$1 for Health Care July 7, 2011

This was news a few weeks ago, but it definitely got my attention:

Some people who need medical care but can’t afford it go to the emergency room. Others just hope they’ll get better. James Richard Verone robbed a bank.

Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gastonia, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up.

He’s now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.

News like this has come out every once in a while, and I’m actually surprised it doesn’t happen more often. It is legitimately crazy that we don’t have universal health care. Republicans don’t want it (it helps poor people). Democrats don’t want to push for it (helping poor people not worth the effort). People across the country delay urgent health needs because they can’t afford to pay for it. This is the United States, 2011.

I’d say we could be more like Sweden, but then I see stories like this:

Stockholm: At the “Egalia” preschool, staff avoid using words like “him” or “her” and address the 33 kids as “friends” rather than girls and boys.

From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don’t fall into gender stereotypes.

“Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing,” says Jenny Johnsson, a 31-year-old teacher. “Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be.”

The taxpayer-funded preschool which opened last year in the liberal Sodermalm district of Stockholm for kids aged 1 to 6 is among the most radical examples of Sweden’s efforts to engineer equality between the sexes from childhood onward.

Now, I can understand not forcing people into stereotypical gender roles. That’s a good idea. But a 2 year old boy is….a 2 year old boy. If a two year old boy wants to play with a Barbie, ok, I can accept that. But getting rid of gender alltogether? Too far.