Singer and artist Amanda Palmer (also known to some of you as Mrs. Neil Gaiman) sent out some health care tweets on Sunday that received an overwhelming response, trending in several countries. Using the hashtag #insurancepoll, she asked people to tweet where they were, what their occupation was, if they have insurance (and if not, why), and how much they pay. The response was interesting, to say the least, one takeaway being that much of the world now feels sorry for us poor Americans (which would really infuriate the teabag contingent).
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From her blog yesterday:
hola comrades
so yesterday something extraordinary happened while i was diddling around on the train from philly to boston, coming home from an overnight trip to do a kickstarter house party, saturday night.
i was casually reading the sunday new york times (one of my very favorite combinations in life: train, coffee, ping-ponging between reading the newspaper, my twitter feed, and looking out the window at the new england coastline) and i read this article in the sunday review section: A Possibly Fatal Mistake. long story short: when you’re uninsured and the shit hits the fan, the shit….hits the fan.
Some of the
thousands of tweets she received back:
• 1. US 2. sah-mom 3. Yes after 3 yrs w/none,4. Spouse Union job/$0, b4- $1300.month/mammogram copay-$1700 #InsurancePoll. — Peg(@IowaPeg)
• 1.USA 2. Teacher/private school 3. Shared by employer. I pay $700/ month for HMO for family of four. #InsurancePoll — Shannon Vermeeren (@ghostsandstars)
• 1)US 2)Tech/freelance writer 3)No 4)Lost coverage 4 yrs ago when I left abusive husband, now can’t afford it #insurancepoll — Maggie Croft (@albionidaho
)
• 1)USA 2)NURSE 3) no 4) not offered through my agency and too expensive for private. (and I’m asthmatic) #InsurancePoll — Switch65 (@SwitchMe65)
• 1)UK 2)Doctor 3)No 4)Free #nhs care, thank goodness. — David Griffith (@theplaguedoc)
She posed the question:
can you imagine what would happen if EVERYBODY in america (AND the world in contrast) shared their insurance stories and information, and got it trending on twitter, with everybody adding their stories to the pot??? hell, i can’t think of a better way to combat voter apathy, honestly.
this shit is real, yo.
As Amanda says, VOTE! You know the health of millions of Americans are riding on the outcome of this election. Make the calls. Knock on the doors. Drive voters to the polls. GOTV! The stakes couldn't be higher.
Many thanks to Floja Roja for the revised title and opening paragraph. FR rocks!