Racial Profiling ? Why 'Persons of Color' are the Majority of Coronavirus Cases in many Places.

Em in Ohio

Em in Ohio

Senior Member
Location
OH HI OH
It is NOT that the virus discriminates - but, upon reflection, I do know that in my prior office which had a slightly higher ratio of persons of color to caucasians, we often discussed family and social gatherings. It was obvious that the caucasians were not so tightly knitted, family and friend-wise, Frankly, we caucasians seem to be far less social. Perhaps this is relevant to exposure. Thoughts?
 

I saw the (so-called) chart of the virus percentage of different races on the news this morning. Before showing the chart, the reporter said "Blacks are especially hit hard by this virus," but the chart showed Hispanics at the highest percent & Blacks almost last on the list.
I think it's foolish to make any assumptions about who's getting this virus more or who's getting sicker from it. There are too many variables. It's similar to what we hear constantly about other diseases that doctors can't cure or find the cause of - like diabetes, for example. "If you're overweight & eat junk food, you're more likely to get diabetes. But when I ask my doctor why there are so many diabetics (like myself) who are not overweight, she has no answer.

But I do think racists will use such falsehoods to fit their asinine views. It's a short jump from, "More Blacks & Hispanics get this virus" to "More Blacks & Hispanics are spreading this virus."
 
Blacks & Whites still live in mostly segregated areas. If the virus was first introduced into the black community, the lack of integration with the White community is like a river the virus can't cross. I think there would be that same river if the virus was first introduced to the White community.
And yeah, as hysteria ,about the virus, grows ; I'd be worried about "More Blacks & Hispanics are spreading this virus."
 

Look around and see who is performing many of the essential tasks, who are the people that use public transportation, who are the people that live in crowded conditions, who are the people that have historically had less access to health insurance and health care, etc...

“Why is it that the poorest people always pay the highest price …? " - Governor Mario Cuomo
 
This a report from way back in 2005 , but may still be relevant today...

It seems that overall Black American people's lungs are generally weaker than other nations ( or at least white people according to this article) ...so there may be something in the OP post in that Black people are less likely to survive Covid-19 attack or more likely to contract it than any other nation...

Black Americans and Lung Disease

A 2005 report from the American Lung Association shows that black Americans suffer far more lung disease than white Americans do.


Some of the findings:


  • Black Americans have more asthma than any racial or ethnic group in America. And blacks are 3 times more likely to die of asthma than whites.
  • Black Americans are 3 times more likely to suffer sarcoidosis than white Americans. The lung-scarring disease is 16 times more deadly for blacks than for whites.
  • Black American children are 3 times as likely as white American children to have sleep apnea.
  • Black American babies die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 2.5 times as often as white American babies.
  • Black American men are 50% more likely to get lung cancer than white American men.
  • Black Americans are half as likely to get flu and pneumonia vaccinations as white Americans.
https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-...es/why-7-deadly-diseases-strike-blacks-most#2
 
@hollydolly , even tho' dated, the article you posted rang familiar with me.

I recall reading somewhere a long time ago, that Africans sprinted better in a running race than Caucasians, but could not endure in distance running due to smaller lungs, not weaker, but smaller.

If this is true, medical science must devise a workable treatment for them.
 
There's numerous variables involved which certain demographics are associated with. But it's more like culture, life style , economic status etc rather than race. There are also entire generations that never were directly affected by 'a crisis' or nor was their 'life' a danger to them or others. There's a first time for everything. One might ask why were people in China so ravaged, was it race or the fact that many in China and Europe do things like smoke. Throw in the fact that many are densely populated areas there chance increased significantly of getting struck especially with culture and economics ie access to AND education about health care.
 
RadishRose said:
I never thought of anything more than a chance to find a way to lower what is reported as a higher incidence among African Americans.

There are some physical differences among different races or tribes.

This needs to be looked at in order to save lives in future.
Click to expand...

Same here. I see it as concern because it is impacting blacks more. Dunno how that was perceived as racist unless some media announcer put a spin on it. Everything I've read expresses concern and tries to answer why.
 
Last edited:
It was a wrong assumption on my part. I’d read the beginning post and partially read an article about it being caused by crowding but that was only part of the article. It actually gives other reasons why this may be true, like lack of health insurance, lack of employment/benefits, more underlying health conditions and more exposure. This article shows the results of 3 cities.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-black-americans-race/index.html
 
Keesha said:
It was a wrong assumption on my part. I’d read the beginning post and partially read an article about it being caused by crowding but that was only part of the article. It actually gives other reasons why this may be true, like lack of health insurance, lack of employment/benefits, more underlying health conditions and more exposure. This article shows the results of 3 cities.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-black-americans-race/index.html
Click to expand...

Can easily see how that happened. The thread title is a bit sensationalist and the OP only addresses one social issue based on his experience. Blacks are disproportionately dying in the South of C19 and socialization patterns are similar in black and white cultures here.
 
Last edited:
Aunt Bea said:
Look around and see who is performing many of the essential tasks, who are the people that use public transportation, who are the people that live in crowded conditions, who are the people that have historically had less access to health insurance at nd health care, etc...

“Why is it that the poorest people always pay the highest price …? " - Governor Mario Cuomo
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there are different races that use public transportation, live in crowded conditions, etc. but you do not see their faces much on the news Such conditions can and have hit us all at one point or the other. You have the rich that has committed suicide because money did not bring them the happiness they expected or lost it all. One thing about not having millions is if you loose the little that you do have, you are able to strive and survive. Been there... Just speaking out.
 
Ladybj said:
Unfortunately there are different races that use public transportation, live in crowded conditions, etc. but you do not see their faces much on the news Such conditions can and have hit us all at one point or the other. You have the rich that has committed suicide because money did not bring them the happiness they expected or lost it all. One thing about not having millions is if you loose the little that you do have, you are able to strive and survive. Been there... Just speaking out.
Click to expand...

Me too!
 
I have read and watched videos that mention the reason for that is that they absorb less Vitamin D in their skin. There are numerous studies showing that a vitamin D deficiency in the winter when we are low on sunshine is what causes the outbreak of the flu, colds and other respiratory infections. It affects our immune system.

I am not saying positively true or not but this is what I think after having read these.

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/136/4/1126/4664238

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/covid-19-and-vitamin-d-could-we-be-missing-something-simple/
 
AnnieA said:
Can easily see how that happened. The thread title is a bit sensationalist and the OP only addresses one social issue based on his experience. Blacks are disproportionately dying in the South of C19 and socialization patterns are similar in black and white cultures here.
Click to expand...
Thanks for being on track that socialization patterns may impact spread. That was the point. Louisiana Transportation Secretary (a man 'of color') was on the news. He said, "Our culture is so unique and so special. We like to be very close. We believe in hugging and hand shaking and embracing each other, and you can't do that in this day and age." This may be true of all races down south, but the topic of the news broadcast was the racial disparity between the number of African American deaths and the population percentage. As currently reported, African Americans account for 70% of coronavirus deaths, but make up only 32 % of the population. While there are many obvious reasons for this as mentioned in other posts, the socialization patterns are, in my opinion, also a factor.
 
It's pretty obvious that this virus is not race-specific. If there are more cases among certain members of the population, it will be because of other factors, not race.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top