Ben Carson: Bungling Surgeon

I think now the lines have become blurred to the point where we think "celebrity" = "famous" and pretty much nothing else qualifies.

I would think -- would hope, anyway --- that all Nobel Prize winners are "famous".

Although no one here can think of five without Googling.

 

How many surgeons can you name who wrote a successful autobiography and had Cuba Gooding Jr. play him in a TV movie?

Carson has been famous since he separated the twins who were co-joined at the head in 1987. His book came out in 1996.

He's been a role model for African-American youth ever since:

For me, I "met" Dr. Carson in my 10th grade year. There had been a scuffle at school; well, a scuffle after football practice is more precise. First words, then shoves, were exchanged, and finally, testosterone thick in the air, a few blows were thrown. Both my combatant and I claimed that the other was at fault. And we were both suspended from school.

My mother was dismayed, thinking that my college prospects had flown out the window with the first punch. In addition to a range of more severe punishments—no driver's license this year!?—she marched me into our den and handed me a worn, dog-eared book: Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, by Ben Carson, M.D. I was not to leave the room, except for food, bathroom, and sleep, until I finished this book.

A smiling, wise-looking Black man with a stethoscope around his neck stared out from the cover. I disliked him at first; our introduction had not been voluntary, and he seemed like the type of guy who would frown on me getting suspended. But I cracked open the book, and it didn't take long for my opinion to change.

Here was a kid, young Carson, growing up in inner city Detroit with an absent father and mom who was facing all sorts of problems. But she still instilled in him the values that allowed him to thrive, and thrive this young man did, all the way to Johns Hopkins, where he became the chief of neurosurgery.

I was floored by his story. And l found out later that thousands of other young Black boys were floored right along with me, provoked by thousands of concerned, caring moms who handed them the same book. I can't say that Carson's narrative was life-changing—it was something short of that—but it did become embedded in the back of my mind, a device to pull from at low moments. "Well, Dr. Ben Carson did it, so perhaps so can I."

Ben Carson Was a Role Model for Black Teens Until He Sold Out to the Right

When I first met Ben Carson in 1996, at his luxurious home outside Baltimore, I stood before one of my heroes. I was a college senior at the nearby University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and Carson was a leading neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I had been accepted to Johns Hopkins for medical school and was invited to campus as part of a “second look” weekend, where admitted African American students got the chance to interact with black medical students, young doctors and faculty members, all offering assurances that if we chose Hopkins, we would not be isolated.

Our experience culminated with brunch at Carson’s home. As a future doctor, I felt genuinely thrilled to meet him. Here was a black man who had excelled in academics, rather than the familiar avenues of sports and entertainment. His important work not only saved lives but gave him entrée to the highest echelons of society. Carson’s impact on other African American students who aspired to become physicians was equally profound. In every group of black pre-meds or medical students I met, someone invariably wanted to become a neurosurgeon, and Carson’s name was always mentioned. This wasn’t just my experience: Black medical students are about five times as likely as their non-black classmates to choose neurological surgery as their specialty.

Ben Carson inspired a generation of black doctors. Now we don’t know what to make of his second act.

I'm sorry you never heard of him until last week, but that doesn't mean he wasn't previously famous.

 

"If he hasn't been on ESPN or in a movie I liked, he ain't famous."

 

New York Times #1 Best Seller?

Never heard of him.

Dr. Carson has written six best-selling books, including two New York Times Bestsellers, America the Beautiful and One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future, which became a number one New York Times bestseller.

 

Carson got a lot of attention -- especially from social conservatives -- for his 2013 speech at the National Prayer Breakfast.

But, for some reason, this guy who wasn't at all famous, was also the main speaker at the 1997 National Prayer Breakfast, where both Bill Clinton and Al Gore spoke highly him.

Here's how he was introduced:

It's now my pleasure to present to you our featured speaker at this prayer breakfast, Dr. Benjamin Carson, who is director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Carson is well renowned in his field--most notably, perhaps, the 1987 separation of the Binder twins in Germany, which of course were attached at the head. Dr. Carson has led a life of struggle as well as triumph, and I know that you're going to find his remarks both interesting and very inspiring. He brings us his love for children. He's a living example of caring and compassion. Please welcome Dr. Ben Carson.

The National Prayer Breakfast

 

Is the National Prayer Breakfast paid for with taxpayer funds? If so, I'm surprised some atheist group hasn't sued yet.

 

I'm pretty sure it's not.

 

Also, while Joe Dickhead on the street might not have necessarily known who Carson was, any family far enough down the brain-surgery road to consider engaging his services - you know, the only ones who could sue him - would know his background.

 

Until he ran for president, Carson was famous like a famous person in another country would be famous in the U.S.

 

Are you known for your work in the theatre?

 

Damn, he should be a household name like Christiaan Barnard or Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer.

 

What I want to know is why Whitman isn't the guy's biggest fan.

Longtime friends assign the controversies surrounding Carson’s speech to a double failure. They say on one hand that Carson has not always succeeded in adapting to the necessities of political speech. On the other hand, they say the public has failed to pick up on an ironic quality which is essential to understanding what he means.

The problem with blowback against Ben Carson? 'People take him too literally'