The medical establishment has always blamed us for not being able to breathe. Just like police cut off our air in chokeholds, medical experts prevent us from clearing the air regarding our health. How do they do it?
Because we suffer from higher rates of asthma, are more likely to be hospitalized by the flu, and have been hit harder by COVID-19, they say our bodies are to blame. They claim our lungs are naturally weak – but their claims are straight-up lies! Here’s how we know.
COVID-19 actually brought the truth to light. Our lungs aren’t weaker, racism is strong! Studies show that the more access someone has to healthcare, employment opportunities, and safe housing, the better their lungs function. Of course, we’ve been discriminated against in every one of these fields.
Healthcare discrimination means we can’t catch lung issues early. Job discrimination means we’re exposed to more toxins, chemicals, fumes, and smoke. And residential discrimination means our neighborhods are more likely to be polluted by corporations! Take this all together, and we suffer disproportionately from respiratory illnesses.
It is long past time for a reckoning with the ways oppression hurts our breathing, both medically and socially. Racism is a public health issue and we cannot hold our breath waiting for the medical establishment to stop blaming US for the racism we endure!