Response to “Colonel”, #24069, dated 9/18/06

Remember, please, or don’t forget, all races originated in “black”
Africa (black, of course, not unlike white, being achromatic in the physical color scale, yet both have persisted over time, via mostly a Caucasian preference, whereby both Mongoloid & Negroid groups are labelled “non-white” or “darker races”, etc. often with “inferior” or “subordinate” connotations—truth therefore “forever on the scaffold” with “wrong [therefore] forever on the throne”).  “Race” anthropologically & genetically, is deceptive, all humans (or Homo sapiens as a species) are exteriorly & inherently, still variants of the same DNA, only minimally different from chimps thereby, while even hominids
(the truly subordinate-to-human species) have DNA that’s only
slightly different from H. sapiens DNA.  Race, therefore, is
hardly “obvious” nor a “fundamental answer”.  (See Watson’s DNA, just published in 2005 & Carl Zimmer’s SMITHSONIAN INTIMATE GUIDE to HUMAN ORIGINS, also a 2005 publication).

Does this study look at black male vets, too?  I ask because in my personal life I have encountered many black male vets that don’t seem to be benefitting from their right to use VA facilities. Does this study take into account how many black vets were exposed to Agent Orange and other life-altering war experiences?

Another possible study should look at retired military black males.  They would supposedly have access to the same healthcare as retired military white males.

We are all victims of our own self-destructive behavior.  That’s a fact. So why higher rates among black males?

The black female lives longer than the white male. The white female lives the longest of all.  So, doesn’t that mean it could be something about the male hormones?

The latest statistics show that people are not living longer than they did in the 40s.  That is another windy tale that rode in and stayed.

Just as I was thinking what a well-written article this was, I read the authors conclusion:  the problem is white doctors and the cure is a government program.  Please….........

Unlike the colonel, I am a little more familiar with the techniques of measuring influences. Every student who must study statistics learns about regression analysis by their second under-grad course.

Despite the fact that at the gross levels Black men seem condemned to shorter lives, it is statistically quite easy to zero in on the factors that make it so and then be able to address those issues.

Some may, indeed be genetic pre-dispositions, but others are undoubtedly environmental.  It has long been noted that cardio-vascular disease is significantly higher in Blacks.  But I don’t know how much is genetic, and how much is life-style.

Indeed, incidence of cardio-vascular disease is much lower in Japan than it is in the US.  Is it genetics or a vastly different diet? Green tea has only just become the health drink of fad, where it’s been a staple in Japan for a millennium.

Sure, lots of non-black people die young of non-violent, non-AIDS causes.  I lost a cousin at 21 to leukemia, and I know three different people who all succumbed at 47 to cancer.

My point is: there is no way there is one single cause to why Black men have a significantly lower life expectancy than all American males (which is well over 70 years now).  But without research into the causes and measures of significant effects for each cause (Significance meaning statistically significant difference between Black men and other Americans) we are stuck with the colonel’s stupid, ignorant and racist explanation.

The statistics to determine this isn’t that hard and is well-known.  But to the cohorts of Mad King George, it’s more important to squander our wealth on a failed experiment in the mid-east than to take care of our own.

I don’t think this is a black & white issue, not meant racially but in terms of the cause. True, inner city blacks aren’t going to get the health care that prosperous folks living in the ‘burbs with good jobs will. But some of those prosperous folks are black. I think the issue is economic, not racial. But I also firmly believe that much of it has to do with lifestyle. What percentage of those black males smoke? Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death. What about excessive alcohol consumption? What about diet? I suspect that many inner city black men eat a lot of fried food. Fried food is deadly for any human being. And a black person does not have to be wealthy to live a long life. A county employee I know lost his mother in law recently—she was 96!! and black. Most of her life, or half of it was lived in a segregated country. The father of two black men I used to work with lived to age 89. He worked in an auto plant but lived a healthy lifestyle.

I wish the author of that piece had revealed what the life expectancy is of inner city black women. Here in Cuyahoga County, OH, there is access to health care for even inner city folks. It may not be as sophisticated as one can get at the Cleveland Clinic but it is better than nothing. But one must be willing to follow the advice.

I see inner city black men everyday in my work. I also see lower-class whites whom I choose to call “white trash.” They smoke like fiends, they drink too much, they are fat. That is the way they choose to live. Why should our society feel guilty about that?

Anyone who chooses to smoke after all that is known about it is a fool.

Should you add that:
1. More black men (and women) should become doctors, scientists, researchers, etc. These professionals influence the direction of research. I’m willing to bet that a proliferation of black researchers would contribute to health/medical research that would benefit African Americans.

2. Refrain from high-risk behaviour. I’m willing to bet that the mortality rate would drop if more black men (and women) stop killing themselves via dangerous activities.

3. Put down the BBQ ribs and fried chicken and go for a jog.

4. Stop waiting for the government to save you. The political process is influenced by too many different interests to make it feasible for any level of government to focus on one issue for too long—especially one issue that doesn’t necessarily give the most bang for the political buck. Sure if government help is important to us. But we’re only 12 percent of the population. Think about that.

You ain’t seen nothing yet, as the current administration has so screwed up medicare with the donut hole and other inventive ways to cut out the old and poor and help the people who need it less, this country’s health care system is good for the people who can afford it and less for the less fortunate, I am looking at natural health as a way to stay from the drug crazy way doctors treat people.  The best way to stay healthy is have a healthy life style and to stay away from doctors as much as possible, we as a people do not have to go to a doctor for every pain, and as a person who has migrines on occassion, pain relivers do nothing, people were healther years back if they came from good stock.  In other words todays society by getting lazy have also ending up getting fat.

Marge from Vancouver Washington

Obviously, the fundamental answer lies in racial difference. Why is that so hard to face when the fact hits you in the face, however unpleasant the thought? There are some things for which society is not to blame.

Stevie Wonder said it THIRTY years ago: ” You Haven’t Done Nothin’ ”