OK let's talk Jack Abbot and uniforms and going into battle with the people shooting guns wearing their uniform. If you haven’t somehow become part of this conversation, I invite you to scroll right past. I wish I hadn’t been part of the conversation but now it’s in my head and I’m grumpy.
I'm formatting so that it's not just a giant wall of text, but if that comes off as pretentious, so be it.
Jack Abbot is a vet. He was a medic with the military. He has a long history of going into battle wearing a uniform that matches the aggressors. Now he's a doctor, and his hobby is to go into combat wearing a SWAT uniform with the SWAT people. Bullets were shot because of large appliances, which is a ridiculous thing to shoot bullets over. But apparently these appliance-lovers had AR-15's because they really wanted those appliances and didn't want to pay for them.
The first question we need to ask is: if we know bullets are going to be flying, should there be someone there who can keep people from dying from bullet holes?
The answer is obviously yes. If bullets are flying, there should be a medic there otherwise people will die from the aforementioned bullets.
Now, should we assume appliance thieves with AR-15's (or other people SWAT goes up against) will bring a medic who will willingly treat bullet wounds on both sides?
The answer is obviously no. In the very unlikely possibility that the crew of appliance thieves bring a medic, this medic is considered an accomplice to the crime and is unlikely to stick around treating people who aren't part of their crew.
OK, so how do we guarantee that in this brief stint of appliance-related combat, there will be a medic present who will ensure bullet wounds aren't death sentences?
The people with guns need to bring a medic. But they won't let a medic join just for shits and giggles. You have to wear the armor and the uniform so that it's clear they brought the medic. The medic is now protected from SWAT bullets (because uniform) and appliance thief bullets (because armor). The medic will not be allowed to join the crew without the uniform, so the uniform must be worn.
But the armed militia shouldn't bring guns at all to face the appliance thieves!!!
I agree. I bet Jack agrees too. I really bet Jack wishes they didn't bring guns, because then there would be fewer bullets whizzing by, and I bet he wishes the appliance thieves didn't bring guns for the same reason. Unfortunately, one group knows that you can't bring a knife to a gun fight, so if there's a chance of a gun fight, they think you need to bring a gun. But this is the sticking point the cops shouldn't bring guns at all, because bringing guns will necessarily escalate a whole bunch of conflicts into a gun fight that do not need to be gun fights. I sure bet the medic makes it clear how upset they are that there are guns brought to appliance thieving events on both sides. But when the appliance thieves are caught, the medic can't stand up and say, "hey we caught you and we have guns and you have guns. Can we just all put the guns down and punch each other instead, I guess?" Because 1. it won't happen, 2. it will undermine the SWAT operation (they lose the element of surprise which will increase their chance of casualties), and 3. if the medic doesn't get shot, they won't be invited back. And if no medics are there, people will die.
The medic shouldn't go on principle. By coming with, they're siding with the cops. They're literally wearing the uniform.
Jack Abbot wants people to live. He hates when people die from preventable deaths. If there are going to be bullets flying, he'd rather be there to save people than not be there at all. Because wherever bullets are flying, medics are needed to limit bullet-related deaths.
But he's supporting the copaganda agenda by wearing the uniform and going into SWAT operations with them! He's supporting police domestic terrorism!
Again, the bullets are flying, and Jack wants to be there to keep people alive. Second, Jack lies-about-fetal-measurements, faces-down-cops-about-mckay, jokes-about-flight-attendant-uniform Abbot is not a conservative toadie. He's a complex person with complex ethics, but he has a simple goal: he wants to help people live their lives. If he needs to wear a SWAT uniform and go into combat as his hobby to achieve his goal, he will do it.
The entire point of the Pitt is that the system is broken. The healthcare system is broken, yes, but it's not just that: Society is broken. We have boys who think its ok to write eliminate lists, we have doctors who can't give people the care they need because of laws prohibiting their care, we have uninsured people who can't afford their care, we have people who can't afford adequate care for their parents, we have enough beds but not enough people to staff them, we have drug addiction and overdose and people who feel they can't exist without the relief of mind-altering substances. We have people bringing assault rifles to music festivals and to steal appliances, and we have cops coming too to fight those people with guns.
But these medical workers care anyway. They are not perfect people, but they are trying to make sure no one slips through the cracks, and they are sacrificing themselves to do so. They are literally putting their bodies in the line of fire to keep other people alive. They are getting ground to nothing under the weight of it. They're getting sued, punched, and blatantly ignored by those in charge. But they try anyway.
Purity culture harms everyone. We're all capable of critical thinking, dialectical thinking, and understanding nuance, but we need to put the work in. Labeling Jack Abbot as "bad" because he's a vet, because he wears a police uniform, because he's taking inaccurate fetal measurements, etc etc etc is reductive and diminishes him and you. I love the Pitt because the characters are complicated and nuanced. If you love it for different reasons, good on you, but that's not going to make the characters inherently simple, and you diminish the show by pretending it does.