“It all started with their difference in philosophy over healthcare reform,” said Senior Deputy Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department...If true, there's a certain irony here...
During the rally at Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive, near the Oaks Mall, the suspect and William James Rice got into a heated argument and began fighting, Buschow said. Rice, of Newbury Park, punched the suspect after the man called him an "idiot," Buschow said.At that point, one man bit off the the tip of Rice's left pinkie finger, Buschow said.
Rice then drove himself to Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, about a mile away, Buschow said. A witness picked up the detached fingertip after the suspect spit it out and drove it to the hospital. Buschow said doctors told the victim that they could not reattach the fingertip because of the high risk of infection..."
A hospital spokeswoman said the man had Medicare, the US government-run insurance programme for older citizens.
My pinkie, my pinkie, my kingdom for a pinkie but I guess he has that terrible Medicare a “Single-payer health care insurance” what a hypocrite. Did the little pinkie cry "Wee-wee-wee!" all the way home (or I should say “Fake News”)? It real should have been his right pinky finger that would have been a better story. He takes two punches and (as usual) tries to shove something down someone’s throat and gets his pinkie bitten off, now he plays victim. They are haters not debaters.
ReplyDeleteHow can you tell which side of the debate he was on?
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone would survive biting off the tip of my pinky finger. That would tend to make me very angry.
ReplyDeleteI have to assume the biter was a rabid Republican. Hope the guy gets rabies shots...
ReplyDeleteDisclaimer: I am not criticizing TYWKIWDBI, but the origional reportage.
ReplyDeleteReports like this become more and more commonplace--they include the sensational, but the key details elude. To whit: 1) what were the points of contention that led to the violent confrontation? 2) was the piny loser pro or con the public option [which colors the story ironic or not]?
All we have here is one side to the story, like many other immature men he just used physical violence because he was not able to articulate his position or use his brain to avoid one, never had the misfortune to be in a brawl myself, I only pity this man who felt the need to bunch his hand into someone’s mouth, so now all of you can claim he is something of a innocent victim. Walking away takes maturity some men have it others do not. What a pity.
ReplyDeletefrom other sources it seems that the biter was a pro-reform individual. He was going through the anti-reform (or anti-the proposed reform) crowd. An anti man got in a fight with him and the pro guy bit off the tip of his pinkie. The bitten man has medicare as do many 65 year-olds.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I don't think there is much of an irony with the fact that he has medicare. The current debate (in its most common form) is whether we should make available a health insurance plan paid for by tax revenue/debt (it is not clear how it will be financed currently). Medicare is specifically for the elderly not the general public. It could also be seen as non-ironic because many medicare recipients are against changing the current system because many proposed savings are done by cutting (or finding savings depending on who you talk to) in medicare.
I see this whole weird incident less as a political allegory and more as an example of the weird times we live in.
He is trying to expand healthcare to everyone, so we do not have to pay the crazy prices for emergency room care, which all of us pay anyway. I agree with Montana, especially her pointing out that the old guy could have defused and controlled the situation by simply moving away but he seem very happy content with the attention and outcome. Could it be he wanted to be the new idol to be worship, a new hero whose poster will be going up in wingnuts closets around the country? Or it could be he just wanted others to claim he was a victim and be on TV (he was quick to run to “Fake News”).
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