Stories

 

 

‘Pandemic of Lies’

“Truth Serum”

The Iceman Cometh

Part 1

By Aubrey Bruce

 

“When I was a child at St. Angela Merici School, Sister James told our class that when our parents got old we should take care of them."If you don't," she said, raising a thin, perfectly arched eyebrow and laying on years of guilt, "You'll be like the Eskimos who used to put their elderly, sick parents out on ice floes for the polar bears..." with a shudder she's raise a trembling hand as though warding off the horrible vision of massive white bears lurching around, waiting for tasty 'snacks' to float by on chunks of ice.” (From the article; Ice Floes, Polar bears and Eskimos: by Grace Rudolph, www.intergens.com).

        

 

Growing old: why is aging so often filled with pain and disdain?  For thousands of years growing old has been welcomed and cursed. One can only imagine the past horrors that the elderly faced as their age and the illnesses that accompanied aging and longevity became vehicles to transport them hastily and prematurely across the finish line of death.  There were times that their family; friends and neighbors became the unprovoked facilitators of their demise Polar bears can kill a younger person with relative ease, why would any compassionate human being put another human being, regardless of age through such horror?

 

No this is not some sort of macabre horror story springing from the internet gaming, deluded and warped mind of the grandson of a baby boomer; weary of experiencing no intimate contact, no physical contact at all or not even having a normal conversation with anyone of the opposite sex: while simultaneously cursing at grandma from his dingy and dimly lit man cave for not ordering the tacos on time and for the pizza being cold and missing one of his favorite toppings.

 

During 2020-2021 “the era of blame Covid-19,”   there are many obvious and hidden “death-care issues” as well as blatant unintentional and intentional neglect when it comes to providing health assistance for the elderly. “Wealth care” for all instead of healthcare for all seems not to be the exception but the sternest of rules when it comes to preserving the sanctity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in regards to the continued wellness of the elderly. Oftentimes caregivers are forced to choose between treating a younger person that has a better chance at survival than sometimes, two maybe three times their age.

 

 

At this juncture in 2021, there seems to be more “Ice Floes” masquerading as hospitals and treatment units: treating all sorts of illnesses and ailments with thousands of “treatments” being “available” but very few “cures” evolving from those treatments, especially when it comes to the elderly eventually sending them to hospices for the terminally ill as well as many understaffed and non-empathetic nursing homes.

 

Many of the elderly are put out on the ice daily, with very few or no healthcare strategies offered or put forth by healthcare providers for the elderly to regain good health or at least reasonable functionality.

 

 In January of 2017 Chris Weller wrote a piece posted on https://www.businessinsider.com titled:  ‘Japanese people who can't afford elder care are reviving a practice known as 'granny dumping'.

 

Mr. Weller wrote: “Centuries ago, Japan created a word called ubasute. Translated as "granny dumping," it described the practice of poor citizens bringing their senile elders to mountaintops because they can no longer afford their care. Today, amid Japan's widespread demographic and economic woes, ubasute is making a comeback.”

 

“Modern-day granny dumping doesn't involve hauling seniors up the sides of mountains, but driving them to hospitals or the offices of nearby charities and, essentially, giving them up for adoption.”

 

"There are a lot of people who have a certain amount of income but who still live in poverty and struggle terribly with relatives who can't look after themselves," social worker Takanori Fujita told the Times of London. "They are reluctant to ask for help because they feel it's shameful."

 

Japan's economy has been shrinking for the better part of the last decade. Senior citizens have continued aging into their 80s, 90s, and 100s, while younger generations have largely stagnated in having children. As a result, there are fewer people to help take care of the elderly, pay for social security, and keep the workforce full. Economists have taken to calling the situation a "demographic time bomb."

 

“Modern-day granny dumping doesn't involve hauling seniors up the sides of mountains, but driving them to hospitals or the offices of nearby charities and, essentially, giving them up for adoption.”

 

This seems eerily similar to many older Americans being admitted to United States health care institutions with minor ailments, many of whom never make it back home oftentimes dying prematurely with no clear cut medical diagnosis or logical explanation in regards to their untimely and unexpected demise.  With the Covid-19 pandemic taking the center of the health care stage, that seems to be another excuse that the health system has in their arsenal of  “invented scapegoats” placed strategically and conveniently within the current system in order to expedite the journey of the elderly to “the bone orchard.”  Granny dumping in the United States is currently just “old folks’ dumping” plain and simple.

 

Mr. Weller closes by saying: “The trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon. There are more people in Japan over the age of 65, as a share of the total population, than at any point in the country's history. As of 2016, elderly people accounted for 26.7% of Japan's 127.11 million citizens. Since 2011, adult diapers have outsold those intended for babies.

 

Some charities around Japan have begun catering to the new crop of abandoned elders, even setting up "senior citizen postboxes" (offices where people can be dropped off) to standardize the practice as best they can. The charity will then transfer the family member to a local retirement home, where they can receive the care they deserve.”

 

To be continued:  Part Two:

 

“Numbers don’t lie. Do they?”

 

Notes: Aubrey Bruce is the publisher and managing editor of The Sentinel at:  www.thesentinel.news  He is also the Senior Sports Columnist at: The New Pittsburgh Courier. He has written for the publication for more than 3 decades. To access any of his New Pittsburgh Courier articles log onto: www.newpittsburghcourier.com  In 1995 Mr. Bruce became the first African American editor-in-chief of the Allegheny View, the official newspaper of the Community College of Allegheny County, Allegheny Campus. He is currently a widower.