Man bites off man's pinky during health care rally

A man bit off the tip of another guy's finger at a health care reform rally last night in Thousand Oaks, California. From the Washington Post:

Reports differ on whether the supporter went to confront the opponents intentionally or was just walking among them while trying to cross the street to the pro-reform rally. Southern California's KTLA-TV, which first reported on the fracas, wrote, "The 65-year-old was apparently aggressive and hit the other man, who then retaliated by biting off his attacker's pinky."

The AP reported that the injured man "retrieved the finger and went to a hospital." A hospital spokesperson told the news service that the man, who had Medicare, "lost half the finger, but doctors reattached it and he was sent home the same night."

"Man's Fingertip Bitten Off at Health-Care Rally" (Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)

• [mdh]

  “No, Donny, these men are nihilists. There’s nothing to be afraid of. “

• [noen]

  “Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.”

• [delt664]

  The man that bit off the finger was not attacking the old man, he was simply illustrating the irony of a 65 year old protesting government health care.

• [SamSam]

  I hope the part about him having Medicare, a government insurance, and getting prompt and good care is what gets played up on the news.

  Probably won’t be…

• [Anonymous]

  There are so many things about the whole debate that simply drip with irony. “I don’t want the government messing with my Medicare” is pretty high on the list. Teabagger has finger reattached utilizing Medicare benefits FTW.

  If you’re a conservative in the US, I have to ask: Is the real fear that you might actually save money on health care and you’d have to admit that the government doesn’t suck at everything? Or is it an elitist/entitlement thing wherein you, the wealthy conservative, have something that the not-so-wealthy person, conservative or not, perhaps doesn’t have access to? I would say poor person, but the poor in the US have access to Medicaid. It’s the dwindling middle-class that is losing access to affordable, effective health care.

• [bearchild]

  This makes me shiver, just reading it. Does anyone else get this?

• [Anonymous]

  I think the most amazing thing about this story is that a finger was bitten off, surgically re-attached and the fellow was sent home the same day. A friend of mine fell 25 years ago and lost a finger- there was no talk of re-attaching it and he was kept in the hospital until the next day. The level of care and the advances in medicine we all take for granted now just astounds me.

• [jfrancis]

  Pinky and the Brain.

• [Anonymous]

  The 65 y.o. recipient of the bite has Medicare.

• [dcamsam]

  I will never tire of the “Medicare beneficiary opposes government health insurance” story.

• [Anonymous]

  Maybe the guy was just following orders, after all, witnesses claim that when the pro-healthcare protester came at him, the 65-year-old yelled, “Bite me”.

• [benher]

  The irony is so thick, you can’t bite through it at an anti-healthcare rally.

• [Anonymous]

  Why shouldn’t the man claim medicare? His taxes paid for it. The conservative argument is that he shouldn’t need to pay those taxes in the first place, not using the service would just be silly.

• [carriem]

  what teh heck is going ON over there?!

  holy chompers, batman, the place is nuts.

• [Anonymous]

  He is trying to expand healthcare to everyone, so we do not have to pay the crazy prices for emergency room care, which all of us pay anyway. I agree the old guy could have defused and controlled the situation by simply moving away but he seem very happy content with the attention and outcome. Could it be he wanted to be the new idol to be worship, a new hero whose poster will be going up in wingnuts closets around the country? Or it could be he just wanted others to claim he was a victim and be on TV (he was quick to run to “Fake News”).

• [robcat2075]

  The finger didn’t get re-attached. That was just unsubstantiated reporting.

  TPM reports it was not re-attached.

  http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/how-many-fingers-does-health-rally-bite-victim-have.php

• [Anonymous]

  All we have here is one side to the story, like many other immature men he just used physical violence because he was not able to articulate his position or use his brain to avoid one, never had the misfortune to be in a brawl myself, I only pity this man who felt the need to bunch his hand into someone’s mouth, so now all of you can claim he is something of a innocent victim. Walking away takes maturity some men have it others do not. What a pity.

• [Anonymous]

  My pinkie, my pinkie, my kingdom for a pinkie but I guess he has that terrible Medicare a “Single-payer health care insurance” what a hypocrite. Did the little pinkie cry “Wee-wee-wee!” all the way home? It real should have been his right pinky finger that would have been a better story. They are haters not debaters.

• [theWalrus]

  Better known to those who live(d) there as Thousand Jokes.

• [Adam Stanhope]

  I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to learn that the “Right Wing Blogosphere” has determined that this incident is definitive proof that LIBERALS, DEMOCRATS and OBAMABOTS are out-of-control savages.

  Meanwhile, the fight to deny access to inexpensive health care to their less fortunate countrymen and women continues!

• [Trent Hawkins]

  Damn it! It just so happens that something so fitting for satire happened on the week that John Stewart is on vacation.

• [dagfooyo]

  Well at least the victim will get a chance to truly experience our current health care system.

• [TheWillow]

  A few days ago there was a story at one of the events where an anti-reformer punched a 65 year old man from the pro-reform demonstration in the face (for calling him a name). I thought that was a massive overreaction. And then someone had to prove me wrong.

  consensus seems to be that both sides of the aisle actually hate grandpa.

• [Brainspore]

  If this guy was really opposed the idea of government health care he would have sacrificed the finger rather than let medicare pay to have it re-attached.

• [GoDownMoses]

  Man responds to man’s post about man biting off man’s pinky.

• [Yamara]

  Today’s boingboing posts have provided a wealth of evidence that humans retain many behavioral features of their simian cousins.

  Evolution for the win!

• [Sean Eric FAgan]

  And, according to TPM, the guy who threw the first punch isn’t being charged with anything.

  I find that incredible.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    the guy who threw the first punch isn’t being charged with anything. I find that incredible.

    If you come up and start yelling in my face, I can clock you and possibly get away with it by invoking the phrase, “he was disturbing my peace.”

• [atomix]

  Welcome to crazytown. We’re debating healthcare.

• [miasma]

  This makes me…hungry. Sigh, all Showmars has is chicken fingers. Would it be too much to ask that the hospital tattoo his mended finger with:
  REATTACHED BY SOCIALISM
  ?

• [Talia]

  Well old people wont be an issue anymore, remember, because of those handy dandy kill all seniors death panels Faux News told me about !!!!!!!!

• [Liz Ditz]

  Eyewitness account from Karoli at Drums & Whistles. The man who was bitten had previously blocked the passage of another pro-healthcare-reform person, a woman, and made threatening gestures.