Just graduated today. If you support Trump, I can almost guarantee you that you do not want me in charge of your healthcare.

I'm a doctor. I'm also a member of a demographic that is underrepresented in medicine: the working class. I come from a rural area in the United States where the local economy is dying. Plants have been shut down, jobs have left, and a heroin/opioid epidemic of epic proportions is destroying the lives of thousands. I have seen classmates from my high school die from heroin overdoses. I've seen friends that I used to hang out with on a daily basis become hopeless heroin addicts. I've seen families destroyed by heroin. I've seen people die from heroin.<br><br>Just today, I saw two posts on a local Facebook news page that really hit home for me.<br><br>1. A woman that I used to go to church with posted on a local news page that her brother had died today from a heroin overdose. She went on to plead that if anyone was using heroin that they should stop and seek help.<br><br>2. A young woman that I used to go to school with posted a meme saying: "I'm not saying Trump will make America great again... but he will make it white again."<br><br>Imagine if that young woman was my patient. She might be pregnant one day and have an accidental overdose that kills her baby. She might get a blood transfusion at some point and discover that she has hepatitis C. She might start getting really sick and learn that she has end-stage kidney disease as a result of frequent IV drug use. Imagine how I would feel if I learned that she had supported Trump.<br><br>I'm not saying that I'm a monster or that I would intentionally give her substandard care. I'm saying that if she supports Trump, there's a good chance that she's a racist, and she's going to find out that she's in the care of a black doctor. I have no self control when it comes to telling people off. If she says or does something racist, I will tell her off and humiliate her in front of everyone else in the exam room. I won't be able to contain myself.<br><br>If you support Trump, there's a good chance that you're racist. I'm one of those "lazy" black people who you've been waiting for to get off your lawn. If you ever end up in the emergency room or clinic where I work, there's a good chance that I will be the one taking care of you. I'm going to be talking to you. I'm going to be touching you. You're going to trust me with your life. I will take care of you to the best of my ability. I will save your life. But I will also tell you off if you say something racist, sexist, or homophobic. I'm one of the "thugs" that you're afraid of, and I'm in charge of your healthcare. And I'm not alone.<br><br>There are many people from similar backgrounds as mine that are taking my path. There are women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and people from poorer areas that are going into medicine, law, and other fields. We're not all "thugs." We're people just like everyone else, and we're tired of being ignored and talked down to. If you support Trump or people like him, then you do not want us in charge of your healthcare. You do not want us as your lawyers. You do not want us as your teachers or professors. You do not want us as your politicians. And guess what? We're here, we're not going anywhere, and we're not going to shut up.