Well, this is the last time I read or link to Scalpel or Sword .

It always upsets me when someone goes along and reveals their bigotry to me–“I so wanted to like you,” I say to myself. “But my respect for you just went down the drain.”

Scalpel tells a story of two patients who needed abscesses drained. One a child, the other, a gay man. He then proceeds to compare how the child reacted (very tolerant of the procedure) with how the gay man reacted:

He tolerated the procedure like, well….

John Edwards.

I gave Scalpel the benefit of the doubt. I figured, there’s no way in hell he’s calling his patient a faggot , is he? Honestly? Maybe there’s some new big campaign to label John Edwards as a coward, or weak, or a wimp or something?

But no, in the comments, a reader challenges him on the point, and he doesn’t deny it. His reaction? “Well, I’ll probably keep posting anyway. Y’all can come and go as you please, I don’t mind.” You might as well just delete John Edwards and type faggot, Scalpel. We can read between your lines.

Should I begin with the fact that a so highly-educated and seemingly intelligent physician can be such a bigot? Or maybe I should replace faggot with the n-word, or some other derogatory slur and see if it’s still okay? Or how about the notion that faggots like me are just as tough and brave as any other person out there? (And if you’re in Scalpel’s camp, drop the stereotypes and meet more than your one gay acquaintance.) Hell, we’ve probably faced more harassment, hatred, and violence (from people like Scalpel) than he ever will–just for being who we are (Please correct me if you’re not an upper-middle class white male, Scalpel.)

I guess the silver lining of it all is that at least we get to know Scalpel’s true feelings. Apparently it’s still okay to be derogatory to a gay person, so he’s fine telling the world how he feels about them. I wonder what he thinks of black people, or Latinos, or the poor, or women. We’ll probably never know.

It’s sad to think that Scalpel has never met a gay person that has corrected him, put him in his place, or has made him change his perspective. I’m sure Scalpel actually knows plenty of LGBT people; they’re probably among his friends, family, and colleagues—but they all know what he thinks of faggots , so they know not to reveal themselves in his company.

Scalpel has the right to say whatever he wants, but we also have the right to object and take a stand. Do I think it will make Scalpel change his perspective? Not at all. But it’ll at least show him that he is in the minority, and that his bigotry is stupid, ignorant, and unprofessional. What a terrible face to give Emergency Medicine physicians and the profession in general.

I hope you’ll agree, and post your own reaction on your blog or the comments.

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