Belittle

Last Saturday, I met a young, successful Vietnamese-American couple at a birthday party. She’s a doctor and he’s a dentist. I gave them props: “A doctor and a dentist, that’s the best of both worlds.” They, individually, replied, “It is not worth it.” That was very humble of them, but I had to ask why it isn’t worth it.

The dentist replied, “Well, you have to deal with abnormal people everyday.” I was taken aback. I joked, “Your patients are abnormal? I only sought out a dentist when I had teeth issues, not mental health issues.” Then I followed up with a serious question, “How are they not normal?” He was a bit irritated, but replied, “They keep questioning my service.” I shot back, “Nothing’s wrong with that. If you are going to charge me $10,000 to work on my teeth, you better break down all the details of what type of service you will provide.”

The dentist’s aunt who overheard me saying “$10,000” accused me of “belittling them.” I was shocked. No wonder these young Vietnamese-American kids are so fragile even though they have become doctors and dentists. They always have some adults hovering them.

I knew it was time to drop the conversation. I had never met any dentist and doctor who had such disdain for their profession. If you can’t deal with people to help improve their health then you should get the fuck out.