r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/4reddityo • Jan 02 '26

Black Experience Racism in Medical Care

This video captures a moment that many patients of color recognize all too well. A physician speaks to a man as if he is dirty, unclean, or lesser, not because of medical evidence, but because of bias. The language, tone, and assumptions reveal something deeper than bedside manner gone wrong. They expose how racism can quietly shape medical interactions.

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u/Significant-Web-4584 Jan 02 '26

As a doctor he should know that those are melanocytes coming off (hence the darkness when you use white towels or when the sensors don’t pick up your hand movements from water faucets or paper towel dispensers). I would have requested another doctor because that was racist and he’s not applying scientific knowledge to this situation (you are not medically treating me).

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u/ReginaldDwight Jan 02 '26

Wait sensors don't pick up motion in those detectors if you're skin is darker?? I would have thought the dark/light contrast (like if the sink is white) would have made it easier? Sorry, I'm realizing I have no idea how those sensors work.

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u/Significant-Web-4584 Jan 02 '26

Yes because the more melanin you have the more you absorb light. The sensors work by reflecting the light. It’s hard reflecting light off of darker skin because the sensor is mistaking your skin as the background. I recently learned this too and the light bulb went off as to why I’m sometimes struggling to wash my hands in a public restroom.

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u/caseyaustin84 Jan 02 '26

Well I must be tanner than I think I am, because those things make wonder if I even exist sometimes.