Black and brown people are dying at higher rates due to Covid-19. There are various sociological traits which make people of colour more like to contract and die because of the virus. Instead of recognising that these exist inequities exist, it seems as though the world has decided to obfuscate and distract from the real issues.
The apparent trend here is
- Denial: Remember the rhetoric around ‘The virus doesn’t discriminate’. How long did it take for the statistic to be released? Ask your yourself why?
- Victim blaming: Black and brown it’s down to personal choice; diabetes and obesity are down to eating habits.
- Distraction: BAME and PoC are more susceptible due to the vitamin D deficiency.
- Eugenics: These deaths are because brown and black people are genetically inferior.
The above steps are almost straight from the eugenicist handbook. Let people die, blame them and their choices and further your agenda.
What’s actually going on. Yes, there’s a link between being BAME, deprivation and diabetes, etc. BAME/PoC are also as likely to be doing the jobs that place them in danger; couple that with the fact that PoC are more like to live in deprivation and this leaves people having to choose between rent and their health. Here is an article which states that 1:7 Pakistani men work as taxi drivers 1:100 white British men. Social care workers, security guards also more likely to be people of colour.
The vitamin D levels impacting on the immune system has had it’s links as a brown man, I think I’ve known about the link between Vitamin D and our melanin for most of life. Since the 60s Ricketts and a basic science is nothing new. However, If vitamin D impacts our immune systems so badly, why does it take a global pandemic to highlight this? Do we not matter? Did we ever?
Now to the problem with all the deductions from this data, it is all based on the fact that higher death rates are based on the premise that we are all treated the same in hospital and by society. I can hear people protest through the computer screen. Here is a government report
The whole report is here civitas.org.uk/pdf/QuiteLikeH…
The NHS is not an institutionally racist organisation, Pran, come on that’s a stretch these people are our heroes. Yes, I agree that these people put their lives on the line, that does not preclude any organisation from systemic damage. Let have a look at complaints against medics of colour, shockingly they are disproportionate, reported bullying is higher, civility in the NHS is a factor for saving lives.
Here is some more reading there are a disproportionate number of referrals of BAME doctors in fitness to practise processes, these could be driven by poor induction and support, working patterns which leave them isolated and poor feedback by managers, research commissioned by the GMC has found. From the same study, some groups of doctors are treated as ‘outsiders’, creating barriers to opportunities and making them less favoured than ‘insiders’ who experience greater workplace privileges and support.
Poor support and isolation are factors in BAME doctors getting more GMC referrals Please when reading or sharing we all need to be more critical. As educators and people, we must endeavour to teach our children to banish the propaganda and look and strive for truth.