Spin Control

Maman has been in a tizzy all week. First with the federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.. (ignoring it and then the current whitewashing of their response). Every maman worth her salt can see their child trying to spin a story to make themselves look better. I think most of us can see it in the world around us as well.

But now as I was trying to relax and calm down from this level of foolishness, I have run into this story...

Woman Offended by Doc's Obesity AdviceN.H. Woman Files Complaint After Doctor Tells Her She's Obese; Other Patients Come to His Defense
The Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.H. Aug 24, 2005 — As doctors warn more patients that they should lose weight, the advice has backfired on one doctor with a woman filing a complaint with the state saying he was hurtful, not helpful.

Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state.

"I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "

He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended.

Her complaint, filed about a year ago, was initially investigated by a board subcommittee, which recommended that Bennett be sent a confidential letter of concern. The board rejected the suggestion in December and asked the attorney general's office to investigate.

Bennett rejected that office's proposal that he attend a medical education course and acknowledge that he made a mistake.

Bruce Friedman, chairman of the board of medicine, said he could not discuss specific complaints. Assistant Attorney General Catherine Bernhard, who conducted the investigation, also would not comment, citing state law that complaints are confidential until the board takes disciplinary action.

The board's Web site says disciplinary sanctions may range from a reprimand to the revocation of all rights to practice in the state.

"Physicians have to be professional with patients and remember everyone is an individual. You should not be inflammatory or degrading to anyone," said board member Kevin Costin.

Other overweight patients have come to Bennett's defense.

"What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?"

Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that the initially didn't want to listen.

"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Wow, that sounds awful... the government trying to interfere with the Doctor/Patient relationship. The dillusion of a woman that won't face the truth.

If I didn't know better, I would say that Dr. Bennett is a beacon of freedom and justice.

But I do know better.

See, I saw the good doctor interviewed 2 weeks ago on the Today show. He was on giving an interview about the injustice being done to him. (side note: this story would have NEVER have made the national media if Dr. Bennett hadn't started to give interviews... I have an idea why that was done and will explain it later).

In his interview, Dr. Bennett was asked about the complaint that he had "appealed to this woman's vanity". And interestingly enough, he launched into this set of statistics about how this woman's husband would probably die before her. And that she would be forced to join the ranks of obese women looking for partners. Because she is fat, she would not be able to attract the kind of partners that she would have normally thought she deserved. That she might be only able to attract black men.

I kept thinking, "Did I hear that right?" Luckily Dr. Bennett mumbled along discussing statistics from some study or another that showed that black men prefer obese women. They cut to his attorney who looked like they wanted to muzzle the doc.

It turns out that the patient in question complained to the medical board, not about the lecture about her weight, but rather because of the racial slurs.

This is a fuller account of the story that I found on CNN...

Doctor accused of calling woman too fat to attract men
Claims he said: 'Who would want you? Might even be a black guy'

CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) -- The state of New Hampshire is investigating a doctor accused of telling a patient she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men and advising another to shoot herself following brain surgery.

"Let's face it, if your husband were to die tomorrow, who would want you?" the state Board of Medicine says Dr. Terry Bennett told the overweight patient in June 2004.

"Well, men might want you, but not the types you want to want you. Might even be a black guy," it quoted him as saying, based on the woman's complaint.

The board said it also is taking a second look at a 2001 allegation -- deemed unfounded at the time -- that Bennett told a woman recovering from brain surgery to buy a pistol and shoot herself to end her suffering.

Bennett made national news last week when the complaint from the obese woman became public without any mention of the racial comment. But Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head, who leads the state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, said Tuesday the woman complained about the racial remark, not about being lectured.

In a telephone interview Tuesday from Rochester, Bennett denied any wrongdoing and defended his message to her, saying he has read polls that say black men prefer overweight women.

Bennett added that he is angry the board is reconsidering the 2001 complaint.

"That patient is currently in a nursing home completely demented, tied to a chair drooling on herself and doesn't recognize anybody," said Bennett, 67. "She was in pretty nearly that condition at the time she filed that complaint."

Bennett's lawyer, Charles Douglas, said his client is being attacked by the board, which, by its own rules, does not discipline doctors for bedside manner.

"If a patient does not like the message, go to another doctor," Douglas said.

Head said the 2001 complaint is being considered as part of a review of Bennett's overall adherence to medical ethics. The state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigates complaints against doctors, though the board decides how to act on them.

Head said privacy laws prevent him from disclosing the women's names.

The board can fine, reprimand or suspend doctors. It also can revoke doctors' licenses or require them to attend classes or treatment. A hearing is planned Dec. 7.

Earlier this year, Bennett rejected an effort by the board to resolve the latest complaint. The board wanted him to admit he had made a mistake and to attend a class on medical ethics, which he called "touchy-feely school."

Bennett previously was cited by the board in 1995 when, as part of a settlement to avoid discipline, he admitted lying on his 1992 and 1993 medical license renewal applications about being denied hospital privileges. He was fined $1,000.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Kind of a horse of a different color, eh?

It was to me.

So when I was looking around on AOL the other night and saw that they had a story and message boards about the story, I was shocked.

First the video that they had was from ABC News that was exclusively the story from the Dr. Bennett's perspective. The message boards were worse. It's demoralizing to see the level of vitriol that was directed at this woman. I found a link of the fuller story and started posting it to the nastiest commentaries on the message board. I thought I was doing people a service... giving them a different perspective on the story.. after all there are 2 sides to every story, right?

Guess I was wrong about that too.

Under the heading: The Truth Hurts Fatty, there was a response to my post from FATRAZY that stated: "yes,black guys love fat white women especialy blonds on welfare! She just needs a man!"

Under the heading:AOL Needs to Tell The Whole STory, Pestkiller61 stated: "Maybe aol didn't tell the whole story,but most of us knew anyway-it was widley reported here in the northeast and on O'Reilly-and ,sorry to say,the Doctor was still saying the truth.Why do people always have to cry and hide behind the race card when they hear something they don't want to hear?The bottom line is,"what you don't want hear,you need to hear".The doctor is right-just take a walk around Lewiston,Maine,or any urban area for that matter,and you'll see what he means.African-American guys love fat white women.Period.Truth hurt?"

A huge assortment of people accused me of getting my information from the National Inquirer or just plain making it up.

But then there Teddy The Great. He had a series of discussion threads that got meaner and nastier and personal (Punction and spelling are like the original.. oh and apparently his topic lines were to long and obviously truncated by the message board software)

She,s a big , nasty, white stink pig, who needs to dead

All fatso,s will be dipped in butter then deep fried
Maman*,is the type of person that would convi... Maman just be silent

Maman, your taking me on, try to spew your nonscence to flodoc,you wont because you know he will give u facts,

Maman needs a man , not her husband, to take...
Maman, needs to know,that this doctor is inn...
Maman,s mad because,her doc told her she has herpies...go jump into a shark tank you big fat jerk

Maman needs a woman cuase he,s sexually frustrated
I bet this hog chic, drinks bacon shakes

Fatso can get a job at Sea World jumoing through hoops

* I have substituted my blog name for my computer screen name.

Back to the why did this story hit the media? Well, that is simple. Dr. Bennett is using the press to re-shape the argument. By giving interviews, he has been given the opportunity to tell his side of the story and build public support without having to get a balanced view since the woman in question won't step into the public spotlight to be ridiculed and the State Medical Board can't because it is an ongoing investigation. And the news media will eat it up since they all love a good story about how fat America is. So they have given him the opportunity to skew the story, so that emphasis is on a fat woman who won't face reality instead of a doctor instead of a doctor who while telling his patient she needed to lose weight crossed the line by telling her that she was unlovable to all but the most unworthy men... black men.

So when push comes to shove, I have to say, that I am beyond demoralized. I think I am going to hide for the rest of the day.