A message from our Editor > Farah Karipineni, MD, MPH
Living in Uncertain Times We continue to live in uncertain times. COVID has far from disappeared, and for most of us, our lives continue to be shadows of what we used to call normal. Unfortunately, what has not changed is the societal issues that plague us even under the best of circumstances—issues like brutality against African Americans, intimate partner violence, and migrant children falling ill in detention to name just a few. No, COVID did not dampen these issues; the pandemic may have diverted our attention, but these atrocities are f lourishing in its wake.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Farah Karipineni, MD, MPH, is board certified in General Surgery and fellowship trained in Endocrine Surgery. She is currently practicing in Fresno as an Assistant Clinical Professor for UCSF. Dr. Karipineni earned her medical degree from University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Her residency in General Surgery was completed at Albert Einstein Medical Center, and she completed her fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Karipineni has been published in journals including The American Surgeon, the International Journal of Surgery, and the Journal of Surgical Education.
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CENTRAL VALLEY PHYSICIANS
Most disturbing is the most recent rash of senseless African American killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. It is important to note that while these have been highly publicized incidents, they are tragically not the only ones, nor do they represent an increasing trend. Rather, thanks to smartphones and social media, some of these killings are now being recorded and the world is forced to bear witness. But it is not enough to simply bear witness. As an American citizen, I am appalled at my own ignorance. I am ashamed that it has taken me this long in my life to really contemplate what it means to be Black in America. What it means to be married to a Black man, or to raise a Black son, when—per the documentary 13th—1 in 3 of that demographic will be imprisoned in their lifetime for something that would not require incarceration for any other race. Or, worse, they can be murdered for no crime at all, other than being alive and Black. As a physician, I cannot sit back and watch. As a small act of truth-telling and solidarity, I have taken to wearing a Black Lives Matter (BLM) mask everywhere I go. The different reactions to my mask, both in and out of clinical settings, are very telling. So is the reaction to my yard sign, which has been repeatedly stolen and even replaced with a dissenting sign. How can a statement so simple spark so much contention? A patient of mine asked,
Summer 2020
