Semi-Empathetic

Karen, I’ve been following your twitter for the past couple of weeks now and frankly I was touched as a Middle Eastern person by how far you were willing to go for your late colleague and friend—not to mention the concomitant themes of freedom of speech (both in the Middle East, U.S. and elsewhere) as well as the right of the press to educate and inform the general public about important domestic and global events, hold people in power accountable, and express their personal views and opinions all without having to fear for their personal safety and the safety of those they hold dear.

I would also like to quickly address Jamal’s last column— which has now become all the more amplified, poignant, prescient, and (hopefully) urgent given what we now know has unfolded over the last few weeks. I live in Bahrain: a staunch ally and supporter of Saudi Arabia and closely tied with it geographically, politically, and economically. It is a participant in the Blockade against Qatar (though I won’t comment on that due to lacking sufficient information and more importantly not wanting to throw away my entire future over inadvertently expressing an opinion that goes against the wishes of the ruling class). I want you to know that what Jamal has said is very much true if you’ll take my word for it. I am not as nearly courageous or self-sacrificing as he is frankly. His words cost his life. I just want to live and do my own thing. Making our rules enemies of mine won’t do me any favors in this vein. For what it’s worth, I do support them in this regard and have no political agenda whatsoever against them.

With all that out of the way, my question to you is how do you personally see the Middle East from a geopolitical standpoint in 5-10 years from now? Special highlights are on Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel. Obviously the US will be a massive role in shaping the dynamics on this front.

Thank you (and Jason) for conducting this AMA. If I may, I would certainly like to offer my deepest condolences for your loss. I have full confidence in you to keep his legacy alive through your work.

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I.....goodness. I can’t even imagine, honestly. I’m guessing you live in the USA and have to deal with the horrendous aspects of the for-profit healthcare system there on a frequent basis. I can only call on my personal encounters with them in addition to the secondary sources consisting of other people’s experiences and I must say: the idea of putting profit over people infuriates me to no end.

Also, while the US opioid epidemic is a serious problem that should be dealt with, serious measures should be taken to ensure that people who deal with chronic, severe and unremitting pain and such shouldn’t be collateral damage in that effort. I can only imagine the anger and frustration and helplessness and drama with the doctors and insurance company representatives.

Seriously, denying someone in your state rehab when there’s a decent chance of recovery because preserving the corporate bottom line and paying executive bonuses is more important? Not to mention that whatever they’re paying the scum who lobby the government and sellout politicians to keep screwing people over probably pales in comparison to whatever it would normally cost to help you recover and live life? Fuck those people with a ten-mile-long dildo. Wouldn’t pee in their mouths if they were literally seconds away from dying of thirst.

I really hope things change for you at some point. I can’t really do much for you right now except offer my warmest sympathies. I also happen to moderate a couple of chatrooms on reddit and you’re most certainly welcome to check out the chats to help you get your mind off of things.

Maybe check out a mobile game called Life is Strange? It’s really good :) I like reigns too haha.

Take care. I’m rooting for you all the way.

Edit: couple of words

Holy shit you’ve had it rough, and I wish you nothing but good health and happiness in your future.

Do you intend to help raise awareness about such problems in the medical system by telling your story after you’re hopefully through with this unimaginably agonizing problem? Or do you just want to continue with your life? Maybe a bit of both?

Also, you should totally write a harsh, blistering review for that piece of shit doctor, if only to protect further patients from his ill-treatment. They swore an oath and need to be held accountable.

Who indeed. That’s a very tragic story about your mother, I’m glad she made it through.

I’m also happy to hear that you’re still very much committed to your career aspirations and it seems like you’ll do much good in the world, and in our day and age any little good is very much needed.

I don’t intend to take the spotlight away from you by any means, as your situation is frankly much harder than my own and should be front and center, but if you happen to have a room for secondary stories by any chance I have a medical experience of my own that I wouldn’t mind sharing. No pressure though, just let me know if you’re interested.

But I would urge you to prioritize your health for now above all else. I hope all of your present suffering fades into the distant past soon enough.