Black Man Dies at Age 99.
(With apologies to the Onion)
De Moines, Iowa- Ninety-nine year old black man Isaiah
Thomas died yesterday under the care of white physician, Tad Mercer, a 17-year
physician and graduate of Iowa State University. Bystander video of the final encounter
between physician and patient quickly went viral. The disturbing video incited
large protests against white brutality and systemic racism in Des Moines and
more than 150 American cities, leading to a nationwide racial justice movement
not seen since the civil rights protests of the 1960s. The National Guard was
activated in at least 21 states, and cities announced curfews as protesters
filled the streets. The protests sometimes turned destructive, as black people
demanded an answer to the unexplained and pointless death of yet another black
citizen of the United States.
After the video of the death surfaced, the Iowa Medical
Board peremptorily suspended Mr. Mercer’s medical license until a hearing can
be held as to the responsibility physician Mercer bears in this death.
When asked why she was protesting, one young black protester
on the streets of Des Moines stated “This is the kind of thing that happens
every day in America if you are black.
There will not be any peace until this kind of unacceptable holocaust of
black lives has ended.”
Around 8 p.m. on May 25, Physician Tad Mercer responded to a
call from the Thomas family that their grandfather of seven and father of two,
who had apparently been declining in health over the last several years, seemed
particularly lethargic.
Physician Mercer was apparently attending on Thomas when he
died suddenly in his bed. Family members
stated that the patient had apparently repeatedly clicked his morphine
dispenser as the family gathered around to discuss who would receive the silver
artichoke serving dish now that Thomas could no longer chew.
The day ended in tragedy, however, as Dr. Mercer watched the
patient die and apparently did nothing to stop it. Family members were filming the last moments
in a viral video that has now shocked a nation.
Jesse Jackson was reached for comment, saying:
“We’re going to bury Thomas today, but the killing of
unarmed black men continues. We must break the backbone of lynching forever by
punishing this and all doctors responsible for destroying black lives.”
Kamala Harris said of this sad case: “That [Thomas] could
have been me, it could have been any black person on any given day in
America. The time has come to stop this
reign of terror. White doctors have no
place pretending to protect African-Americans if this is the kind of treatment
they receive in modern America.”
Joe Biden signed off on these events later in the week
stating “Systemic racism in American has allowed black people to die in this
manner for too long. It is time to
dismantle this racist power structure so we can prevent things like this from
happening ever again.”
