Flash of heterogeneous
I can’t stop thinking about a movie, Flash of Genius. It is a true story about Robert Kearns, the man who invented “the blinking eye” - what is now known as the intermittent windshield wiper. Kearns, played by Greg Kinnear, endures decades of heartbreaking setbacks and emotions; defined through a legal battle with a large corporation that has deep pockets: the Ford Motor Company. Kearns almost loses his family, but they finally come around for him.
The researcher in me wants to watch the film again so my essay is perfect. Let’s be honest, I still might. One of the things I love about Substack as a platform is that I can pop back into my pieces; and continually edit and update them in real time. I am nothing, if not honest. I still have to look up words and their meanings sometimes. For this article, I literally Googled “What rhymes with genius?” Alas, heterogeneous could not be more perfect.
In science and chemistry, it describes a mixture or concoction. In day-to-day life, it refers to a diverse fusion. Examples could be music (a playlist of different genres), a blended family, or in my case, an uphill legal battle.
The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) is my Ford, the impossible giant. Like Kearns, I have largely been self-represented, and nobody is listening to me - yet. They assume that I’m crazy, but they know I’m not stupid. I threaten them in a way that is not violent, it’s via merit. Just like Ford thought with Kearns. Why else would they have me blocked from their social and media outlets? I imagine them thinking of me as kind of a David in their Goliath story.
Cut again to Stacked Odds: it’s worth another mention and link. I think times are perhaps worse now with the internet and unfettered media coverage. Maybe not. Back then poor Kearns had to suffer in silence, ultimately having to prove himself solely through the judicial system. There were no blogs or online support groups. Me, I’ve lost family and friends and have suffered reputational harm in more ways that I can imagine. Simply for speaking up on what is right.
However, my truth is not my invention. It is harm. Pure, bonafide harm. I get what Kearns went through. Inaction and stonewalling will make you go crazy. For decades I have been trying to speak my truth. For decades they have beaten me down, buried me in paperwork, caused delays, and essentially outlawyered me. The radio silence from the CMPA’s CEO Lisa Calder is deafening. I wonder if she has ever watched the film and saw herself like Ford, a faceless giant with nothing but time and money on their hands. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of Sandie Rinaldo’s interview with her - the year the W5 episode came out on the CMPA. I’d heard there was meant to be a follow-up. It probably got quashed by the perpetual old boy’s club. Nobody likes people who challenge billion-dollar corporations. Especially billion-dollar corporations.
The moving parts and pieces of my case could not be more diverse: policy and privacy, civil, criminal, medical regulatory, etc. Add into the mix two very different provinces: Ontario and Alberta. Heterogeneous, indeed.
Perhaps one day I will win like Kearns did, and I don’t mean money. I certainly didn’t invent something, but I was falsely accused of doing something I did not do. I was harmed, like so many Canadian patients are, with no real recourse.
“Makes you wonder what makes a man successful: brains, talent? Maybe it’s some other thing.”
“Justice isn’t just about winning. It’s about standing firm when the world tells you to blink.”
- Robert Kearns
So, I cheated a little and watched some clips and the trailer to remind myself about this extraordinary story. Find it here. Kearns eventually got the recognition he deserved. From what I understand, I’m not sure he was 100 per cent happy with what he received. I know I will be if I garner some simple acknowledgement. Not blinking on this one.