Actual quote from now dead older (white) sister who was on every form of public assistance, a California resident and a diehard Republican voter, “That nigger Obama won’t let me see my doctor anymore”. It’s not me shitting on them based on their politics - they’re shitting on themselves, and believing they’re doing the right thing. (edit: she was a former heroine addict and current Oxycontin enthusiast, which is what really killed her, and her doctor was whoever would write the next prescription)
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You are making broadbased assumptions about an entire group of people based on your older sister (and maybe others). I’ve known plenty of poor racist people too. I’ve known poor people how weren’t the least bit racist. There are plenty of well off racist asshats too. Some vote republican, some don’t.
Again, the point I was making is that both political parties have made this world together. To point to the republicans as being responsible for the current state of affairs misses the point of what is happening to these women. The gutting of our already tenuous welfare state that further erodes the position of the working poor was a group effort. I’m sorry you can’t see that fact.
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I know nothing except what you wrote, which is that your sister was poor and racist and a republican. You seemed to be projecting that fact onto an entire group of people. I was writing on those specific comments you made, nothing more, nothing less. I found your initial comment to be callous and lacking empathy. Whether that means you are lacking empathy, I don’t know that either way. I hope you are not a person lacking empathy, cause that would suck for you.
I was addressing a simple fact that it was not just the republicans who helped to unleash the forces that have eroded the health and welfare of a particular segment of the American public. You have yet to address that fact.
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I can put up a link too:
Oh, wait, who is in that picture, signing a neo-liberal welfare reform? Why, it’s famed Republican, Bill Clinton! Oh, wait… He also signed NAFTA into law, which accelerated the runaway factory, which is in part responsible for for increasing inability to make a living.
I’m sorry. We’re just going to have to agree to disagree. You are focused on the superstructure and I’m focused on the base here. While the superstructure does matter (and I don’t agree with republicans either, as a rule) and should be examined and understood, including that whole “what’s the matter with Kansas” ideology, the fact is that both parties are equally responsible for the current institutional structures we live with.
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we long ago reported that […] personal insecurities work together to turn people against liberalism
Quite the unbiased source you found there. While being a psychologist surely arms someone with a rich vocabulary for speculating about the pathological motivations of their ideological opponents, I’m afraid this doesn’t actually qualify as a reasoned argument. And I’m not even a Republican.
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I’ve always thought of Clinton as being relatively well off, and male. (edit: isn’t the article we are discussing about Poor White Women?)
What are you talking about? BILL CLINTON WAS A DEMOCRAT AND SIGNED WELFARE REFORM INTO LAW. THAT IS MY WHOLE DAMN POINT.
There, I spelled it out for you. Happy now.
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Republicans like shutting down family planning clinics, labeling them as abortion mills, when in reality abortion is a small part of the services offered. These clinics are often the single source of healthcare for the poorest of women, regardless of race. So I contend that voting Republican can lead directly to losing your local source of healthcare, decreasing your lifespan. You must have heard of this. Texas ring a bell?
I’m really confused now. This makes no sense to me. My point, once again, is that both parties are responsible for the present state of affairs, in regards to there not being any sort of safety net for the working poor.
I am so sorry if I did not make myself clear on that.
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Well, they don’t vote “right” as some rich white dude defines it, so they get what they deserve I guess.
Your first three posts were about Republicans, specifically. Now you want to change the topic and talk about class instead?
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If only you’d vote democrat, the world would all be right and we’d all be rich and wealthy and pretty, and have good jobs, and have free health care and education through the phd level. Because the current crop of democrats sure do have the welfare of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and socio-economic position first and foremost on their minds. Not money and power at all.
Wait, I’m not getting your argument. Are your premises and conclusions in any way related?
@Mindysan33 pointed out that Democrats and Republicans alike have worked against the poor.
Your counterargument is that Republicans did it and Bill Clinton is white therefore Texas?
I’m confused.
This reminds me of the study that Reuters reported recently, “Study finds poverty reduces brain power”. The researchers concluded that dealing with the problems of being poor ate up cognitive capacity, leading to mistakes that dig the hole deeper. Stress makes mistakes; mistakes make stress. It’s obvious that this exacerbates health problems. The article in Maggie’s post talks about the impact of education on employment and so on isolation. I wonder how this is tangled up with support system, diet, and abuse.
I’d like to point out that people of moderate means often do not understand what life is like when transportation is difficult and expensive. It has a tremendous impact on what food you can bring home and how much time & energy you would have to prepare less-processed food. The puzzle is why this would affect white women more than black. Do they get rides easier? More help at home? Higher rate of church attendance bringing more social contact?
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Another variable I wonder about the rural/urban divide. Do urban dwellers, poor or not, black or white, have more access to services vs. their rural counterparts? I wonder.
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“Excuse me, teacher, may I mambo dogface to the banana patch?”
–30–
And actually, my first point was even easier than that… that he showed a marked lack of empathy about the health and welfare of a group of people, based on his perception that they all vote republican.
Of course both parties are responsible for privatization, welfare cuts, increased inequality, the near death of unions, etc, but at least Democratic Party voters (like well over 90% of poor black folks) have the sense to vote for the lesser of two evils. It’s a bad choice. They should have voted socialist, social democratic, labor, etc, but such parties hardly exist in the US. It’s hard to blame them. Voting for the party that open attacked the poor and working class more viciously doesn’t make any sense if you yourself are poor or working class. This is where white people shoot themselves in the foot with irrational choices based on racism.
The declines are strongly associated with the counties that voted for McCain and Romney in the last two elections. Compare the maps of dropping life span and presidential election results and you don’t need to be a statistician to see the overlap.
If you compare the areas with the sharpest drops in life expectancy, typically they voted for McCain and Romney by 10 to 20% margins.
These are the areas with the highest government dependency and the lowest white high school graduation and insurance rates. The hate Obamacare because they’ve never had health insurance and they don’t want anyone else to have it either.
And when someone that age dies, it usually involves painkillers. Call it an accident or call it suicide.
