1. Complete confidence in the narrative of systemic racism driven by all Americans and by all of American history has its challenges. We must ignore any facts that do not support the narrative and ignore the value of other perspectives and other narratives. Deciding among narratives requires careful thinking, but such thinking has not been a priority this summer. Today, those who bring up facts like the impact of the Civil War, the Civil Rights victories of the 1960s, and the two-term presidency of Barack Obama are dismissed.
Two quotes are important here. VP Joe Biden claimed in May that, “You ain’t black” if you do not vote for the Democrat. Last night a student from PA, Cedric Humphrey, questioned Mr. Biden about voting for a party that continually failed to protect him. Mr. Biden doubled down on his answer. Being black cannot allow for diversity of opinion, even though Humphrey is both African American and identifies as a progressive.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed, “Latinos are Black” in late June. She explained that as including all people of color and indigenous people in the BLM movement. Here is the point. The narrative we see today is entirely about African Americans. That leaves out the Hispanics, many of whom do not appear to appreciate being identified as black, and other ethnic groups. The focus this summer has been very specific, and the narrative is very sharply drawn, requiring an explanation that other groups are actually included.
It also leaves out the poor, many of whom are white; an issue that must appear too complicated to include. Do white people face somewhat similar problems of profiling and incarceration? Yes, if you appear Appalachian or as part of a gang. Are there about four times as many African Americans not living in poverty as those living in poverty? None of this fits the narrative nor changes the fact that a 22.4% poverty rate is much higher than the 13.1% for whites. Check out https://blackdemographics.com/households/poverty/
All this may be remembered later, but it has been overwhelmed by the current narrative.
2. The Most Harmful Effects of Covid-19: I want to focus on a new topic: the most harmful consequences we face during this Covid-19 pandemic. Besides the immense impact of the disease and related deaths, there has been dramatic economic harm and loss of jobs and businesses inflicted on minorities. The damage to the health and psychological well-being of Americans has also fallen mostly on the poor and on minorities.
But worst of all, and completely unconscionable in my opinion, has been the denial of education, particularly to African Americans and Hispanics, in the many closed (or on-line only) urban school systems. Where is the social or educational benefit of the classroom? The benefit of having a teacher who sees you daily? The benefit of socialization in a supervised situation? The free lunches? All that in the face of a small mortality rate for those under 60.
A Grave Injustice: Related to the lockdowns, an international group of health scientists and epidemiologists, who may oppose lockdowns more than most, stated, in Massachusetts, this week, “Coming from both the left and the right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.”
“The results, to name a few, include lower childhood vaccination rates… and deteriorating mental health — leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.” The Great Barrington Declaration. October 4, 2020, with about 40 signatories. A grave injustice…a grave racial injustice. (END)