Dying of Whiteness

Pictured here, Jonathan Metzl is a doctor and professor at Vanderbilt University.  In his book Dying of Whiteness, he examines how it’s possible that the life expectancy for white males has fallen for three consecutive years–the first such instance since World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic.

How indeed did we get to a point where masses of heavily militarized low-income white men would storm a state capitol building unmasked, packed into tight groups, thus taking extreme risks re: their own lives?

He points out that this is an extremely well-funded movement, one that forwards the political agenda of a certain party, an agenda of divisiveness driven by racial enmity.  “Don’t low-income whites in Kentucky have more in common with low-incomes blacks than they do with, for example,  Mitch McConnell or some other rich white elitist?”

As is the case so often, people can be manipulated to work against their own interests.  Interesting stuff.  See video linked above.

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