Two Questions: Why do you believe physicians are often given the benefit of the doubt? Is discrimination still discriminatory if it's unconscious/implicit? In other words, does discrimination have to be overly practiced to be racist? by

mabilog11 — 2024-02-22 18:46:32 UTC

Society does not necessarily want to think of doctors as getting things wrong / is afraid of the idea

2024-02-22 18:46:39 UTC

They are given the benefit of the doubt because they are the professional with a degree and license in that industry.

2024-02-22 18:47:31 UTC

I think they are given the benefit of the doubt simply because they are highly educated individuals that are said to be intelligent and good for us when we need them, therefore how could they be racist or discriminatory.

2024-02-22 18:48:25 UTC

Discrimination is definitely discrimination no matter what. I think medical professionals aren’t called out because they’re seen as being busier and smarter than the average person, so people either assume they can’t have biases or don’t think they have time to worry about anything other than the job itself (which their own racism is affecting anyways, but obviously we know from the readings that many people don’t believe it’s a factor in patient care).

2024-02-22 18:48:27 UTC

In the medical world, years of schooling and test are required and doctors, physicians, surgeons etc have to be very knowledgeable and informed to work in those fields. So it is assumed that the doctor is going to be right, that they know what they are doing and should be trusted. What happens instead is because of race patients are dismissed care and if they do not advocate for themselves diseases and medical issues are overlooked

2024-02-22 18:48:32 UTC

They’re given the benefit of the doubt because they use very complex diction and words that patients might not understand in order for them to call out the medical practitioners on their falacies. It’s still discriminatory, they should have some kind of training in order to avoid racially prejudiced decisions

2024-02-22 18:48:46 UTC

I believe they are given the benefit of the doubt because we put our trust into them to help us and our health. They are trained professionals so we believe they have to know what is right and wrong. No matter how big or small a racist act is, it is still discrimination towards someone even if it happens just one time.

2024-02-22 18:48:46 UTC

I definitely think it is both implicit and explicit. Even the title “Doctor” makes people submissive to a sense of authority that while it could be credible, might not be valid at all.

mabilog11 — 2024-02-22 18:48:58 UTC

Is discrimination that is unintentional equally/less/more harmful?

2024-02-22 18:50:08 UTC

1- I feel that the reason physicians are given the benefit of the doubt is because of the fact that as a society we tend to put doctors in a pedestal due to their education and the for the work that they do, however those factors are not a valid excuse for blatant racism.

2- I do believe that someone can be discriminatorily racist through implicit bias as micro aggressions can lead to serious action and make people feel unsafe.

2024-02-22 18:50:10 UTC

To me, it feels like physicians are given the benefit of the doubt due to the level of power/respect that they hold. Not saying that we no longer can trust them, but rather that due to the respect other people give these medical professionals, they’ve developed the belief that they are most likely right with a blunt thought, and don’t require additional study. I feel like you don’t need to practice discrimination in order for a single action to come across as racist. Especially with the doctor example, we see that they’re making snap judgements based off of trends that are outdated, but are not naturally discriminatory people.