COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US)
I'm not sure of the point of this, so I'm kinda making a guess. But, nevertheless, it also brings up something I think needs to be mentioned as we talk about re-opening. If we're talking about suicide or non-COVID deaths increasing during the pandemic, then we also need to talk about the role that race place in contributing to pandemic, COVID deaths - and those are statistically significant.
And if we do that, then I *definitely* do not think we are talking comparable rates of suicides to COVID-related deaths for African Americans.
They haven't been repressed in direct ways to the same extent as the Depression, but - as you point out - there are adverse effects.
And studies have shown that merely being black in America creates stress. It contributes to hypertension. Food deserts and nutrition becomes an issue for diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Heart disease is adversely impacted. Lack of health coverage and poor access to healthcare.
Here are the results from a study in New York COVID deaths and co-morbidities
And these happen, disproportiionately to blacks, merely by being black and living in the areas they've been largely - as a community - forced into living. This is a multi-generational phenomenon.
So I don't think that suicide deaths for blacks is going to even scratch the surface of the COVID-related deaths for blacks. They might not have been killing themselves at all back during the Depression because, in the words of Alabama, "Somebody told me Wall Street fell, but we were so poor that we couldn't tell"
While there might be, mathematically, more deaths by suicide now vs. then - and I'm not trying to minimize individual deaths by suicide - I don't think we're statistically in an area where it becomes comparable to COVID-related deaths.
And there is a strong sense among many that this call to open is to be interpreted as poor, black people being forced into positions of exposure to satisfy the wants and whims of a middle class who want more leisure options in this pandemic time.
There's something to that for a lot of people. All of this talk hits very differently and feels very different - it's something talked about up here. And I think it absolutely needs to be figured into the discussion.
We've already had a major school district here apologize to the way the plan rolled out has adversely impacted students of color.
I'm not sure of the point of this, so I'm kinda making a guess. But, nevertheless, it also brings up something I think needs to be mentioned as we talk about re-opening. If we're talking about suicide or non-COVID deaths increasing during the pandemic, then we also need to talk about the role that race place in contributing to pandemic, COVID deaths - and those are statistically significant.
And if we do that, then I *definitely* do not think we are talking comparable rates of suicides to COVID-related deaths for African Americans.
They haven't been repressed in direct ways to the same extent as the Depression, but - as you point out - there are adverse effects.
And studies have shown that merely being black in America creates stress. It contributes to hypertension. Food deserts and nutrition becomes an issue for diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Heart disease is adversely impacted. Lack of health coverage and poor access to healthcare.
Here are the results from a study in New York COVID deaths and co-morbidities
And these happen, disproportiionately to blacks, merely by being black and living in the areas they've been largely - as a community - forced into living. This is a multi-generational phenomenon.
So I don't think that suicide deaths for blacks is going to even scratch the surface of the COVID-related deaths for blacks. They might not have been killing themselves at all back during the Depression because, in the words of Alabama, "Somebody told me Wall Street fell, but we were so poor that we couldn't tell"
While there might be, mathematically, more deaths by suicide now vs. then - and I'm not trying to minimize individual deaths by suicide - I don't think we're statistically in an area where it becomes comparable to COVID-related deaths.
And there is a strong sense among many that this call to open is to be interpreted as poor, black people being forced into positions of exposure to satisfy the wants and whims of a middle class who want more leisure options in this pandemic time.
There's something to that for a lot of people. All of this talk hits very differently and feels very different - it's something talked about up here. And I think it absolutely needs to be figured into the discussion.
We've already had a major school district here apologize to the way the plan rolled out has adversely impacted students of color.