by Bob Braile D.C.
Chairperson Representative Assembly
International Chiropractor's Association
It seems a lifetime ago that minorities such as the African Americans had to endure the sufferings of prejudice and ignorance. Undeserving labels such as lazy or thief were hurled upon these and other Americans only because they were different. These tasteless acts of prejudice were used not only to repress the minority, but to sway the rest of the public in becoming unknowing co-conspirators. The end effect was that even the kindest of heart found it hard not to have some reservations about the character of these minorities.
Fortunately, African Americans and other minorities have decided that being different is something to be proud of. They have decided that their heritage and beliefs are not worth giving up for the acceptance by the "powers that be", for it is that very heritage that makes them who they are. Minorities realize that our nation is made up of different beliefs, ideals, cultures and lifestyles. For in reality, all of us are, in one way or another, members of a minority.
Perhaps the saddest effect of prejudice and ignorance was the effect that this continual degradation had on some members of the minority itself. Some began to believe and accept the role they were portrayed in by the oppressors themselves. To the African Americans nothing signified this acceptance of the degradation more than Uncle Tom's Cabin. This showed an ignorant view of what a "good black man" was suppose to be like. This and other pieces of the time tried to suggest that the acceptable black should say "yessa, and nossa" and would never challenge the belief or the authority of the status quo.
Although our society is not rid of prejudice, it is now considered distasteful to openly or privately refer to, or insinuate the bigoted stereotypes of the past when referring to minorities. What was once common place in the books and on the movie screens of the past would be shunned and condemned if attempted today. Unfortunately for chiropractic, this same type of open prejudice experienced by other minorities is not yet considered distasteful when hurled at our profession. This was brutally evident in the recent Wall Street Journal article entitled, "Chiropractors Seeking To Expand Practices Take Aim At Children".
This blatantly prejudice piece of propaganda was designed to accomplish two goals. First to continue the barrage of misinformation and deceit to the readers in the hopes that people will stay away from chiropractors. And, secondly to continue to induce the chiropractor into the belief in his own inferiority. History has shown that this article will be ineffectual in its first goal. But unfortunately, it has already been successful in its second.
As if out of a movie script of the past, the American Chiropractic Association has proven that the continual false propaganda has definitely infiltrated our profession's psyche. The ACA's response entitled, "An Open Letter To The Readers Of The Wall Street Journal" was little more than a 'yessa we be sorry' to the medical profession. Instead of exposing the gross inaccuracies of the Wall Street Journal piece, the ACA's response only served to agree with the lies of the article while trying to say that this type of behavior was not the type of conduct of a good ACA doctor. This spineless response (pun intended) basically agreed with the premise of the article by assuring the reader that 'we good chiropractors would never do dat'.
After reading the article from the Wall Street Journal, I was initially upset. Before long however, I was comforted by the knowledge that our profession has suffered these slings and arrows in the past, but has continued to spread the truth and change the lives of an ever-growing number of inhabitants on this planet. Like most of my colleagues I had seen this type of propaganda before, and still managed to have the courage to look my patients in the eye and tell them the chiropractic story.
Sadly enough, it seems there are those in our profession who are more than willing to give up our principles and heritage for a little piece of acceptance. They are willing to accept the scraps that fall off the medical table while denying the basic tenets that make our profession so great. It is unfortunate that many may follow this path of pseudo acceptance and say 'yessa massa' to the medical profession. But fortunately, many more will stand up and march for their beliefs and convictions. Fortunately for our profession, there are still those who will not be swayed by the lies of prejudice and ignorance. There are still those who do believe in the principles that have helped millions through this profession called Chiropractic. And fortunately for mankind, there are still those who are willing to take a stand and be ridiculed for their convictions, while shouting out at the top of their lungs, "Let Freedom Ring!".
Illigitimati Non Carborundum!
Uncle Tom’s Chiropractor Revisited
by Bob Braile, D.C.
A few years back I wrote an article entitled "Uncle Tom’s Chiropractor." In it, I made the comparison between our profession and racial minorities when it comes to the effects negative propaganda, prejudice and ignorance have on the members of a minority. My article was written immediately after the chiropractic profession had responded to a negative prejudicial article in a major news publication. If I may, I would like to revisit the opening of this article, and then close with comments more apropos to our profession today.
To quote from Uncle Tom’s Chiropractor: "It seems a lifetime ago that minorities such as the African Americans had to endure the sufferings of prejudice and ignorance. Undeserving labels such as lazy or thief were hurled upon these and other Americans only because they were different. These tasteless acts of prejudice were used not only to repress the minority, but to sway the rest of the public in becoming unknowing co-conspirators. The end effect was that even the kindest of heart found it hard not to have some reservations about the character of these minorities.
Fortunately, African Americans and other minorities have decided that being different is something to be proud of. They have decided that their heritage and beliefs are not worth giving up for the acceptance by the "powers that be", for it is that very heritage that makes them who they are. Minorities realize that our nation is made up of different beliefs, ideals, cultures and lifestyles. For in reality, all of us are, in one way or another, members of a minority.
Perhaps the saddest effect of prejudice and ignorance was the effect that this continual degradation had on some members of the minority itself. Some began to believe and accept the role they were portrayed by the oppressors themselves. To the African Americans nothing signified this acceptance of the degradation more than Uncle Tom's Cabin. This showed an ignorant view of what a "good black man" was suppose to be like. This and other pieces of the time tried to suggest that the acceptable black should say "yessa, and nossa" and would never challenge the belief or the authority of the status quo."
It has been two years since I wrote those words. Unfortunately, they mean more today that they did in 1993. Almost daily I see forces within our profession trying to suppress our own profession while claiming to advance chiropractic. These individuals are classic examples of what I have referred to as "Uncle Tom Chiropractors."
To better understand, keep in mind that we all came out of chiropractic college with altruistic motives. Most all of us wanted to serve our communities with the unique gifts we had received in chiropractic college. Unfortunately, some of us were slowly effected by being a minority, and began to change to become more accepted. Since the effects of long term prejudice are not obvious or immediate, I have created a self-test, that I will call the "UTC test." If you have changed, this UTC test will clearly show that you may have succumb to the pressures.
The "UTC TEST"
If you fit some of the following descriptions you may well qualify as being an Uncle Tom Chiropractor.
I am a chiropractor, I am proud of it. I am proud of my education and the schools that produce chiropractors. I believe that our uniqueness is what makes us special, and must be protected. We need not govern ourselves more harshly or stricter than others. We must not agree with our detractors but rather stand up for our principles and beliefs.
Illigitimati Non Carborundum