We could pass laws to prevent genetic discrimination (as we have with medical insurance), but knowing less than their applicants could drive insurers out of this market. In the end, I suspect, it’s going to seem sensible to create publicly funded arrangements that cover everyone.

Finally, some medical (rather than ethical) advice. You might want to get yourself to a doctor to see whether your amateur diagnosis is right. For all you know, your symptoms might be the result of a condition best treated soon.

I am a liberal white woman whose work is focused mainly on social justice (through education). I have an aunt by marriage who often posts links on Facebook that I find to be bigoted and racist. If my aunt were to express any of these views in person, I would immediately attempt to dissuade her. However, because these are merely posts on Facebook I have not spoken up. What is my moral and ethical obligation in this situation? My students are often on the receiving end of police brutality and systemic racism, and sitting idly by seems hypocritical. Name Withheld

Two things about your aunt’s posts are troubling. The first is what they reveal about her views. The second is what they add to the general level of online intolerance (which may contribute to the social wrongs that you mention). You might be able to do something about the first issue on your own. A person’s life is ethically diminished when she has odious feelings and views, even if she doesn’t act on them. Although it’s hard to get people to reconsider their positions, we have a better chance with those we know and love.

On the second front, each of us can do a little, but change will only come from the concerted actions of many. People who realize these views are not only false but also harmful should say as much when the occasion arises. In so doing, as you point out, we also express our solidarity with those who suffer as a result.

But we have to do this carefully. The object is to try to change people’s attitudes, not to make ourselves feel good. My bet is that your aunt doesn’t recognize that she’s a bigot. Some of her mistaken views may simply be the result of misinformation. Correcting facts can be more effective in changing a person’s views than accusing the person of a vice, such as racism. And criticizing someone in public can be hurtful in a way that keeps the substance of what you are saying from being heard. So let me acknowledge a potential conflict between what will help your aunt be a better person and what will help improve the atmosphere on the web, which, at least in principle, may include taking issue with these views in front of third parties. Without wading into the debates over “call-out culture,” I suspect that especially with a relative, there’s a good case for “calling in,” rather than calling out.

You don’t say how often you see your aunt in the flesh. When you do, it might be worth taking up these issues with her gently. Emails and Facebook comments are not very effective forms of communication about difficult issues. On the web, I’m convinced that it’s more productive to produce and pass on helpful, positive ideas than to keelhaul people with harmful, negative ones. Evidence suggests, however, that this is a minority view.