Reviewed by Kate Champlin
Content Warning: eugenics, fascism, Nazism, death, ableism, political and other forms of oppression
Jake Goldsmith has gifted us with another epic. In this insightful collection of essays, Goldsmith shares his thoughts on ableism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, toxic social media trends, and his deceased (possibly murdered) cat, Lemons. In all cases, he applies his knowledge of philosophy and his unusual perspective to offer readers a unique take on global events.
In an early chapter, Goldsmith voices his exasperation and disgust with those who’ve privileged convenience over disabled lives since the pandemic began. Goldsmith was hospitalized while he wrote many of these essays. He admits that he was in the hospital, at least in part, because he could not keep himself safe in any other environment. His family members must work, and they inevitably encounter COVID vectors while on the job. The dangers have remained the same for many in the disabled community before and since the pandemic was officially declared over.
Goldsmith points out that the cholera and legionella epidemics were solved through changes in infrastructure. He suggests that the COVID situation could be improved through air purifiers, better ventilation, and other similar measures. Instead, we are faced with economic disparities in access to these health aids and legions of citizens who feel that public protection measures irreparably harm their civil rights. Although Goldsmith describes the situation in the United Kingdom (where he lives), I found his words equally applicable to the United States (where I live). Goldsmith declares:
…the news of what the U.K. wishes to do on its so-called ‘Freedom Day’ (July 2022) is truly murderous. Serial killers are condemned for directly murdering people, but implementing policies that kill thousands somehow doesn’t receive equal reproach. …this casual eugenics just continues. (15-17)
The true problem, Goldsmith suggests, is that the majority of citizens simply don’t care about disabled people. We still represent death and illness to many of them, and they react to us the way they would react to death and illness. Goldsmith’s prime example is that Donald Trump only consented to COVID treatment when he was warned that he might have to use a wheelchair. Apparently, death was less scary than public disability. Disabled people also fail to fit neatly into most political agendas. The result is “casual eugenics.” As Goldsmith points out, legal and social neglect often kills more people than outright fascism. Goldsmith concludes that the Nazis were at least honest about the effects of their policies. As he states:
This battle is lost. Apathy and the desire to avoid inconvenience matters more to the population than the life of a few disabled whiners. (54)
Goldsmith remains equally pessimistic about the possibility of a real disabled community or real block of disability allies. He acknowledges that activists and pockets of genuine support exist. However, he adds that many disabled people must still live their lives “entirely forgotten by everyone” and forced to care for their own needs as best they can (54).
Goldsmith turns his attention to other public and private subjects, including the internet’s debate culture. He points out that, although the public is often faced with too much information, little of this information comes from true experts. He blames two trends for this situation. First, experts are increasingly pressured to have documented, public opinions on every subject, even those that have nothing to do with their area of expertise. Second, academic and scientific experts have gradually become divorced from public discourse. He points out that philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre or Isaiah Berlin, who were both very famous and very much experts in their time, have no contemporary equivalents. As Goldsmith dryly puts it:
…If you ask an average person to name a public intellectual today, they will name someone public, but not someone intellectual. (32)
In his chapter on Lemons, Goldsmith speaks of his love for his pet, his “best friend” who he is frankly “lost without” (101-102). He also discusses and rejects various conceptions of the afterlife. He rejects final merger with the universe (which he finds unfulfilling), refuge in ethical and philosophical precepts (which he finds coldly amoral), and more conventional understandings of the afterlife (in which he has trouble believing). Goldsmith’s favorite afterlife story is a variation on the popular Rainbow Bridge. He would prefer a form of bodily resurrection that would allow him to reunite with dead pets and friends, meet historical figures he admires, and share good meals with both. However, he admits that no one living could possibly know what comes after death.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the art that appears throughout the book. Wend Rend’s black-and-white drawings, often done in caricature style, perfectly compliment the text. My favorite drawing was the beautiful minimalist portrait of a cat’s face that introduces the chapter on Lemons. Other readers may prefer the closeup of a teary eye or the drawing of Jake Goldsmith. The author’s image comes complete with thick-framed glasses, beard stubble, and a political philosopher’s picture in Goldsmith’s thought bubble. The chapter on the war in the Middle East shows a house on fire surrounded by a crowd. Viewers won’t be sure if the lone fireman is spraying the house with a hose or a flamethrower.
Goldsmith’s book thereby showcases the works of two gifted and insightful disabled artists (Goldsmith and Rend). It is a very fitting offering from the creator of the Barbellion Prize. The Barbellion Prize was first awarded in 2020. This book prize seeks to focus attention on disabled and chronically-ill lives by highlighting disabled and chronically-ill authors.1 I look forward to engaging with upcoming works from both Goldsmith and Rend.
Title: In Hospital Environments: Essays on Illness and Philosophy
Author: Jake Goldsmith
Illustrator: Wend Rend
Publisher: Sagging Meniscus Press
Date: 2024
Note
- More information about the Barbellion Prize can be found here: https://www.thebarbellionprize.com/
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About the Reviewer
Kate Champlin (she/her) is a late-deafened adult and a graduate of Ball State University (Indiana). She currently works as a writing tutor and as a contract worker for BK International Education Consultancy, a company whose aim is to normalize the success of underserved students.