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Racism, The Fake Excuse
Here we go again. Another study just came out, pointing the finger at racism as a "signicant contributor" to something that just is not related to racism. (JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7)) In this study the authors claimed:
Racism is Causing Minority Kids
to be Overweight or Obese.
The evidence leading to this conclusion? Basically a bunch of kids were asked if they were treated unfairly because of their race. Kids that said yes, were more likely to gain weight during the next year.
Association Does Not Prove Causation
The fact that kids that say yes to a subjective question about race, being more likely to gain weight, proves NOTHING. Other more plausible explanations should be looked for. If these researchers can't think of a better explanation, let me offer one.
Recently, Washington state had a vote about imposing a sugar tax on soda. If the tax were passed the net effect would be that pop would be more expensive, and hence people would drink less pop. The do-gooders promoting this new tax told us that people drinking less pop would be a good thing.
Why? Because as every nutritionist, dietician and health guideline has told us, sugary drinks like soda pop are bad for you. They make you fat, cause diabetes, and increase your risk of heart disease, etc.
Sugar Tax Criticized as Racist
The people opposed to the sugar tax claimed the tax would be racist. Why? Because they told us black people consume much more pop than white people, and hence this sugar tax would hit black people much harder than white people. They told us white people drank just a fraction of the amount of pop that black people did. Studies and surveys by independant organizations confirmed that black people do drink more pop.
Drinking Pop Causes Obesity
You can't have it both ways. Either black people drink more pop or they don't. If they drink more pop, this would provide a much more likely explanation for why some of these minority kids are overweight. Drinking pop will make you fat, racism will not. Black people do drink more pop which is one of the reasons black people have twice the rate of obesity as white people in this country. Among black women, 4 out of 5 are considered overweight or obese.
However, the head researcher chose to ignore these obvious and well known causes and instead blamed racism and said "the findings reveal the need for researchers, clinicians, educators, policymakers and health care providers to come together to develop strategies to reduce racial discrimination exposure for children and adolescents."
In other words: They'll use this bogus conclusion to keep themselves employed fighting the fake boogeyman of racism. As youth obesity among minorities gets worse (which it will, after all, they are not addresing the cause) they will call for even more funding to keep themselves all employed, developing more strategies to reduce discrimination. We keep them employed when we believe their lies about racism.
When Do We Quit Blaming Racism?
When does it end? When do we quit blaming racism for things that are obviously not caused by racism?
And the real harm is the poor minority kids that believe this crap. Once they've been taught they are a victim of racism, every negative thing in their life gets attributed to this unseen, unproven factor. It becomes permanent. People can't overcome their problems if they don't look at the real cause.
Perception and Belief Create Reality
Remember the college kids recruited to do interviews? A large, hideous, fake scar was applied to their face. They were supposed to see how having this scar would affect the interview. Unbeknownst to the interviewers, the scar was removed from their face under the pretext that the assistants were giving it a final pat down to make sure it was firmly adhered. Thus they went into the interview thinking they had a large hideous scar on their face, but in fact they did NOT have a scar.
What was the outcome? The interviewers reported that the people they were interviewing were extremely uncomfortable, resisted looking them in the eye, and wanted to end the interview as soon as possible. They reported that the people being interviewed gave short answers and wouldn't engage in the interview. Read more here.
In short, the non existent scar ruined the interview, because it still existed in the mind of the interviewer. This is no different than a black person being taught to expect racist treatment because of their skin color. As long as that belief exists in their mind, they will experience "micro aggessions" and "unfair and negative treatment" every day, all year long.
Perception Equals Reality
Perception really does equal reality, when you are dealing with something as subjective as interpersonal relations. As long as people continue to beleive racism is the cause of their problems they will not overcome their problems.
Didn't get the new job? You can learn how to interview better, get more education and training and learn new skills and re-apply. Or blame racism.
Don't get invited to any parties? You can learn how to make friends, meet new people, or maybe host a party yourself. Or blame racism.
Didn't get admitted to the degree program you applied for? You can repeat some classes to improve your GPA or get a preceptorship in the same field to improve your qualifications and re-apply. Or blame racism.
Didn't get approved for the home loan? You can check your actual credit score, work to improve your score and save more money for the downpayment and re-apply. Or blame racism.
Nobody ever listens to your ideas? You can learn how to really listen to other's ideas before expecting them to listen to you, or start a blog to share your opinion (NO DON'T DO THAT, it's lots of work, and no glory😂). Or blame racism.
Do you find yourself overweight? You can consult with a doctor to correct any medical problems and a dietician to get on a diet and exercise plan. Or blame racism (as the authors in the subject study did).
All The Problems In Your Life, Have Real Solutions.
Real Solutions Require Effort on Your Part.
If you blame racism, you most likely will not do what you need to do fix your problem. Instead, you will vote for the politicians that keep reminding you how much racism is hurting you. And that is exactly why those politicians keep reminding you.
The Choice is Your's and the Choice is Clear.
You can vote for lying politicians that promote false scapegoat theories or get to work succusfully solving your problems. This applies to you, regardless of your skin color, national origin, religion or sex.
These truths seem self evident.
If we make people believe they have a hideous scar on their face, they will perceive a negative reaction in all of their interactions with other people.
If we continually tell people they will be discriminated against because of their skin color, they will perceive discrimination in their interactions with people of other colors.
If we focus on FACTS, e.g., we elected, and re-elected a black president, people of color will realize they have no barriers related to their skin color.
If all of us accept that our heritage comes from people that wrote "all men are created equal" and fought a war to end slavery, and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and numerous other laws and regulations, we can all take pride in our heritage.
If we can all understand that politicians and others that continually promote racism have an agenda of gaining power by getting all of us regular people to fight among ourselves, we will be a wiser people.
Take care and BE HEALTHY!
CW Jasper
July 2023
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