Muslims: My wife and I just moved her mother into a new memory care [View all]

[MineralMan]

Last edited Fri Nov 18, 2016, 02:26 PM - Edit history (1)

unit. The assisted living place where she previously lived no longer could cope with her increasing problems. We're in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. At her old place and at this new one, almost all of the paid care-givers are Muslims, primarily from East Africa. They're immigrants and many of them were refugees when they came here. Another group of excellent care-givers are Hmong immigrants.

It's a popular profession for these new Americans. Local community colleges have programs designed specifically to turn immigrants into healthcare workers. The pay is shitty, frankly, but it's a path. Some have gone on to get credentialed as LVNs and even RNs, after starting off in the lower paid jobs providing care.

Here's what's happening. These workers are caring, smart, and patient in dealing with difficult patients. Almost always. That's not as often true of typical native-born Americans, who tend to be impatient and quick to snark at older people with memory deficits and other problems. My wife and I have seen it time and again. So has her mother. She always prefers the women wearing head scarfs and the black men who speak with an accent to care for her. They're more compassionate than the others.

These are the very people Donald Trump wants to go away. These are the very people his followers harass in public places. I say, Screw that! I want people who are kind, patient and resourceful to be the ones caring for my mother-in-law. She's got a lot of problems and isn't getting better. She never will. She needs compassionate care, and that's what her immigrant care-givers are providing. Those are the people she hopes will come in when she needs the many care services she receives each day.

Donald Trump and his bigoted followers can kiss my ass. I'll stand with those people who do thankless jobs cheerfully and kindly. My wife and I thank them often for their service.

Thanks to all of those care-givers with accents and atypical dress. We appreciate what you're doing.