While people are crying and clutching their pearls over Trump’s latest racist comments, institutions
like Vanderbilt University are still punishing people who hold opposite views. Medical resident Dr. Eugune Gu, who has over 110,000 Twitter followers and a history of posting about social justice, is being punished for his public stance against white supremacy.
According to the Duke Chronicle, a patient’s mother complained to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center where Gu is a third-year medical resident and demanded that he not take care of their child. I guess she wants her child to receive medical care from a nice racist like Donald Trump? Unfortunately, it appears that Vanderbilt didn’t just remove Gu from the child’s care; they punished him, too.
According to emails obtained by The Chronicle with the name of the patient and their mother redacted to protect patient privacy, VUMC administration officials discussed investigating all the mother’s complaints regarding his social media posts on Nov. 8. That day, Seth Karp, chairman of the department of surgery, requested that someone document the mother's complaints about Gu and get them to him by the end of the next day, Nov. 9. One day later, Gu was placed on administrative leave.
According to emails obtained by The Chronicle with the name of the patient and their mother redacted to protect patient privacy, VUMC administration officials discussed investigating all the mother’s complaints regarding his social media posts on Nov. 8. That day, Seth Karp, chairman of the department of surgery, requested that someone document the mother's complaints about Gu and get them to him by the end of the next day, Nov. 9.
One day later, Gu was placed on administrative leave.
This is just an example of a social media post that the complaining mother finds offensive.
I'm an Asian-American doctor and today I #TakeTheKnee to fight white supremacy. pic.twitter.com/69QLjrTShY— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) September 24, 2017
I'm an Asian-American doctor and today I #TakeTheKnee to fight white supremacy. pic.twitter.com/69QLjrTShY
Unsurprisingly, Gu says that the mother wasn’t just content with lashing out at Gu and attacking him professionally. She’s been cyberbullying him, too.
He told the Duke Chronicle:
Who would say that fighting against racism would be unprofessional? It’s literally a part of a doctor’s profession to stand up for patients who are most vulnerable. I find myself in this bizzaro world. I feel like I’m upside down. I’m trying to be a force of social good, and Vanderbilt punishes me for it.
Gu was forced on administrative leave in November and he’s back but is still on probation until March. Shame on that mother for hating an anti-racist and being so vindictive. And shame on Vanderbilt for being willing to throw one of its doctors under the bus for daring to speak out against bigotry and white supremacy.
Nobody should be punished for fighting against white supremacy and workplace violenceâÂÂespecially not at a major academic institution. Bullying, racism, and physical violence will never silence me. #TimesUp https://t.co/G5i1JnhJyF— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) January 10, 2018
Nobody should be punished for fighting against white supremacy and workplace violenceâÂÂespecially not at a major academic institution. Bullying, racism, and physical violence will never silence me. #TimesUp https://t.co/G5i1JnhJyF
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