Last month, the radio presenter Clara Amfo sent a poignant message to listeners explaining why she hadn’t been at work the day before at BBC Radio 1.
“We talk a lot about mental health. And mine was in a really, really bad way yesterday.”
She spoke candidly of sitting on the sofa in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, crying, confused, upset at the news of “yet another brutalised black body”, and being unable to just suppress this and chirpily ask on live radio whether everyone had had a nice weekend.
Do you suppose the news that he held a gun to a pregnant woman's belly during one of his armed robberies caused her any 'pain' or 'confusion'?
There is a tendency to assume that ethnic differences in levels of risk for diseases are down to inherent biological differences. This assumption itself is a result of historical ideas of what race is, and the false notion that race is more of a biological reality than a social one with biological consequences.
Farrah Jarral is a broadcaster and doctor. Yes. A
doctor.
Chae’s team measured racism by proxy, by looking at numbers of Google searches that used a racial slur. They mapped out the United States into chunks and coded them green, yellow, orange or red depending on whether the searches for slurs were greater or lower than average. The map itself is fascinating, with patches of the deep south covered in red. The map revealed that where the use of slurs was highest, mortality in black people was also significantly higher.
Correlation isn't causation, and maybe, just
maybe, it's the presence of large numbers of black people stabbing and shooting each other that's the cause of the slurs, and not the other way around?
8 comments:
Come, come. It WAS the Biased Broadcasting Company.
Correlation isn't causation, as my Maths professor pointed out. His example at that time was “the rate of increasing alcohol consumption in the USA is mirrored by the increase in Presbyterian ministers.”
I hate to see you confused over such a simple matter, JuliaM.
Punishments have not been delegated to police since the abolition of corporal punishment. It is the job of the courts to decide upon punishments for convicted criminals. Floyd had previous criminal convictions and it was probably appropriate for police to place him in handcuffs. So far so good? During such restraint it has become far too common for police to cowardly abuse and punish those they placed incapacitate with manacles.
Many thousands of protesters took the view that the actions of police amounted to a blatant execution. Floyd constantly complained that a long duration of kneeling on his neck was causing him severe breathing difficulties. His colour and previous convictions may have been issues but his execution was shockingly needless and millions think it was deliberate. Reasonable folk, black and white, are going along with that.
I can see that this killing has left you in a state of confusion but I hope the above helps provide an uncomplicated synopsis.
“Chae’s team measured racism by proxy, by looking at numbers of Google searches that used a racial slur.”
Which “racial slur”? Because the most obvious one is predominately used by black people themselves, and is heavily associated with the violent West Coast hip-hop culture. I'd venture to suggest that's what you're seeing there, rather than any kind of hidden campaign of racist violence.
Wallowing in such Graun shite is surely enough to enhance wokewankers mental health issues.
Morning Melvin. Nice to see that you are the spokesman for reasonable folk.
However let's see if the story changes now the full video has been released. I'm not rushing to judgement like you as you revel in any apparent police misconduct.
Jaded
Good afternoon, Jaded. Here's a little 'meta-four' you, dear.
Few protest Hemingway's prediction that the Sun also rises; events which cannot be proven in advance with any absolute certainty. But not even a super-mind like yours believes it will not be so.
"Come, come. It WAS the Biased Broadcasting Company."
Very true!
"His example at that time was “the rate of increasing alcohol consumption in the USA is mirrored by the increase in Presbyterian ministers.”"
Heh! That's a good one!
"I hate to see you confused over such a simple matter, JuliaM."
Well, luckily we have you here to show us how other people think, eh, Melv?
"Which “racial slur”?"
Oh, I think we can guess - one guaranteed to give those false positives!
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