in typical American politeness, she didn’t say a word. Just suffered in silence. Once he left, which brought a sigh of relief from both the English and Americans alike, she still only gave a quiet utter of “phew”.

Gee. Wonder what she’ll tell people when they ask if it’s true about people in England being…ahem…fragrant.