This document is a thesis submitted by Sharon Zipporah Champion to Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of a Master's degree in Medicine, Health, and Society. The thesis argues that whiteness negatively impacts the health of white individuals in three key ways: 1) Through the stereotype of the "Welfare Queen" and implications for social welfare policy. 2) Views of the Affordable Care Act and implications for healthcare access. 3) Increased rates of white heroin use and implications for substance abuse issues. The thesis examines each of these issues through relevant data and literature to demonstrate how whiteness and "white fragility" influence health decisions and outcomes for white individuals in unseen ways.
Connectedness and meaningful living on the older adult dr e weathersanne spencer
This document discusses connectedness and meaningful living in older adulthood. It explores how maintaining good relationships and having a sense of purpose can promote better aging. Research shows that social connection and meaning are linked to improved health, well-being, and independence in older age. The document also examines ways to help older adults find meaning, such as through creative activities, volunteering, and community involvement. Even those with cognitive impairment can experience meaning through emotions, humor, and interactions with others. Creating opportunities for contribution and participation can help older adults feel relevant and sustain their social value.
This document outlines a research study on AUC students' perceptions and attitudes towards poverty. It discusses the problem of poverty in the US and how it is defined. The literature review covers topics like the War on Poverty, social gospel movement, labor movements, and common perceptions and stereotypes of the poor. The study aims to understand how ideologies, demographics, and media representations influence students' views of poverty and anti-poverty actions. It will use surveys, interviews and image analysis to examine these factors and implications. The location of AUC schools near areas with real poverty dimensions is also noted as relevant to the study.
Aging in community the communitarian alternative to aging in place, alone (...Lília Pinto
This document summarizes the challenges of aging alone at home for many middle-income baby boomers. It discusses how average life expectancy has increased dramatically, leaving many living decades longer than expected but often without adequate support systems or homes designed for aging. Grassroots organizations are emerging that emphasize community support for aging, providing social connection and assistance. These "aging in community" models aim to enhance quality of life and allow independent living. However, many baby boomers face financial insecurity due to economic factors like the recession, as well as rising healthcare and long-term care costs, changing family structures, and the inability to afford private long-term care options.
La investigación educativa es una disciplina fundamental para mejorar la práctica educativa mediante el contraste, diálogo y debate. Requiere que los especialistas en educación se comprometan como investigadores de su propia práctica y la reflexionen críticamente. Asimismo, es necesario promover espacios de investigación, desarrollo y formación de investigadores educativos para analizar e interpretar la práctica docente y mejorarla.
El documento presenta definiciones breves de varios conceptos clave relacionados con la sociología y la antropología cultural, incluyendo ideología, etnología, roles sociales, cultura y estatus. Explica que la ideología se refiere a las creencias de un grupo y cómo pueden conservar o transformar la sociedad, y que la etnología estudia las características de diferentes pueblos a través de aspectos como la religión y costumbres. También define la cultura como las manifestaciones ideológicas de una sociedad con respect
The Grand Millennium Sulaimani hotel is a new luxury skyscraper in Sulaimani, the second largest city in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The 39-story tower features 253 hotel rooms, luxury suites, and a revolving rooftop restaurant with panoramic city views. Its futuristic lighting design was carefully planned to make the tower glow at night and serve as a landmark for the growing economic development of the region after years of war and instability.
Question 5- How did I attract/address my audience?Jayda Bambury
The document discusses how the author addressed their audience during the development of their media product. They showed an early rough cut to a small audience and had them fill out a questionnaire. The feedback highlighted issues with the audio quality and need for improved editing. After collecting this feedback, the author focused on completing edits to the footage they had and improving the overall flow and sound mixing based on the audience feedback to develop their editing skills and create a smoother final product.
Este documento discute diferentes enfoques para la investigación educativa. Reconoce que la investigación educativa ha adoptado varios significados dependiendo de sus objetivos y características. Describe dos enfoques principales: uno cuantitativo que busca explicaciones causales mediante métodos científicos rigurosos, y otro cualitativo que intenta interpretar y comprender la conducta humana desde los significados e intenciones de los sujetos. Concluye que debido a la naturaleza dinámica y compleja de la realidad educativa, ambos enfoques pueden
Connectedness and meaningful living on the older adult dr e weathersanne spencer
This document discusses connectedness and meaningful living in older adulthood. It explores how maintaining good relationships and having a sense of purpose can promote better aging. Research shows that social connection and meaning are linked to improved health, well-being, and independence in older age. The document also examines ways to help older adults find meaning, such as through creative activities, volunteering, and community involvement. Even those with cognitive impairment can experience meaning through emotions, humor, and interactions with others. Creating opportunities for contribution and participation can help older adults feel relevant and sustain their social value.
This document outlines a research study on AUC students' perceptions and attitudes towards poverty. It discusses the problem of poverty in the US and how it is defined. The literature review covers topics like the War on Poverty, social gospel movement, labor movements, and common perceptions and stereotypes of the poor. The study aims to understand how ideologies, demographics, and media representations influence students' views of poverty and anti-poverty actions. It will use surveys, interviews and image analysis to examine these factors and implications. The location of AUC schools near areas with real poverty dimensions is also noted as relevant to the study.
Aging in community the communitarian alternative to aging in place, alone (...Lília Pinto
This document summarizes the challenges of aging alone at home for many middle-income baby boomers. It discusses how average life expectancy has increased dramatically, leaving many living decades longer than expected but often without adequate support systems or homes designed for aging. Grassroots organizations are emerging that emphasize community support for aging, providing social connection and assistance. These "aging in community" models aim to enhance quality of life and allow independent living. However, many baby boomers face financial insecurity due to economic factors like the recession, as well as rising healthcare and long-term care costs, changing family structures, and the inability to afford private long-term care options.
La investigación educativa es una disciplina fundamental para mejorar la práctica educativa mediante el contraste, diálogo y debate. Requiere que los especialistas en educación se comprometan como investigadores de su propia práctica y la reflexionen críticamente. Asimismo, es necesario promover espacios de investigación, desarrollo y formación de investigadores educativos para analizar e interpretar la práctica docente y mejorarla.
El documento presenta definiciones breves de varios conceptos clave relacionados con la sociología y la antropología cultural, incluyendo ideología, etnología, roles sociales, cultura y estatus. Explica que la ideología se refiere a las creencias de un grupo y cómo pueden conservar o transformar la sociedad, y que la etnología estudia las características de diferentes pueblos a través de aspectos como la religión y costumbres. También define la cultura como las manifestaciones ideológicas de una sociedad con respect
The Grand Millennium Sulaimani hotel is a new luxury skyscraper in Sulaimani, the second largest city in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The 39-story tower features 253 hotel rooms, luxury suites, and a revolving rooftop restaurant with panoramic city views. Its futuristic lighting design was carefully planned to make the tower glow at night and serve as a landmark for the growing economic development of the region after years of war and instability.
Question 5- How did I attract/address my audience?Jayda Bambury
The document discusses how the author addressed their audience during the development of their media product. They showed an early rough cut to a small audience and had them fill out a questionnaire. The feedback highlighted issues with the audio quality and need for improved editing. After collecting this feedback, the author focused on completing edits to the footage they had and improving the overall flow and sound mixing based on the audience feedback to develop their editing skills and create a smoother final product.
Este documento discute diferentes enfoques para la investigación educativa. Reconoce que la investigación educativa ha adoptado varios significados dependiendo de sus objetivos y características. Describe dos enfoques principales: uno cuantitativo que busca explicaciones causales mediante métodos científicos rigurosos, y otro cualitativo que intenta interpretar y comprender la conducta humana desde los significados e intenciones de los sujetos. Concluye que debido a la naturaleza dinámica y compleja de la realidad educativa, ambos enfoques pueden
As eagles age past 40 years old, their talons can no longer grab prey, their beaks become bent, and their thick feathers make flying difficult. To survive, eagles must undergo a painful 150-day process of self-renewal where they break their beak on rocks, pluck out their talons, and molt their old feathers, after which they can live another 30 years. This process demonstrates that change is sometimes needed to shed old habits and traditions in order to take advantage of present opportunities.
Este documento describe los diferentes tipos de contratos según sus características. Los contratos pueden ser unilaterales, bilaterales, gratuitos, onerosos, principales, accesorios, reales, solemnes, consensuales, conmutativos y aleatorios. También explica los elementos esenciales de un contrato de compraventa como la cosa, el precio, las personas y las formalidades y condiciones de validez.
Este documento discute diferentes enfoques para la investigación educativa. Reconoce que la investigación educativa ha adoptado varios significados dependiendo de sus objetivos y características. Algunos enfoques se centran en explicaciones causales mediante métodos cuantitativos, mientras que otros intentan interpretar y comprender la conducta humana a través de los significados e intenciones de los sujetos involucrados mediante métodos cualitativos. El documento concluye que debido a la naturaleza dinámica y compleja de la realidad educativa, se justifican
Resume (HOSPICE) CARMELA PERCONTRA RN MS CNS BC 8.21.16Carmela Percontra
Carmela Percontra has over 30 years of nursing experience including roles as a case manager, unit manager, nursing supervisor, and clinical educator. She has a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from Wagner College and a Master's degree in Nursing from Long Island University. Currently she works as a Level 3 Nurse/Case Manager for VNA Health Group providing hospice care, disease management, and readmission prevention services.
THE MAKING AND SELLING OF AN ILLUSION: AN EXAMINATION OF RACIAL AND GENDER DI...Kevin Carter
This dissertation examines racial and gender diversity in post-Civil Rights U.S. corporations. It analyzes in-depth interviews with 40 managers from Fortune 1000 companies to understand how they define and implement diversity initiatives. While corporations claim to support diversity and spend millions promoting it, the data suggests minorities and women still face barriers. Corporations may use "diversity" as an ideological tool to portray themselves as equal workplaces while maintaining the status quo of exclusion. In reality, U.S. corporations continue to privilege upper-class white males.
Why Awareness of Cognitive Dissonance Is So ElusiveEaron Davis
This document discusses the concept of cognitive dissonance, which refers to the mental discomfort experienced when one holds conflicting beliefs or values. The author argues that cognitive dissonance makes it difficult for humans and societies to recognize inconsistencies between reality and their beliefs. As a result, people tend to rationalize problems and ignore injustice. The document provides several historical examples where cognitive dissonance prevented societies from acknowledging atrocities like slavery and environmental pollution. The author contends that understanding cognitive dissonance is important but also difficult because acknowledging its effects causes discomfort. Overall, the document examines how cognitive dissonance can lead to self-deception and blindness to societal issues.
This document provides a biography and overview of the work of Peggy McIntosh, who is known for her writings on white privilege. It summarizes her seminal work "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" which outlines 26 daily effects, benefits, and unearned advantages of whiteness. The document also includes a brief counterargument that claims white privilege is a myth and that whites can face discrimination.
Recognize that power and culture are inseparable, one does not exist.docxmellies4kxl
Recognize that power and culture are inseparable, one does not exist without the other, and currently the dominant form of culture is based upon industrial production requiring essentially infinite energy supplies – which do not in fact exist. So we collectively face a terrible problem. And yet the greatest burden of this problem is being borne by those least able to do anything about it, while at the same time those who benefit most from the economic inequalities imposed by the culture of industrial production are unwilling or unable to recognize that things cannot continue as they are. This is our dilemma; one we must solve now or ignore and risk facing unimaginable chaos later.
Concerned about the ultimate implications of his theories about space, time and energy, Einstein pointed out that 20th century problems would never be solved by 19th century thinking. Indeed, by the same token, 21st century problems will not be solved with 20th century thinking either. The same can be said for oversimplified false dichotomies between ‘conservatives’ and ‘liberals’ and particularly ‘capitalism’ and ‘communism’. The latter binary opposites are 19th century ideas while the former are legacies of the 20th century.
We are well beyond the political and economic circumstances that informed such artificially limited conceptualizations of the human condition in many, many ways. And yet, these same tired inaccurate philosophical cages are still supposed to encompass the almost infinite variety and subtleties of contemporary global and local political economies. This is essentially the problem Einstein was concerned with when he noted the conceptual poverty of such willed ignorance. Our technological capacity has outstripped our cultural mechanisms of maintaining social control (consider greed: how much is enough?) and amplified our ability to impose physically violent solutions to complex and entirely negotiable problems. Our challenge now is to reassert the primacy of compassion and respect for difference in the name not of sacrifice, but of abundance and better lives for all.
It seems that there is a striking disconnection between ideals of freedom (largely understood in terms of free enterprise), and the values of concern for public health, or more particularly the well being of family, friends and community. Social science has long struggled with the problem of what Karl Marx called “false consciousness”, the curious phenomenon whereby ‘the proletariat’ (those who must sell their labor to survive) assume the values of ‘the bourgeoisie’ (those who own what Marx called ‘the means of production’ both financial and industrial). Marx tried to show why the ruling values of society are generally those of the ruling class by suggesting that the proletariat labor under a false consciousness, believing that if they play by the rules they will achieve upward social mobility, never grasping the grim reality that the rules are what in effect keeps them in their pla.
1) The document discusses the professor's view that it was once "chic to be neurotic" in 19th century America when the middle class began managing emotions and forming complex selves, though modern stigma around mental health services has changed this view.
2) It notes how mandatory psychological services in low-income areas have stigmatized those who seek treatment, and how even those who achieve the "American Dream" of wealth and status still feel pressure to keep up with neighbors and attain perfection.
3) The author aims to tell the story of a promising student impacted by pressures of perfection from parents, coaches and teachers to illustrate the real impacts of stigmatizing mental health and demanding excellence from young
Grusky, David B. 1994. The Contours of Social Stratificatio.docxwhittemorelucilla
Grusky, David B. 1994. “The Contours of Social Stratification.” Pp. 3-35 in Social Stratification: Class, Race,
and Gender in Sociological Perspective, edited by David B. Grusky. Boulder: Westview Press.
When Alexander the Great brought his armies across Asia Minor, he was reportedly shown the Gordian knot, an intricate, tightly bound tangle of cords tied by Gordius, king of Phrygia. It was said that only
the future ruler of all Asia would be capable of untying the knot. The story recounts
that a frustrated Alexander finally sliced the knot open with his sword.
There are many dimensions to inequality, and all of these dimensions are inter-
related. Class, race, and gender are three of inequality's core dimensions. Asking
which of them is most important may be like asking, Which matters more in the
making of a box: height, length, or width? These dimensions are like the 9 to 11
dimensions that quantum physics imagines for our universe: tangled, intertwined,
some hard to see, others hard to measure, but all affecting the makeup of the whole.
We could note other dimensions as well. Age, for example, can provide both advan-
tage and disadvantage, privileges and problems. We stereotype both ends of the age
spectrum: "silly teenagers" who talk, dress, and act funny, and "silly old codgers"
who talk, dress, and act funny. Age is unlike class, race, or gender, however, in that
unless our lives are cut short, we all move through all age categories. Sexuality and
sexual orientation also constitute a complex dimension. Debates over gay marriage
and who qualifies as a partner for the purposes of health care, tax, and housing
benefits highlight how sexuality can be a dimension of privilege or disadvantage.
Stereotypes, discrimination, and vulnerability to violence are also bound up in the
sexuality dimension. Some dimensions, such as race, ethnicity, and religion, are
frequently so bound together that they are hard to disentangle. In this chapter, we
explore some of the dimensions of inequality. We can't completely untangle this
knot in our social fabric, but we can at least slice into it.
Dimensions of an Unequal World
Inequality is at the core of sociology and its analysis of society. It is also at the core
of your daily life experience, although you may not realize it. You may know you
are broke. You may wish you were rich. You may be angry about the time you felt
rebuffed as a black female-or as a white male. You may have a sense that some
3
4 PART I: ROOTS OF INEQUALITY
people's lives have been a lot easier than yours-or that some have had a much
harder time. In the United States in particular, and in most of the world in general,
we are continually affected by social inequalities, yet we are rarely encouraged to
think in those terms.
We know that many people are poor, but why are they poor? Perhaps they are just
lazy. That's certainly possi ...
In this presentation, given at the end of this semester's CM443/743 class (New Media and Public Relations), I predict the end of the world, and whether social media will be the cause of it. I also create the "Societal Collapse Index," a score inspired by the HANDY model that is based on a country's EPI (Environmental Performance Index) and its World Bank Gini score. Based on their most recent EPI and Gini scores, the top five societies I predict the collapse of are: The Central African Republic, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
Standardized Testing: Is It Effective? Free Essay Example. Standardized Testing Thesis WS - Name: Marcus Stanley Persuasive Essay .... How to Write an Essay for a Standardized Test.
Standardized Testing: Is It Effective? Free Essay Example. Standardized Testing Thesis WS - Name: Marcus Stanley Persuasive Essay .... How to Write an Essay for a Standardized Test.
This document provides a summary of modern discrimination in education. It discusses key concepts like the American Dream, minorities, and white privilege. It analyzes the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that declared separate schools for different races to be unequal. However, it notes that true integration has been a slow process, and schools have resegregated in recent decades. Segregated schools tend to be underfunded and provide fewer academic resources and opportunities to minority students. The document examines racial disparities in access to advanced courses, teacher experience, and academic achievement between white and black students. Overall, it argues that despite Brown v. Board, discrimination and unequal opportunities in education persist and negatively impact minorities.
Chapter 4Culture Competency and CEOD Process Immigrant Popula.docxrobertad6
Chapter 4
Culture Competency and CEOD Process: Immigrant Populations, Health Care, Public Health, and Community
Defining and Exploring Culture
A group or community with whom one shares common experiences that shape the way they understand the world
Can include groups:
Born into
Gender
Race
National origin
Class
Religion
Moved into
Moving into a new community
Change in economic status
Change in health status
Four Concepts Associate With Culture:
Cultural knowledge / the knowledge of cultural characteristics, history, values, beliefs and behaviors of another ethnic or cultural group
Cultural awareness / being open to the idea of changing cultural attitudes
Cultural sensitivity / knowing that differences exist between cultures, but not assigning values to the differences
Cultural competence / having the capacity to bring into its systems different behaviors, attitudes and policies and work effectively in cross-cultural settings to produce better outcomes
Learning Culture
Be more aware of your own culture
What is your culture?
Do you have more than one culture?
What is your cultural background?
Learn about other’s culture
Make s conscious decision to establish friendships with people from other cultures
Put yourself in situations where you will meet people of other cultures
Examine your biases about people from other cultures
Ask questions about the cultures, customs and views
Read about other people’s cultures and histories
Listen and show caring
Observe differences in communication styles and values; don’t assume that the majority’s way is the right way
Risk making mistakes
Learn to be an ally
Understanding Culture for Community Engagement, Organization and Development (CEOD)
U.S. communities are becoming more diverse
Racial profiling & stereotyping will be key discussion points when engaging and developing communities in public health practice and may be harmful because they can impede communication, engagement and development
Racial profiling / a law enforcement practice of scrutinizing certain individuals based on characteristics thought to indicate a likelihood of criminal behavior
Stereotyping / a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people (Cardwell, 1996)
CEOD and Cultures of the Future
Questions to help engage, organize and develop a healthy community of the future:
If you could have your ideal community right now what would it look like?
If you can’t have your ideal community right now, what will be the next steps in building the kind of cultural community you desire?
Who lives in the community right now?
What kinds of diversity already exist?
How will diversity be approached in your community?
What kinds of relationships are established between cultural groups?
Are the different cultural groups well organized?
What kind of struggles between cultural groups exists?
What kind of struggles within cultural groups exists?
Are these struggles openly recognized and ta.
Ethnocentrism Essay. explaining ethnocentismMonique Carter
Ethnocentrism Analysis Essay Example | StudyHippo.com. Ethnocentrism in Modern Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... 14 Best Examples of Ethnocentrism (For Students) (2023) - Helpful Professor. Consumer Ethnocentrism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays .... ⇉International Marketing and Ethnocentrism Essay Example | GraduateWay. Showing both sides of Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism. | Cultural ....
post a 250-word reply to each of two classmates threads.Major point.docxjolleybendicty
post a 250-word reply to each of two classmates' threads.Major points are supported with textbook citations (and scripture, if applicable). Points must be elaborated upon and key concepts must be demonstrated. Simply including a direct quote from the textbook will not earn full credit.
6 days ago
Anna Johnson
Forum 2, Module 3: Anna Johnson
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Top of Form
Forum 2, Module 3
Poverty is, without a doubt, one of the biggest and most widespread cultural problems in our society today. But poverty is no new problem...nor is it just a product of our tumultuous economy. Poverty can be seen in all times and places, and among all ages and races. Yet why is it that some people fall into poverty, while others within the same society do not? What are some social "triggers" that might lead a person into a life of poverty? And lastly, how can we, as individuals, change the trend of our culture?
Why do people find themselves in poverty?
There are many reasons why a person may find themselves in poverty. A person may be born into a poor family and thus, simply "inherit" a life of poverty; a person may be fired or laid off from a job and, despite their best efforts, fail to find another source of income; and, lastly, a person may simply be unable to work and make money--be it due illness or other health conditions (such as mental illness) that prevents them from doing so.
What are some of the cultural components that lead to a culture of poverty?
Although there are many personal reasons one might find themselves in poverty, the individual is not solely responsible for their financial situation. The society a person lives in, and the influences of that society and government they experience, both strongly impact an individual's personal situation. Some of the societal/cultural factors that contribute to the problem of poverty include national issues such as booms and busts, stagnant incomes, and a very high national debt (Henslin, 2014). Additionally, other factors such as a lack of governmental "encouragement" for people to find jobs (Welfare, Social Security, Unemployment Financial Assistance, etc.), and people that live in third world countries and experience constant devastation and destruction due to repeated natural disasters.
What other social issues can cause someone to find themselves in this situation?
As Henslin notes in
Social Problems: A Down-to-Earth Approach,
social class has a huge effect on whether or not someone experiences a life of poverty (Henslin, 2014). For example, an individual that is born into a poor family has a very large chance of living in poverty their entire life--simply because they do not know how to "break the cycle." Furthermore, many individuals suffer from severe mental and/or social impairments ans thus, find themselves in poverty due to their inability to function normally within society.
What can be done to improve this situation?
and
What should the role of the church and the family be in dealing with.
Racial Stereotypes In Research
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As eagles age past 40 years old, their talons can no longer grab prey, their beaks become bent, and their thick feathers make flying difficult. To survive, eagles must undergo a painful 150-day process of self-renewal where they break their beak on rocks, pluck out their talons, and molt their old feathers, after which they can live another 30 years. This process demonstrates that change is sometimes needed to shed old habits and traditions in order to take advantage of present opportunities.
Este documento describe los diferentes tipos de contratos según sus características. Los contratos pueden ser unilaterales, bilaterales, gratuitos, onerosos, principales, accesorios, reales, solemnes, consensuales, conmutativos y aleatorios. También explica los elementos esenciales de un contrato de compraventa como la cosa, el precio, las personas y las formalidades y condiciones de validez.
Este documento discute diferentes enfoques para la investigación educativa. Reconoce que la investigación educativa ha adoptado varios significados dependiendo de sus objetivos y características. Algunos enfoques se centran en explicaciones causales mediante métodos cuantitativos, mientras que otros intentan interpretar y comprender la conducta humana a través de los significados e intenciones de los sujetos involucrados mediante métodos cualitativos. El documento concluye que debido a la naturaleza dinámica y compleja de la realidad educativa, se justifican
Resume (HOSPICE) CARMELA PERCONTRA RN MS CNS BC 8.21.16Carmela Percontra
Carmela Percontra has over 30 years of nursing experience including roles as a case manager, unit manager, nursing supervisor, and clinical educator. She has a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from Wagner College and a Master's degree in Nursing from Long Island University. Currently she works as a Level 3 Nurse/Case Manager for VNA Health Group providing hospice care, disease management, and readmission prevention services.
THE MAKING AND SELLING OF AN ILLUSION: AN EXAMINATION OF RACIAL AND GENDER DI...Kevin Carter
This dissertation examines racial and gender diversity in post-Civil Rights U.S. corporations. It analyzes in-depth interviews with 40 managers from Fortune 1000 companies to understand how they define and implement diversity initiatives. While corporations claim to support diversity and spend millions promoting it, the data suggests minorities and women still face barriers. Corporations may use "diversity" as an ideological tool to portray themselves as equal workplaces while maintaining the status quo of exclusion. In reality, U.S. corporations continue to privilege upper-class white males.
Why Awareness of Cognitive Dissonance Is So ElusiveEaron Davis
This document discusses the concept of cognitive dissonance, which refers to the mental discomfort experienced when one holds conflicting beliefs or values. The author argues that cognitive dissonance makes it difficult for humans and societies to recognize inconsistencies between reality and their beliefs. As a result, people tend to rationalize problems and ignore injustice. The document provides several historical examples where cognitive dissonance prevented societies from acknowledging atrocities like slavery and environmental pollution. The author contends that understanding cognitive dissonance is important but also difficult because acknowledging its effects causes discomfort. Overall, the document examines how cognitive dissonance can lead to self-deception and blindness to societal issues.
This document provides a biography and overview of the work of Peggy McIntosh, who is known for her writings on white privilege. It summarizes her seminal work "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" which outlines 26 daily effects, benefits, and unearned advantages of whiteness. The document also includes a brief counterargument that claims white privilege is a myth and that whites can face discrimination.
Recognize that power and culture are inseparable, one does not exist.docxmellies4kxl
Recognize that power and culture are inseparable, one does not exist without the other, and currently the dominant form of culture is based upon industrial production requiring essentially infinite energy supplies – which do not in fact exist. So we collectively face a terrible problem. And yet the greatest burden of this problem is being borne by those least able to do anything about it, while at the same time those who benefit most from the economic inequalities imposed by the culture of industrial production are unwilling or unable to recognize that things cannot continue as they are. This is our dilemma; one we must solve now or ignore and risk facing unimaginable chaos later.
Concerned about the ultimate implications of his theories about space, time and energy, Einstein pointed out that 20th century problems would never be solved by 19th century thinking. Indeed, by the same token, 21st century problems will not be solved with 20th century thinking either. The same can be said for oversimplified false dichotomies between ‘conservatives’ and ‘liberals’ and particularly ‘capitalism’ and ‘communism’. The latter binary opposites are 19th century ideas while the former are legacies of the 20th century.
We are well beyond the political and economic circumstances that informed such artificially limited conceptualizations of the human condition in many, many ways. And yet, these same tired inaccurate philosophical cages are still supposed to encompass the almost infinite variety and subtleties of contemporary global and local political economies. This is essentially the problem Einstein was concerned with when he noted the conceptual poverty of such willed ignorance. Our technological capacity has outstripped our cultural mechanisms of maintaining social control (consider greed: how much is enough?) and amplified our ability to impose physically violent solutions to complex and entirely negotiable problems. Our challenge now is to reassert the primacy of compassion and respect for difference in the name not of sacrifice, but of abundance and better lives for all.
It seems that there is a striking disconnection between ideals of freedom (largely understood in terms of free enterprise), and the values of concern for public health, or more particularly the well being of family, friends and community. Social science has long struggled with the problem of what Karl Marx called “false consciousness”, the curious phenomenon whereby ‘the proletariat’ (those who must sell their labor to survive) assume the values of ‘the bourgeoisie’ (those who own what Marx called ‘the means of production’ both financial and industrial). Marx tried to show why the ruling values of society are generally those of the ruling class by suggesting that the proletariat labor under a false consciousness, believing that if they play by the rules they will achieve upward social mobility, never grasping the grim reality that the rules are what in effect keeps them in their pla.
1) The document discusses the professor's view that it was once "chic to be neurotic" in 19th century America when the middle class began managing emotions and forming complex selves, though modern stigma around mental health services has changed this view.
2) It notes how mandatory psychological services in low-income areas have stigmatized those who seek treatment, and how even those who achieve the "American Dream" of wealth and status still feel pressure to keep up with neighbors and attain perfection.
3) The author aims to tell the story of a promising student impacted by pressures of perfection from parents, coaches and teachers to illustrate the real impacts of stigmatizing mental health and demanding excellence from young
Grusky, David B. 1994. The Contours of Social Stratificatio.docxwhittemorelucilla
Grusky, David B. 1994. “The Contours of Social Stratification.” Pp. 3-35 in Social Stratification: Class, Race,
and Gender in Sociological Perspective, edited by David B. Grusky. Boulder: Westview Press.
When Alexander the Great brought his armies across Asia Minor, he was reportedly shown the Gordian knot, an intricate, tightly bound tangle of cords tied by Gordius, king of Phrygia. It was said that only
the future ruler of all Asia would be capable of untying the knot. The story recounts
that a frustrated Alexander finally sliced the knot open with his sword.
There are many dimensions to inequality, and all of these dimensions are inter-
related. Class, race, and gender are three of inequality's core dimensions. Asking
which of them is most important may be like asking, Which matters more in the
making of a box: height, length, or width? These dimensions are like the 9 to 11
dimensions that quantum physics imagines for our universe: tangled, intertwined,
some hard to see, others hard to measure, but all affecting the makeup of the whole.
We could note other dimensions as well. Age, for example, can provide both advan-
tage and disadvantage, privileges and problems. We stereotype both ends of the age
spectrum: "silly teenagers" who talk, dress, and act funny, and "silly old codgers"
who talk, dress, and act funny. Age is unlike class, race, or gender, however, in that
unless our lives are cut short, we all move through all age categories. Sexuality and
sexual orientation also constitute a complex dimension. Debates over gay marriage
and who qualifies as a partner for the purposes of health care, tax, and housing
benefits highlight how sexuality can be a dimension of privilege or disadvantage.
Stereotypes, discrimination, and vulnerability to violence are also bound up in the
sexuality dimension. Some dimensions, such as race, ethnicity, and religion, are
frequently so bound together that they are hard to disentangle. In this chapter, we
explore some of the dimensions of inequality. We can't completely untangle this
knot in our social fabric, but we can at least slice into it.
Dimensions of an Unequal World
Inequality is at the core of sociology and its analysis of society. It is also at the core
of your daily life experience, although you may not realize it. You may know you
are broke. You may wish you were rich. You may be angry about the time you felt
rebuffed as a black female-or as a white male. You may have a sense that some
3
4 PART I: ROOTS OF INEQUALITY
people's lives have been a lot easier than yours-or that some have had a much
harder time. In the United States in particular, and in most of the world in general,
we are continually affected by social inequalities, yet we are rarely encouraged to
think in those terms.
We know that many people are poor, but why are they poor? Perhaps they are just
lazy. That's certainly possi ...
In this presentation, given at the end of this semester's CM443/743 class (New Media and Public Relations), I predict the end of the world, and whether social media will be the cause of it. I also create the "Societal Collapse Index," a score inspired by the HANDY model that is based on a country's EPI (Environmental Performance Index) and its World Bank Gini score. Based on their most recent EPI and Gini scores, the top five societies I predict the collapse of are: The Central African Republic, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
Standardized Testing: Is It Effective? Free Essay Example. Standardized Testing Thesis WS - Name: Marcus Stanley Persuasive Essay .... How to Write an Essay for a Standardized Test.
Standardized Testing: Is It Effective? Free Essay Example. Standardized Testing Thesis WS - Name: Marcus Stanley Persuasive Essay .... How to Write an Essay for a Standardized Test.
This document provides a summary of modern discrimination in education. It discusses key concepts like the American Dream, minorities, and white privilege. It analyzes the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that declared separate schools for different races to be unequal. However, it notes that true integration has been a slow process, and schools have resegregated in recent decades. Segregated schools tend to be underfunded and provide fewer academic resources and opportunities to minority students. The document examines racial disparities in access to advanced courses, teacher experience, and academic achievement between white and black students. Overall, it argues that despite Brown v. Board, discrimination and unequal opportunities in education persist and negatively impact minorities.
Chapter 4Culture Competency and CEOD Process Immigrant Popula.docxrobertad6
Chapter 4
Culture Competency and CEOD Process: Immigrant Populations, Health Care, Public Health, and Community
Defining and Exploring Culture
A group or community with whom one shares common experiences that shape the way they understand the world
Can include groups:
Born into
Gender
Race
National origin
Class
Religion
Moved into
Moving into a new community
Change in economic status
Change in health status
Four Concepts Associate With Culture:
Cultural knowledge / the knowledge of cultural characteristics, history, values, beliefs and behaviors of another ethnic or cultural group
Cultural awareness / being open to the idea of changing cultural attitudes
Cultural sensitivity / knowing that differences exist between cultures, but not assigning values to the differences
Cultural competence / having the capacity to bring into its systems different behaviors, attitudes and policies and work effectively in cross-cultural settings to produce better outcomes
Learning Culture
Be more aware of your own culture
What is your culture?
Do you have more than one culture?
What is your cultural background?
Learn about other’s culture
Make s conscious decision to establish friendships with people from other cultures
Put yourself in situations where you will meet people of other cultures
Examine your biases about people from other cultures
Ask questions about the cultures, customs and views
Read about other people’s cultures and histories
Listen and show caring
Observe differences in communication styles and values; don’t assume that the majority’s way is the right way
Risk making mistakes
Learn to be an ally
Understanding Culture for Community Engagement, Organization and Development (CEOD)
U.S. communities are becoming more diverse
Racial profiling & stereotyping will be key discussion points when engaging and developing communities in public health practice and may be harmful because they can impede communication, engagement and development
Racial profiling / a law enforcement practice of scrutinizing certain individuals based on characteristics thought to indicate a likelihood of criminal behavior
Stereotyping / a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people (Cardwell, 1996)
CEOD and Cultures of the Future
Questions to help engage, organize and develop a healthy community of the future:
If you could have your ideal community right now what would it look like?
If you can’t have your ideal community right now, what will be the next steps in building the kind of cultural community you desire?
Who lives in the community right now?
What kinds of diversity already exist?
How will diversity be approached in your community?
What kinds of relationships are established between cultural groups?
Are the different cultural groups well organized?
What kind of struggles between cultural groups exists?
What kind of struggles within cultural groups exists?
Are these struggles openly recognized and ta.
Ethnocentrism Essay. explaining ethnocentismMonique Carter
Ethnocentrism Analysis Essay Example | StudyHippo.com. Ethnocentrism in Modern Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written .... 14 Best Examples of Ethnocentrism (For Students) (2023) - Helpful Professor. Consumer Ethnocentrism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays .... ⇉International Marketing and Ethnocentrism Essay Example | GraduateWay. Showing both sides of Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism. | Cultural ....
post a 250-word reply to each of two classmates threads.Major point.docxjolleybendicty
post a 250-word reply to each of two classmates' threads.Major points are supported with textbook citations (and scripture, if applicable). Points must be elaborated upon and key concepts must be demonstrated. Simply including a direct quote from the textbook will not earn full credit.
6 days ago
Anna Johnson
Forum 2, Module 3: Anna Johnson
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Top of Form
Forum 2, Module 3
Poverty is, without a doubt, one of the biggest and most widespread cultural problems in our society today. But poverty is no new problem...nor is it just a product of our tumultuous economy. Poverty can be seen in all times and places, and among all ages and races. Yet why is it that some people fall into poverty, while others within the same society do not? What are some social "triggers" that might lead a person into a life of poverty? And lastly, how can we, as individuals, change the trend of our culture?
Why do people find themselves in poverty?
There are many reasons why a person may find themselves in poverty. A person may be born into a poor family and thus, simply "inherit" a life of poverty; a person may be fired or laid off from a job and, despite their best efforts, fail to find another source of income; and, lastly, a person may simply be unable to work and make money--be it due illness or other health conditions (such as mental illness) that prevents them from doing so.
What are some of the cultural components that lead to a culture of poverty?
Although there are many personal reasons one might find themselves in poverty, the individual is not solely responsible for their financial situation. The society a person lives in, and the influences of that society and government they experience, both strongly impact an individual's personal situation. Some of the societal/cultural factors that contribute to the problem of poverty include national issues such as booms and busts, stagnant incomes, and a very high national debt (Henslin, 2014). Additionally, other factors such as a lack of governmental "encouragement" for people to find jobs (Welfare, Social Security, Unemployment Financial Assistance, etc.), and people that live in third world countries and experience constant devastation and destruction due to repeated natural disasters.
What other social issues can cause someone to find themselves in this situation?
As Henslin notes in
Social Problems: A Down-to-Earth Approach,
social class has a huge effect on whether or not someone experiences a life of poverty (Henslin, 2014). For example, an individual that is born into a poor family has a very large chance of living in poverty their entire life--simply because they do not know how to "break the cycle." Furthermore, many individuals suffer from severe mental and/or social impairments ans thus, find themselves in poverty due to their inability to function normally within society.
What can be done to improve this situation?
and
What should the role of the church and the family be in dealing with.
Racial Stereotypes In Research
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This essay discusses the concepts of race and culture and their relationship. While race is based on physical traits and defined by location, culture is fluid and changes within generations. Both race and culture affect each other, as race can influence the development of cultural aspects specific to a region. However, culture is influenced by many factors beyond just race, such as individuality, occupation, and interactions with other cultures. The essay argues that culture is more complex than race and allows for more diversity and changing classifications over time as cultures blend together through assimilation.
How To Do A Compare And Contrast Essay. Thesis statement examples for a comp...Jami Nguyen
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How To Do A Compare And Contrast Essay. Thesis statement examples for a comp...
Champion
1. !
White Privilege vs. White Invisibility and the Manifestation of White Fragility: How Social
Normativity Negatively Impacts White Health
By
Sharon Zipporah Champion
Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of the
Graduate School of Vanderbilt University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Medicine, Health, and Society
May, 2016
Nashville, Tennessee
Approved:
Jonathan M. Metzl, M.D., Ph.D.
Dominique P. Béhague, Ph.D.
Hector F. Myers, Ph.D.
!
2. !
To my bedrock of a family, my wise friends, my infinitely supportive fiancé,
To those who have passed on that have paved the road to be less rocky for my travels.
I love you all.
Finally, to those who have suffered under the weight of whiteness, who have been rendered
silent by its violent pervasiveness in society, whose lives have been troubled and cut short by the
waif-like fragility of it, I hear you, I see you, and I hope this does some slight justice for the
strange fruit still hanging from the trees.
3. ! iii!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis would not exist without my adviser, Dr. Jonathan Metzl, with his
unending enthusiasm and support of my work through this process. Thank you for answering
long distance phone calls, frantic late night emails, and nervous questions after class. This
extends to my thesis committee Dr. Dominique Béhague and Dr. Hector Myers, who graciously
worked with me and gave infinitely helpful advice to develop this thesis. I would be still mired in
my writing struggles without you all. To the Vanderbilt Center for Medicine, Health, and
Society, I have grown and learned immensely through this Master’s program and thank you
fervently for this scholastic opportunity to flex my mind. Special thanks to the Vanderbilt
Program in African American and Diaspora Studies who started me on this academic journey
that I can not get enough of.
To my MHS cohort - without your amazing minds to bounce ideas off of, this thesis
would have never gotten off the ground. I am forever grateful for our tears and triumphs and I
will miss you all tremendously. To my friends who have tirelessly cheered me on throughout this
struggle of actually articulating myself, you’re the best support a graduate student can have.
To my family, especially Meemo, Dad, and Mama, for their existence in my life and
the many roles they have played to get me to this point. It has been difficult, as we can be
sometimes, but small things to a giant, right? Thank you for your countless prayers of guidance,
clarity, and courage. And don’t worry, I plan on staying away from wooden nickels and copper
dimes for a very long time. Thumbs up. And finally, to my fiancé, who has witnessed the
building, breakdown, and building again of this project, I could not be any more grateful to you.
Esta viagem desesperada para o conhecimento tem sido ainda mais emocionante com você ao
meu lado. Eu te amo como as flores amam o sol. Obrigada por seu espírito!
4. ! iv!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION................................................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... iii
I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................1
II. Literature Review........................................................................................................................2
III. Methods....................................................................................................................................7
IV. Findings ...................................................................................................................................8
The “Welfare Queen”..................................................................................................................8
The Numbers...........................................................................................................................11
Implications............................................................................................................................12
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)...............................................................................................15
The Numbers...........................................................................................................................16
Implications............................................................................................................................18
White Heroin Drug Use.............................................................................................................20
The Numbers...........................................................................................................................21
Implications............................................................................................................................22
V. Discussion.................................................................................................................................25
VI. Future Research .......................................................................................................................29
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................31
5. ! 1!
Introduction
Long before DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man, scholars in medicine and science have
inadvertently searched for a being that is the base, the beginning, the comparative copy from
which research can be based from. Even if it wasn't an actual being, it was a sense of center, a
normalcy of health and wellbeing, that spurred the balancing of the humors, that drove the first
decoding of a human genome, that pushed eugenics to find the fittest of all American citizens.
Norms in this country have supported curiosity and violence, pushed growth and decline, and
with our public health system situated within U.S. society, one cannot expect the initiatives of
research of be in a vacuum untouched by national politics, economics, and social pinnings.
For this thesis, “whiteness” is the observed norm, meaning that it has majority access to
power, control of resources, and having the ability to enforce its values (Hitchcock, 1998). The
aim is to explore whiteness in this country, just as many scholars explore blackness, to better
understand how this concept and ideology affects individuals experience in health. Many public
health scholars have connected the factor of race, as well as socio-economic status (SES), with
outcomes in individual and group health. Similar research has shown that individuals who
ascribe to African-American Blackness - culturally, ethnically, phenotypically- consistently lead
to lower life span health in the United States, regardless of SES, gender, or wealth attainment
over the years (LaVeist, 2005). However, this does not explain negative health issues in
European-American individuals, especially those who phenotypically “look white”. The
“whiteness” of such people is usually used in public health research as a norm to contrast against
the lesser health of a racial minority, while contrawise the comparison is not employed.
This project asserts three arguments. First is that whiteness, as a social and economic
property, is a normative driving force in both American social culture and public health. Second,
6. ! 2!
this normative whiteness informs and impacts the health of individuals regardless of race, but
relatively unacknowledged in its racial impact on individuals who phenotypically or
categorically are “white”. Third, this lack of acknowledgement, “unmarked” status of whiteness
(and by extension “white people”), as well as being socially considered as a “race-neutral”
category, this develops a cognitive dissonance between how the individual is socialized and the
“raced” reality of their and others existence, resulting in “white fragility”. This fragility
negatively impacts how those individuals understand and respond to important health decisions,
as well as make them socially unable to affiliate with health positions that could benefit them.
Public Health is not a stranger is critical race theories and the idea that ones’ race
influences your health and personal experience in the United States; many scholars have
produced literature on how race, specifically Blackness, can inadvertently impact ones’ health.
However, the key trait and overall issue of whiteness is that even when manifesting explicitly, its
presence is normative and implicit, which makes identifying and approaching it extremely
difficult. This problem implies the total possible influence and power of whiteness, which is both
the argument and the assertion. Overall, this research asks for public health to become discontent
and unpack the black box of normative Whiteness, to de-center it and challenge it as a influence
on individual and group health, in order to better understand the health of “privileged” and
“disenfranchised” races in the United States.
Literature Review
In Categorically Unequal, Douglass Massey argues that the root of any racial stratification
system is in its ability to categorize and rank certain human beings. Without this categorization,
he posits that a society cannot build the social or physical barriers that create inequality or
7. ! 3!
oppression. Richard Delgado quotes Noel Ignatiev from his paper The Point Is Not to Interpret
Whiteness but to Abolish It, saying “Whiteness has nothing to do with culture and everything to
do with social position…It is nothing but a reflection of privilege, and exists for no reason other
than to defend it. Without the privileges attached to it, the White race would not exist, and the
White skin would have no more social significance than big feet”. Delgado also quotes Dr.
Evelyn HuDehart, professor and chair of the department of ethnic studies at the University of
Colorado-Boulder:
I think critical White studies is a very important and critical part of new directions in ethnic
studies…Whiteness studies was dearly influenced by ethnic studies theories, and in turn, it is
now positively influencing ethnic studies to see Whiteness as also a historically contingent and
socially constructed racial category, one defined, to be sure, by privilege and power rather by
marginalization and domination. But Whiteness and the other racial categories are part of the
same racial order and racial hierarchy in the history of this country and in contemporary social
reality.
Whiteness studies has sprung up drastically over the past two decades, though it is not a
foreign concept hasn’t been approached by scholars before. Sociologist W.E.B. DuBois speaks
of the “wages of whiteness” in Black Reconstruction in America, noting the effects of racism and
white supremacy on Southern white workers and demonstrating that these whites, despite their
similar class oppression, were unable to unite with Black workers. Though critical race theorists
and critical legal theorists have been mulling over the origin of the study of Whiteness well
before the early 1990s, its contemporary focus is rooted in the study of people of color. Books
like Delgado’s Critical White Studies, David Roediger's The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the
Making of the American Working Class (1991), Ruth Frankenberg's White Women, Race
Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness (1993), Alice McIntyre's Making Meaning of
Whiteness: Exploring Racial Identity with White Teachers (1997), Alexander Saxton's Rise and
Fall of the White Republic (1990) and Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the
8. ! 4!
Literary Imagination (1992), are examples of works that confronted this issue directly.
The various scholastic attempts to understand white privilege span from DuBoisian ideas in
The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction, to Understanding White Privilege by Frances
Kendall (2012), to the impact of racism on White Americans (Bowser & Hunt, 1996). The
enactment of Whiteness in America (Kincheloe, Steinberg, Rodriguez, & Chennault, 2000) has
also been explored, and whiteness has been acknowledged to better understand health disparities
(Griffith, Metzl, & Gunter, 2011). Whiteness has played a huge role in understanding race
relations and the health outcomes that stem from such relations. Even in everyday language,
though most scientists hold that the current use of race is not a valid scientific category, the
persistence of the “one drop” rule defines many social interactions, medical terminology, and
actions. Unpacking whiteness is needed to understand our society as a whole, and if one focuses
on laymen articulation of health through this framing of whiteness, understanding health
implications on both a personal and social scale will be more accessible.
Since Whiteness Studies, as an official focus, is fairly young, the body of literature has yet
to develop a cohesive theoretical analysis that successfully marries the various interests of
researchers (some scientists focus on oppressed people, other the stratification system, and yet
other focus on what race is). However, this lack of clear social object is an issue in the larger
race literature, but does not deter this literature base from exploring its limitations accurately. It
has also undergone criticisms, such as scholars and laymen alike, such as columnist Barbara
Kay, who write that whiteness studies "points to a new low in moral vacuity and civilizational
self-loathing" and is an example of "academic pusillanimity." According to Kay, whiteness
studies "cuts to the chase: It is all, and only, about white self-hate.” (Rodriguez, 1999) Other
scholars accuse individuals who deal in Whiteness Studies with sloppy thinking, and as
9. ! 5!
mentioned before, a lack of cohesive stratagem in defining and approaching Whiteness. While
this could be attributed to white fragility and discomfort of being and discussing ‘unmarked’
bodies, it is still relevant argument to be made. This goes hand in hand with scholars
confounding the terms and usage of ‘White People’ and ‘Whiteness’, which only add to
confusion and misinterpretation of intent. But using Cheryl Harris’ Whiteness as Property
argument that laws come to be embody and legitimize benefits of white citizens, this paper will
argue that ‘Whiteness’ and ‘White People’ is a commodity that is owned (or “rented”) through
various practices and privileges, consciously or unconsciously. It makes Whiteness less of an
identity and more of a economic investment and social currency, which coincides with the idea
of ‘white privilege’ and ‘white fragility’, as well as avoids the pitfalls of speaking of an identity
that individuals may not ascribe to.
Ladelle McWhorter (2005) argues that Whiteness Studies theories have not thoroughly
critiqued the juridical conception of power that they have inherited from traditional political
theory; as a result, they cannot get away from psychological accounts of the origins of racism,
even though they usually state very clearly that they believe racism is an institutional
phenomenon and racist subject positions are formed within networks of power. She asserts that
success of this field in its attempt to accomplish both its analytical and its political goals, needs
to pay attention to Foucault’s work on biopower. This will place the development of white racial
subject positions alongside the growing focus of biopower in 1970s, showing that the growth of
social and economic control over populations is connected to the prevlance of Whiteness.
Scholars that contextualize Whiteness in the United States are critical to these points, such
as David Roediger [The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working
Class], George Yancy [Look, A White!: Philosophical Essays on Whiteness, Black Bodies,
10. ! 6!
White Gazes: The Continuing Significance of Race, White on White/Black on Black], and
George Liptiz [The Possessive Investment in Whiteness], and the arguments against their work,
to better understand the implications of Whiteness, especially in the context of public health.
Authors with focus in other countries could be utilized but with the U.S. American context being
the cornerstone to the formation of Whiteness in this country, the use of other data could only be
used as a comparison.
In The Souls of Black Folk (1903), W.E.B. DuBois speaks of a “second sight” and “two-
ness” that Black people obtain as they encounter and are confronted by a racialized and racist
society. This sight allows the ‘American Negro’ to not only see themselves and their interactions
in society, but also how White Americans (and White America) view them. Robin DiAngelo
argues that white people in the U.S. live in a social environment that shields them from race-
based stress, which is beneficial to their comfort and is a cornerstone in their “white privilege”,
but also lowers their ability to handle race-based stress (2010). Individuals who ascribe to
Whiteness as it is a prevailing norm in both race and society lack that “second sight” and usually
have no self-conception of race, or greater conception of norms. (Zuberi & Bonilla-Silva, 2008).
Similar to immigrant populations that “became White” (Brodkin, 1998) through assimilation,
time, and skin color, the hyphens of their identity (‘Irish-American’, ‘Polish-American’) are
erased by the body, label, and social ascription to whiteness.
This leads to “white fragility”, which DiAngelo (2011) describes as “a state in which even
a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.
These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and
behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These
behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium”. DiAngelo asserts that due to
11. ! 7!
the privileges that Whites are given due to their Whiteness, they have underdeveloped cognitive
or affective skills to adequately engage in racialized situations. In regards to health, this can lead
to decisions or actions that are detrimental to the individual or group because of a fervent
disassociation with raced identities and racialized situations. Similar to risky behavior that
solidify hegemonic masculinity for a male individual (Griffith, Metzl, & Gunter, 2011), this
separation of the self with race solidifies an individuals’ “unraced” whiteness, but increases the
risk of exposure to adverse arrangements due to social and economic placement.
Methods
Using my literature as solid footing, three issues will be addressed that will challenge and
utilize thr definition of Whiteness given by The Wages of Whiteness by David Roediger,
Whiteness as Property by Cheryl Harris, and The Possessive Investment in Whiteness by George
Lipsitz to give health implications of white ownership. When defining Whiteness as less of an
identity and more of an economic investment and social currency, economic and social
implications can be found throughout U.S. society. Resistance to the Affordable Care Act (also
known as Obamacare) will be considered, with poor white men rejecting legislation that
ultimately economically and physically benefits them the most. One can hypothesize that if poor
white men support such legislation, it will conflict against the “from your own bootstraps”
ideology of the ‘universal American Dream’ (which ties into whiteness by being inadvertently
defined as “American”), as well as acknowledge a “renting”, not ownership, of whiteness by
those who challenge the definition of whiteness (Wray, 2006). Parallels can be made of the
identity of “American” being a moniker for “white” or “whiteness”.
Welfare, as well as the arguments against it, is another approach. The current discussion of
12. ! 8!
the ‘face’ of welfare, social/mass media sentiments towards it, as well as the arguing points of
the dismantling of it will not only discuss social norms in the United States, but will bring to
light how Whiteness affects issues with public health implications. The lack of social support of
welfare by white men and women, despite their overwhelming use of such programs, can be
rooted in fears of the “Black welfare queen”, social stigma against “government handouts”, and
the pushback against federal financial waste. The third issue is the national response to the
current Heroin epidemic, showing how its representation and handling is starkly different than
the “Black” face of Crack Cocaine at the beginning of the “War Against Drugs”. As the face of
heroin has increasingly become white, harsh drug sentences and lack of funding for rehabilitation
has suddenly been seen as overly cruel and despotic.
Findings
The “Welfare Queen”
Though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food
stamps, are a well known form of welfare, public assistance programs exist in forms outside of
dietary aid. American social welfare started with President Franklin Roosevelt and the Social
Security Act of 1935, as a response to the social and economic difficulties of the Great
Depression. This government program has grown to encompass two forms: social insurances,
which is based on the accumulation of pay earned by an individual, and public assistance,
commonly known as “welfare”, which is based on individual financial need (Marx, 2014). The
six programs most associated with “welfare” are 1) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF), 2) the Food Stamp Program (FSP) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), 3) Supplemental Security Income (SSI), 4) Medicaid, 5) housing assistance, and 6) the
13. ! 9!
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The federal government is the initial funder for all six,
though TANF and Medicaid require a 25–50% funding match from the state, and all programs
are administered locally (by the states, counties, or local federal agencies), excluding EITC.
(MaCurdy & Jones, 2008). A number of government agencies were created to maintain welfare
services, such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Labor, the Department of
Agriculture, and the Department of Education.
Former President Bill Clinton and a Republican-controlled congress ended federally
controlled welfare with the approval of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), allowing states to dictate eligibility and create
limitations on assistance (Welfareinfo.org, 2015). PRWORA instituted TAMF July 1, 1997,
which replaced President Roosevelt’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
program—which had been in effect since 1935—and supplanted the Job Opportunities and Basic
Skills Training program (JOBS) of 1988. But welfare did not have its only major reform in the
late 1990s. In 1976, former President Ronald Reagan introduced the U.S public to one of its most
hated enemies – the “welfare queen”. “There's a woman in Chicago," Reagan stated, according to
the defunct Washington Star. "She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cards. ... She's
got Medicaid, getting food stamps and she is collecting welfare under each of her names. Her
tax-free cash income alone is over $150,000." The crowd attending the campaign rally at the
time loudly gasped, and the entire American public did the same (Levin, 2013). This woman who
President Regan described is Linda Taylor, a Black but racially ambiguous woman in Chicago,
Illinois, that was just as eccentric and excessive as he announced, doing the things he mentioned
all while driving a pink Cadillac. The Chicago Tribune actually coined the phrase “welfare
14. ! 10!
queen”, but the idea swiftly made itself known throughout the U.S. by Reagans consistent
lamentations about welfare reform and abuse, drastically impacting how public assistance was
socially accepted and quickly making it a shameful program to rely on.
Though President Reagan didn’t explicitly mention the race of Ms. Taylor, the speech
played on American racial anxieties. This “welfare queen” matched the fears individuals had of
African-Americans taking governmental checks to cash at the local liquor store, all while living
lavishly. The inclusion of a pink Cadillac didn’t help the image. From there the story has
snowballed: she may or may not use illegal substances; has copious amounts of children,
possibly from different fathers, to increase the benefits she receives from government programs
like SNAP or TANF; and she gleefully misuses “hard-working tax-payer dollars” for her petty
personal gain. Though “welfare” ended 20 year ago, the “welfare queen”, and by extension her
Black family, is seen as a continuous menace to U.S. society and is the reason the “safety net” of
public assistance shouldn’t exist in the first place.
Reagan’s “welfare queen” re-emerges occasionally, especially during campaigns for
public office. Rick Santorum, 2012 Republican presidential candidate, directly singled out blacks
as being recipients of assistance through federal benefit programs. At a campaign stop in Sioux
City, Iowa, he told a mostly-white audience "I don't want to make black people's lives better by
giving them somebody else's money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the
money", which was greeted with solemn agreement from the attendees (Madison, 2012). The
same year in Plymouth, New Hampshire, another GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich
announced “I will go to the NAACP convention, and explain to the African-American
community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps” (Younge, 2013). In
these cases, there is a brazen connection of fraud and Black people, giving false life to fears of
15. ! 11!
welfare abuse and reifying stereotypes that Black people only succeed by the help of the
government and not of their own intellect, opportunities, or capabilities. Even in “colorblind”
allegations of the worthlessness of welfare, asserted descriptors and implications still dogwhistle
the same racialized categories that incensed the American public when Reagan first introduced
the idea of a “welfare queen”.
The Numbers
The National Census counted the population of the United States at 308,745,538
individuals in 2010. It is projected for 2014 to be 318,857,056. Of that 2010 population,
White/European-Americans counted for 77.4% of the population, or 223,531,770 people. For the
2014 estimate, the percentage is 77.4%, or 256,795,361. For Blacks/African-Americans, they are
12.6% - or 38,901,938 people – with the 2014 estimate at 13.2%, or 42,089,131. The Department
of Commerce states that for 2016, welfare demographics for recipients are 38.8% white, 39.8%
Black, with 35.4% (110,489,000 people) of the U.S. American population benefiting from such
programs (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2016). The percentages of the population on welfare
by race from the 2012 U.S. Census was 41.6% for Blacks and 13% for Whites. Politically
conservative sites use sources that introduce even larger percentage gaps.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) published a report called “Welfare Use by Immigrant
and Native Households”, headed by their director of research Steve Caramota, which covers a
large amount of the welfare programs introduced previously. Using the 2012 Census Bureau’s
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data, Carmota and CIS found that 54.6% of
Blacks utilized welfare compared to 23.1% of Whites. This large welfare gap by the races is seen
16. ! 12!
in every welfare program available, including “Welfare Use by Native Households with
Children” (Caramota, 2015). American Renaissance, the website that used this report, concluded:
According to data in the CIS report, there are 39.88 million households in the US receiving some
sort of means-tested welfare. Of those households, just 19.66 million–or 49 percent–are either
native or immigrant whites (Middle Eastern immigrants are classified as “whites”). That means
the majority of US households on welfare are now non-white.
As mass Third-World immigration continues, the US will have an ever-burgeoning dependent
class of non-whites. Black voters will be joined by increasing number of Hispanic voters in their
support for more handouts. When they vote in 2016, a majority of black and Hispanic
households are likely to be on welfare–just as they were in 2012. Arguments about freedom and
limited government will mean nothing to them. Obamacare is just the beginning. Whites must
decide if this is the future they want for their children and grandchildren. If they don’t take action
soon, blacks and Hispanics will decide for them. (Devlin & Wolff, 2015)
Implications
However, the implications of these percentages are incorrect. In observing the 2012 U.S.
Census data, though the percentage of welfare recipients were majority Black, the raw numbers
for those percentages speak of a different picture. With those percentages, in 2012 only 17
million (16,183,206) Black U.S. citizens were using welfare programs compared to close to 30
million white citizens (29,059,130). With the larger conservative figures in 2014 estimated
populations, there were 22,980,666 Blacks receiving welfare versus 59,319,728 Whites. In other
national numbers, 2013 U.S. Department of Agriculture data state that 40.2 % of SNAP
recipients were white, 25.7% Black, 10.3% Hispanic, 2.1% Asian, and 1.2% Native American
(Brown, 2015). There’s a hefty racial population difference utilizing welfare, even with the most
extreme of percentages, with Whites consistently taking advantage of and benefiting from these
programs.
The sole use of percentages without raw population numbers explanation or comparisons paints a
picture that reifies concerns about minority and immigrant abuse of public assistance. Whether it
17. ! 13!
is inadvertent or blatant, this perpetuation of false stereotypes of racial populations – specifically
Blacks – with misleading statistics enforce social misunderstandings and incorrectly inform the
layman voter. Not supporting the idea of the slothful, unmotivated, unemployed, exploitative
Negro, these numbers are significant because they explicitly poke holes in the rhetoric of “the
welfare queen” while unmasking the truth of the poor and struggling white person in the midst of
the still-prevalent American Dream.
In the state of Iowa at the time of Rick Santorum’s statement, only 9% of Black
individuals were on welfare while 84% were white. This is the same state that the U.S. Census
projected to be 92.1% white and 3.4% Black in 2014; which would make only 0.3% of Iowa
citizens were Black and on welfare, while 77% were white. While Iowa isn’t the bastion of racial
diversity, and regional/state numbers can differ due to the racial makeup of the area, the
discrepancy of perception and reality is clear. Though the “welfare queen” was proven to exist,
President Regan exaggerated her abuses and characterized her as the prototype welfare recipient.
Despite historical poverty, disenfranchisement, and discrimination that has Blacks with the
largest population percentage on Welfare (and other populations not to far behind), there are few
questions as to why there is such a large need for welfare in Black communities.
Kaaryn Gustafson, author of "Cheating Welfare: Public Assistance and the
Criminalization of Poverty.", states that “This image of the lazy African-American woman who
refuses to get a job and keeps having kids is pretty enduring. It's always been a good way to
distract the public from any meaningful conversations about poverty and inequality” (Blake,
2012). Though the “welfare queen” was not a myth, the inference of black indolence and
criminality created a war on the working poor and a separatist appeal for working-class whites
who desperately try to appear less as unemployed “White Trash” (Wray, 2006). This persists
18. ! 14!
even as the majority of households receiving government assistance are lead by a working adult,
with 56% of welfare dollars between 2009 and 2011 sustaining employed families and
individuals (Jacobs, Perry, and MacGillvary, 2015). In some industries and employment
opportunities, close to half of the workforce relies on welfare to make ends meet, despite welfare
programs losing their purchasing impact (Coverty, 2013). It is poor paying jobs and a lack of a
living wage, not voluntary unemployment by lazy poor Blacks, that stretches the American
welfare system. Many of these governmental programs represent an outlet for growth to
individuals and families, keeping millions out of poverty, increasing access to food, and offering
housing/employment opportunities not readily available to some.
With nonwhite voters climbing to the majority by 2050, many believe “welfare queen”
rhetoric will cease. However, even with the majority of welfare recipients blatantly being white,
the face of welfare and welfare abuse is still Black. With the percentages of Blacks receiving
welfare higher than whites, the “ghost of the Welfare Queen is still lurking” (Blake, 2012) in the
minds of the American public and brutally utilized by the mouths of politicians, as one can see in
the current 2016 Presidential race. Calls for drug testing welfare recipients (with close to 100%
testing negative), assertions that poor people “need to learn how to work”, direct accusations of
‘minorities’ being lazy and manipulative, and other anti-poverty/anti-welfare arguments that
could easily fall on racial lines are used currently to sway the U.S. constituency. It seems that
though the “welfare queen” stereotype may not be directly invoked, well known is the indirect
impact of fearmongering whites to disavow an impactful program that has consistently benefited
them since its conception.
19. ! 15!
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
As the paper is focused on the health impacts of structures, a topic that has been at the
forefront of tenuous national political debate for many presidencies needs to be addressed. Found
in many European countries and Canada, universal healthcare has been championed as the savior
for our overwhelmed and underperforming healthcare system. The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (PPACA) 2010 HR3590, or Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short, is the
newest healthcare reform law in the U.S. and is well known by its nickname “Obamacare”. Since
March 23, 2010, the ACA’s intention is to provide U.S. Americans with better health security, all
by implementing healthcare and health insurance reform. This includes, but is not limited to,
expansion of healthcare insurance coverage to more Americans, higher accountability for health
insurance companies, lower health care costs, and an increase in the quality of healthcare for all
citizens (Medicaid.gov, 2011).
With its approval by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012, this legislation expands
Medicaid coverage to more of the United States’ low-income citizens, and improving on health
insurance for children (Supeme Court of the United States, 2011). Full implementation occurred
on January 1, 2014, when “individual and employer responsibility provisions took effect, state
health insurance Exchanges begin to operate, the Medicaid expansions take effect, and the
individual and small-employer group subsidies begin to flow” (Rosenbaum, 2011). It has been
marketed as a non-discriminatory, all-encompassing, equitably minded piece of mixed market
healthcare legislation that will benefit all citizens of the United States; whether all groups in the
U.S. echo that is questionable.
20. ! 16!
Both pieces of legislation that make up the ACA - the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L.
111-152) – are focused on covering the 30 million previously uninsured people in the U.S.
(Glied & Ma, 2015). Opponents of this legislation say that it will catastrophically harm the
economy, add to our already looming national deficit, and cause the cost of health care to
skyrocket, not plummet like it is intended to. Criticisms include heavier workloads for both
patient and provider, ineffective implementation of healthcare for those who still can’t afford the
payments and penalties, limited resources of our healthcare system to cope with the newly
insured, an exacerbation of shortage of healthcare workers to patients, and a heavy financial
burden on the federal government and state (Anderson, 2014). Supporters assert that this law
expands access to [quality] healthcare and over time will lower federal spending, reduce the
national deficit, all while boosting an economy still recovering from the 2008 recession. Praises
include the focus on quality (not quantity) of healthcare, availability of drug coverage and
preventative healthcare, expanded and affordable coverage for the middle class, young adults,
and employees, strengthening of primary and community care system, and eventually pay
towards the national deficit.
The Numbers
The impact of the ACA is still debated due to its rocky start (e.g. healthcare marketplace
website has crashed a few times), incomplete national coverage due to the ability of states to opt
out of expanding Medicare, and recent full implementation of Obamacare in 2014. However, the
information available speaks to its growing effectiveness. The Congressional Budget Office
estimates that the ACA will have provided coverage to 33 million Americans who would
otherwise be uninsured (Congressional Budget Office, 2012). For families making less than
21. ! 17!
133% of the poverty line, they will be insured through Medicaid with capped premium
payments, while individuals making less than 400% will have tax credits to afford private
insurance (Klein, 2012). As of February 2016, 16.4 million individuals are covered with
insurance through the implementation of the ACA, with independent data sources like the
Commonwealth Fund, Gallup, the Rand Coroporation, and the Urban Institute reporting that the
number of U.S. citizens without insurance fell by roughly 10-12 million (ObamaCareFacts.com).
With the 11.4 million that used the ACA Healthcare Marketplaces during the 2015 open
enrollment, 87% are receiving some form of cost assistance.
Hospitals are also reporting that they are encountering fewer uninsured patients. Compared to the
47 million citizens – 17.1% - uninsured before Obamacare, by January 2015 the uninsured rate
was 12.9%, dropping 4.2% points (Levy, 2015).
Premiums for health insurance marketplaces and employers are not rising quickly (The
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014), and though many individual/employer insurances
were canceled due to ACA compliance, “over half of this population is likely to be eligible for
coverage assistance”, and now can find health care coverage at a lower prices with better quality
(Ungar, 2014). Among U.S. adults between 18 and 64, the National Health Interview Survey
found that “for every poverty status group, a significant decrease was seen in the percentage who
were uninsured between 2013 and 2014” (Cohen & Martinez, 2014).
With 2013-2014 marked the beginning of the major coverage expansion for the ACA, U.S.
citizens defined as “poor” or “near-poor” saw an uninsured rate drop of about seven percentage
points (Culp-Ressler, 2015). Healthcare costs also appear to be rising at historically low rates.
This is assisted by the recession, which may have costs rising faster at a later date. However,
22. ! 18!
experts also assert that this is because the healthcare industry is becoming more efficient – which
is partly due to the ACA and its included incentives (Cohn, 2014). Overall, the goal of the ACA
seems well focused – many who would not be insured have health coverage in some way, many
have the ability to receive financial help if they can not afford it, and the quality of care seems
beneficial to all.
Implications
Though this healthcare reform law itself is not racialized, the nickname of “Obamacare”
pushes it firmly into the stigma and racism that has surrounded our first Black POTUS, President
Barack H. Obama. Surveys have shown that more Americans oppose this healthcare law when
the President’s name is attached than when it is called by its legal name (CNN Political Unit,
2013). This stigma is doubled by the consistent view of more socialized healthcare, similar to
“welfare”, being an unearned “handout” and conditioning U.S. citizens to be slothful and
“entitled”. However, this legislation was increasingly a bi-partisan reform law
(ObamaCareFacts.com), that is similar to other health care reform plans put forward in the past
like Richard Nixon’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), Sen. John Chafee’s HEART
Act of 1993, Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Tom Coburn’s Patients’ Choice Act of 2009, and even
2012 GOP Presidential hopeful and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney’s state
healthcare law (USNews.com, 2016). With difficulty, the ACA offers expanded medical and
healthcare for many U.S. citizens not currently insured, but with two things that Republicans
detest: more government intervention and higher taxes (Flavelle, 2015).
The all-encompassing aspect of the ACA has been labeled “socialism”, which has
enraged conservative citizens and turned that part of the political spectrum against the
23. ! 19!
legislation. The Republican party under President Obama has increasingly become the “Party of
No”, vowing from his inauguration that he will have a firm opposition from the GOP (Khan,
2013). “If [President Obama] was for it,” former Ohio Senator George Voinovich stated, “we
had to be against it” (Grunwald, 2012). Despite its similarity to past and present GOP healthcare
legislation, there has been strong opposition against “Obamacare”, with citizens supporting GOP
representatives with actions to “break Obamacare” with plans of non-cooperation, which have
led to previous government shutdowns (Snell & DeBonis, 2015). However, with arguments for
possible reform and replacement of Obamacare, there are few agreed-upon plans to implement,
especially since reform/replacing will be too financially expensive for conservative tastes.
(Salam, 2014).
The majority of states that have opted out of expanding Medicare coverage are
increasingly conservative, and half exist in the U.S. South. From that decision, 1/3 of their
lowest-income residents remained uninsured in 2014, which despite a national trend of gaining
insurance, was virtually unchanged from 2013 (Young, 2014). Studies have shown inconclusive
evidence as to whether or not states gain financially from opting out, but show negative impact
on the uninsured populations in those areas (Young, 2014).
In 2013-2014, hospitals in Medicaid expansion states saw an overall increase in Medicaid
discharges, increase Medicaid revenue, and decreased cost of care for low-income patients
(Cunningham, Garfield, & Rudowitz, 2014). Hospitals in states that have opted out of expansion
saw a small increase in Medicaid discharges, but declining Medicaid revenue, and growth of care
costs for the poor. Among adults who exist under the poverty wage line in non-expanded states,
the uninsured rate is 36% of the population, compared that to states that adopted the expansion,
whose uninsured population dropped from 28% to 17% (Young, 2014).
24. ! 20!
Though there is room for improvement in making the transition from poverty to middle
class less pitted with taxes and possibly unaffordable premiums, the ACA has still benefited
countless individuals that were previously uninsured or trapped in an unhelpful plan. However,
from the association of “Obamacare” to President Obama, who has had an uncooperative
conservative base from the moment he stepped in office, to the ACA implementing healthcare
with high government influence and mandatory taxes, the majority-white Republican base of the
country has not welcomed the expansion well. From filibustering possibly beneficial federal bi-
partisan laws, opting out of the state level Medicare, and refusing to enroll in individual
healthcare, there is something this group of individuals are valuing more than their own health.
The ACA itself, though passed, has been marred by partisan compromises, manipulation, and ill-
informed citizen outrage, limiting the possible positive impacts of expanded healthcare (Cunha,
2015). This is not to argue that ACA is the key to the country’s burdened healthcare system, but
with “Obamacare” – a label promoted by Republican strategists – being more opposed than the
Affordable Care Act simply by the difference in the name (Obernauer, 2013), negative
assumptions about race can be made. It seems that deep seated racial bias coupled with fears of
socialism, government interference, and partisan animosity have been deemed more valuable
than preserving and improving the health of U.S. citizens.
White Heroin Drug Use
The Existential Pain of being Young, White, and Affluent. This is the title of a March 8,
2016 article in The Atlantic discussing the ravages of the current heroin epidemic impacting the
United States. Born from the abuses of prescription and opioid drugs, this wave of addition is out
pacing gun and car crashes as the leading cause on injury death (Block, 2016); manifesting in
affluent white youth, leaving its past as a rural, stereotypical “White Trash” habit (Wray, 2006).
25. ! 21!
With many of the generation between 1984-1990 abusing painkillers (the cause of three out of
every four overdoses) like OxyContin 40% more than any other generations before them (Miech,
Bohnert, Heard, & Boardman, 2013), a study published in Health Affairs suggests that the
“increase in fatal drug overdoses among youth has grown so severe that it is a “major
contributor” in the gap between life expectancy in the U.S. and other major income countries”
(Ho, 2013).
The Numbers
So why is it considered to be an “epidemic” (Khazan, 2014)? According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 47,055 people died from overdoses alone in 2014, including
28,647 from opioids (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016). Close to 1.7 million
individuals between 12 and 25 – which factors to be over 4500 per day – abused a prescription
drug for the first time in year 2011, and that number is growing. (National Insititutes of Health,
2013). White youth counted for three-fourths of that population (Science Daily, 2013). In 2009,
88% of individuals admitted for treatment for opioid-based medication abuse, as well as 66% of
individuals admitted for stimulants were also white. The face of collegiate prescription drug
abuse is more likely to be white, as well as male, come from an educated background, and
perform poorly in academics (Science Daily, 2008). Many of these users come from comfortable
backgrounds with stable support systems, and are ushered in the the misuse of prescription drugs
– then heroin – due to the pressures and stresses of growing up, moving out, experiencing
college, and handling issues they were never brought up to face. The epitome of “white
fragility”.
26. ! 22!
Implications
The public health impact of illicit drug use can go without mentioning – so why is this
important now? The New York Times gives this opinion: “the visibility of drug users may be
partly attributed to the nature of the epidemic, which has grown largely out of dependence on
legal opioid painkillers and has spread to white, urban suburban, and rural areas” (Seelye, 2016)
In other words, the “new face” of life-threatening, future-shattering, and neighborhood-ruining
drug use is now overwhelmingly white (Carrol, 2014; Amsden, 2014). This changing outward
representation of opioid use is prompting pressure against life sentences for first time non-violent
drug offenders, and influencing the creation of treatment centers and rehabilitation for drug
addicts. Even Congress is investing in the shift, adding a $600 million funding measure to the
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to finance federal efforts in to prevention and
treatment. This funding measure includes “treatment, prevention and recovery efforts at the state
level, as well money for local treatment and enforcement programs. It also includes $50 million
for intervention programs, including better monitoring of drug prescriptions” (McAuliff, 2016).
There have been pleas to change verbal and legislative rhetoric about addicts (Cook, 2015), and
has become a hot topic for 2016 Presidential hopefuls to answer as they run campaigns for
citizen voters (Grim, 2015).
More importantly, a ‘softening’ of the “War on Drugs” has been demanded,
decriminalization of drug possession has been strongly supported (Piper, 2016), transforming
this crisis into a public health issue has been argued, and Naloxone – a drug that reverses the
effects of Heroin - has approved by the FDA and available for EMT and police responder use
(Aleccia, 2016). In New England and Midwest areas that are hardest hit, local police departments
have stopped punishing heroin users – those who walk into some police stations with
27. ! 23!
paraphernalia asking for help will be diverted to treatment centers, not jail cells (Seelye, 2015).
Thirty-two states have passed “good Samaritan” laws that protect people from prosecution if
they call Emergency to report an overdose, and the mayor of Ithaca, NY is willing to be the first
city with a “supervised heroin injection site” (Barron-Lopez & Cherkis, 2016).
This forgiving mood is starkly different when the War on Drugs was majority Black with
crack cocaine ravaging communities of color. Marc Mauer, the executive director of the
Sentencing Project, which examines racial issues in the criminal justice system stated:
How these policies evolve in the first place, and the connection with race, seems very
stark…Both the image and reality is that this is a white and often middle-class problem, and
appropriately so, we’re having a much broader conversation about prevention and treatment, and
trying to be constructive in responding to this problem. This is good. I don’t think we should
lock up white kids to show we’re being equal (Seelye, 2015).
When there were protests against the severe treatment of crack-cocaine users (majority
Black / people of color) compared to powder-cocaine users (majority white), political figures of
both parties defended such policies as necessary to control violent crime. The 100/1 sentencing
disparity for crack cocaine – which means for every 100g of powder cocaine, 1g of crack cocaine
carries the same sentencing -, also included the mere possession of crack, unlike any other drug
which required an intent to distribute. (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 1999). Before 1968, the
average sentence for Blacks in non-violent drug related crimes was 6% longer than the average
sentence for whites. After mandatory minimums ushered in the crack/powder sentencing
disparity, the average sentence was 93% longer for Blacks than whites (Drug Policy Alliance,
2015). This blatant demonization of communities of color, as well as the mistreatment and
targeting of these communities by federal and local officials, hid the fact that whites and Blacks
both dealt in illicit activities at roughly the same rate (Fellner, 2009). The implementation of the
“War on Drugs” was ultimately a declaration of war on communities of color and the poor – with
28. ! 24!
the face of drugs ‘colored’, millions of homes were torn apart by mandatory minimums, and
generations of individuals will have a “less than” citizenship due to rights being taken away for
felons (Kain, 2011).
This is not to assert that opioid use for African Americans has not increased in the past
decade – it has risen almost 200%. However, due to community disenfranisement and historical
housing segregation, it is less likely for Blacks to find it through previous prescription abuse.
Opioid painkillers are less likely to be prescribed to Blacks, even young children (Doyle, 2015),
for the same aliments whites endure (Hausmann, Gao, Lee, & Kwoh, 2013). Also due to the lack
of access to quality pharmacies, even if a prescription was filled, there would be no place to fill
it. “There’s a well-known phenomenon that there’s less opioids available in segregated minority
communities…You can’t find them in the pharmacies. There’s less medical access.” (Cherkis,
2016).
This recent heroin phenomenon has acutely affected Whites the harshest, yet legislation
for needle exchange programs are still being banned nationwide. Though such programs provide
clean needles to people who inject drugs (PWIDs) to minimalize contamination and spread of
diseases like HIV, as well has been proven effective in those efforts (Stapleton, 2010). However,
recent legislation has prohibited funding, with fears that it will “send a message” that illegal drug
use positive, and attract more drug users (Normand, Vlahov, Moses, 1995). This “voting against
your own benefit” is seen also with the previous cases of welfare, and with the Affordable Care
Act (ACA). Yet with middle aged white deaths pushing up the nationwide mortality of the
United States due to suicide and drug deaths (Khazan, 2016), what will stymie this rising
epidemic if the people who are mostly affected refuse to vote against it?
29. ! 25!
Discussion
The assertion of a norm in medicine and American society carries its own issues. This
claim rails particularly against the idea of medicine and public health as neutral and objective,
though many scholars in the fields of feminism and Science and Technology Studies would
agree. The argument of a “colorblind” society is a “neutral” argument when speaking about
Whiteness and privilege, and how individuals embody that privilege. However, this approach
forgoes individual ascriptions to race, and how racist hierarchies have continued to influence
legal, economic, and social life, despite slight advancements in equitable legislation.
This project does not assert that individuals who ascribe inadvertently or deliberately to
Whiteness with their bodies are consistently negatively impacted by this racial labeling like other
racial categories. Studies, specifically critical race studies and public health research, show that
being White in the U.S. generally places individuals in positions of better access to objects that
can positively impact one’s being (e.g. social mobility, health, wellness, education). This ‘white
privilege’ that is carried around via invisible knapsack, as Peggy Macintosh (2004) would state,
allows individuals of this group to have the access to, and privilege of, existing in a body that is
relatively considered normal. Excluding gender and sexual barriers/differences, generally there is
no need for ‘cultural competency’ with Whiteness because it is usually the center of study and
focus to begin with.
However, this privilege can be a double edged sword. As seen in the misconception of the
Black Welfare Queen with many mouths to feed, impoverished single white women with
children who dominate welfare need are overlooked and impacted by initiatives that cut welfare
benefits to discourage ‘slothful’ minority disuse. Many poor whites lament similar arguments
30. ! 26!
seen with poor Blacks - not enough focus on them and their communities for them to succeed in
our general society. With health disparity research, much focus is on the intervention, uplift and
understanding of minority communities; thus, white members of this research are relegated as a
control of sorts, a normative figure of health that minorities are compared to. Also, Blacks with
enough privilege and access to lead lives similar (though health is usually lower) to their socially
successful white counterparts are less focused on for studies (usually focused on lower-class
minorities) but have more attention on them than whites of their similar status.
This is not to argue that Whites have larger burden than Blacks and their racial minority
counterparts, nor that disenfranchised groups no longer need consistent and intense focus to
improve their individual and group health. However, W.E.B. DuBois’ question in The Souls of
Black Folk (1903) – “How does it feel to be a problem?” – should be directed towards Whites
too, not just Blacks. The existence, definition, and explicit/implicit use of “Whiteness” should be
troubled and problematized, just as much as race theorists have contemplated Blackness.
Whiteness deserves to be raced just like every other racial category that exists in the United
States. It is not only identified by itself as ‘unmarked category’, but defined by the existence and
relation to Blackness (a ‘marked category’), and whatever is thought of as existing between
Black and white. Whiteness and Blackness are not two different things, whatever they may be,
but are two sides of the same coin, determined by each other. The definitions and boundaries of
one are strengthened or weakened by the challenging of the other; thus the need for swift and
continuous policing by society. Though one can make that argument for any raced identity (or
any identity for that matter), Whiteness makes this difficult due to its lack of blatant discourse in
public health. However, its ‘unmarked-ness’ allows it to be pinpointed, just like how one can see
where a color ends in a color spectrum when another color can be noticed. Though the literature
31. ! 27!
discussing Whiteness usually stands in other disciplines outside of public health, the informative
nature of such works can easily be transplanted for implications in this field.
If this ideal about Whiteness and Blackness is sound, both are fluid in dynamic and push
against each other to redefine their norms, ‘abnorms’, boundaries, -isms, etc., similar to the
location in Alaska at the “place where two oceans meet” (Alaska Dispatch News, 2013).
However, just how lighter, sediment and iron heavy, glacier water eventually mixes with the rest
of the Gulf of Alaska, the ‘lines’ that are intellectually, socially, economically, politically, and
emotionally drawn between Whiteness and Blackness blur every single day. It brings a difficulty
which is shown in the use of the word and ideology of “race”, as it trips and attempts to avoid the
historical grounding and contextual framework that race has been woven into. Inaccuracies in the
use of race must be spoken about, but also must be avoided in order to prevent from falling into
the same flaws. A new framework is needed to look at racialized health, and this paper asserts
that looking at the race that is the least socially “raced” is the key. But as stated before, this
“gazing on the gazer” is very difficult; this is an attempt to read between the lines of some public
health literature that is already desperately trying to find its own existence between the lines of a
general health narrative.
Individuals who immerse themselves in critical race theory understand that
intersectionality is a complicated structure that attempts to define the tangled knot that is race
relations in the United States. Yet with the privileged position of Whiteness, it is difficult to
acknowledge that the least socially “raced” category is not only extremely raced, but raced in
such a blatant way (a constant comparison against Blackness) that it renders the ones it benefits
the most invisible to even their privilege. Racial theory does an excellent job of critiquing
whiteness, but fails to acknowledge the White people who “rent” instead of “own” said
32. ! 28!
Whiteness (“poor white men”), as well as the health disparities that we observe in White
populations. This is also complicated by individual identity and [dis]association with Whiteness
because identity is not monolithic, even when it is the norm. Many White people not only do not
verbally ascribe to Whiteness, but denounce its normativity and privileges to disassociate
themselves from that category.
The aforementioned active examples of white fragility at work are mired in political
conflict. Social and political affiliation definitively impacts decision-making for anyone
affiliated with particular ideal or group, but to have that affiliation override beneficial health
decisions as seen in the findings is a concern. It is as if individuals and groups who physically
ascribe to whiteness are invested in “a positive interest in seeing the world wrongly” (Alcoff,
2007), perpetuating white privilege, and the power of that facade regardless of consequences.
Current applications of health interventions may work within the structure of Whiteness, but
there appears to be a need to transcend said structure as well. This is not asserting that pretending
that norms do not exist will solve racial health disparities; again, “colorblindness” is not effective
in solving such problems. However, current applications of interventions and discourse around
racism, racial health, and racial health disparities immensely improve understanding of these
topics but have only chipped away at the yawning gap between Black and White health.
Double pronged methods that affect current health situations and impact the structures that
perpetuate them are desperately needed to slow and reverse health disparities. The “de-
centering” and problematizing of Whiteness in research language and implementation can be an
effective approach to start that process. With acknowledging its normativity but attempting to go
above the constraints of that norm by critiquing the structure of it, that manner could make the
invisible visible. White fragility will make this transition hard; as we see currently,
33. ! 29!
#AllLivesMatter backlash against #BlackLivesMatter assertions is just one manifestation of
individuals reifying the structure of Whiteness and pushing against race-based discussions (Bry,
2015). Yet as a prevailing public health concern, continuous efforts to challenge norms and
transcend past social limitations is needed since this overarching structure of Whiteness impacts
all health. The concept of this paper may only practically apply to the discourses surrounding
racial health disparities and the state of racialized structures in the U.S.. Nevertheless, breaching
the silence of structural Whiteness, white fragility, and making such rhetoric normative is the
first step towards the destruction of racial hierarchy and breaking the perpetuation of racial
health inequalities.
Future Research
Expansion of this thesis could explore the Alcoff’s thesis of epistemic advantage (2007) –
how members of marginalized and disenfranchised communities that obtain DuBoisian “second
sight” have an advantage of individuals who ascribe to normativity and suffer from the “white
fragility” mentioned previously. Being socially conditioned to understand racist situations in a
racialized world resemble a minor privilege that racial minorities could have, though one could
argue that having such a “second sight” comes with disadvantage that outweighs the privilege.
This extension could even discuss the “respectability politics” of Whiteness and how do
individuals and groups remain in good standing within it. Comparing the benefits and risks of
physically adhering to a social majority and minority appears to supplement claims made in this
paper, but only further research can confirm.
The next portion of this work could be observing “performative utterance” of language
(Austin, 1955, 1962) supplemented by focus groups, which are sentences that not only describe a
34. ! 30!
given reality, but also changing the social reality they are describing, focus is needed on this
mechanism as an embodiment of these health implications and normative values, and see how
such things place themselves in an individuals everyday life. The completed and pending
transcripts of the focus groups of Dr. Jonathan Metzl and Dr. Derek Griffith (Vanderbilt) that
focus on the health of white and African-American men in Michigan and Tennessee, were at first
included in this thesis. These focus groups overall highlighted individual/group embodiment
differences between the races of the participants, and how men of different and similar races
cope with their masculinity and health. However, with the theoretical basis of this paper, an
extensive literature review was needed before moving forward in the field. This focus will
continue the “norm unpacking” of this thesis, challenging the idea of medicine and health as
being “neutral”, and allow us for a closer look as to how these norms impact the health
experience and masculinity of individuals that are socialized differently due to their race. It
brings the gaze not only to marked bodies that have been studied before, but also to unmarked
bodies that are considered the norm.
35. ! 31!
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