YouTube Hero
I guess everyone in Cebu must know by now what happened at the Vicente Sotto hospital, where a gay patient who had a spray can extracted from his rectum was subjected to ridicule, by jeering nurses and doctors, and reportedly, even at the hands of outsiders, by the video-taping of his ordeal without his knowledge, and by the uploading of the video into YouTube, where the whole webbed world could witness his suffering.
To a large extent, I’m happy with the public reaction – all the possible groups that could have weighed in on the issue have weighed in, with uniform condemnation of the incident. Spokespersons for the Philippine Medical Association, the Department of Health, the Philippine Nurses Association, the Professional Regulation Commission, and the Human Rights Commission have indicated that this behavior by the hospital staff is unacceptable.
Even the local Integrated Bar and the Office of the Ombudsman (this being a government hospital) and, surprise, surprise, the Archdiocese of Cebu, have taken a position criticizing this blatant disregard for the sensibilities of the patient.
To all these organizations, I must say commendations are in order, for standing up for what is right, speaking out, and most importantly, for their surprisingly ability to look above and beyond the gender issue.
It could have been so easy for all these organizations to have their reactions colored, even shaped, by heterosexual revulsion. After all, look at the circumstances surrounding the medical procedure. The reports have it that the complainant is gay, he hired a male prostitute, he paid money for sex, and had sex with the guy. After insulting the prostitute for being ill-endowed (again, another sensitive issue for male heterosexuals), the florist went to sleep and woke up with the spray can lodged in him.
Even the supposedly liberal press could be accused of bias, coloring the facts by characterizing the occasion as happening after a bout of “kinky anal sex,” in all probability eliciting an even more negative reaction from its readers. Anal sex is already anathema to this deeply religious nation. But “kinky anal sex”? It’s the same as saying a person is not just ugly, but butt-ugly (but worse).
(Possible discussion point for a journalism class: when does anal sex transform from non-kinky to kinky? Is there a gauge or a barometer that can be used to determine, “ooh, that’s bordering on kinky!”)
Yet, despite the homosexuality, the ‘kinkiness,’ the fact that the complainant is from an underprivileged community, despite all these, the essential abuse suffered by the patient was driven home, and understood by all those in positions of responsibility. Seemingly as one, the community is speaking and declaring that this behavior is not to be tolerated.
If there’s one good thing that comes out of this incident, it will be that future patients can be assured that their medical information will be better protected. As of now, there’re already so many serious breaches of this so-called right to privacy, where doctors not only swap stories with fellow doctors about the results of HIV tests, but in fact, even share it with non-professionals. It’s actually become normal for those with the means to avoid being tested in
It’s certainly a black eye for the profession. I remember when all these doctors and nurses were up in arms just because Teri Hatcher’s line in Desperate Housewives said something about making sure that her doctor wasn’t a graduate of “some med school in the
Ultimately, we should be thankful that despite the humiliation involved, that patient still spoke out. To that patient, thank you for your courage. In my books, you qualify as a hero.
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