When people say, Everything is not about race, thats an excuse. What they are really saying is they dont understand principles of causation and social and structural determinants. The bottom line is, while there are many intersectoral factors involved in a persons (or people groups) likelihood of negative entry into the justice system, likelihood of poverty, lower literacy capabilities, quality of personal health and other social disparities, race and socio-economic status (often directly connected to race) are key upstream dynamics that lead to risk and exposure to risk. Yes, anybody can be poor, commit crime, have lower literacy, and poor health but there are some people who are more likely than others to experience these disadvantages. And the point is, people dont wake up and decide to be disadvantaged, there are certain structural and social determinants that lead to these liklihoods and the distribution of these disparities impact black and brown people differently than others racial groups. The fact that this is still an argument is an issue but even greater than that, is the fact that this is not understood by people who teach, police, provide healthcare, and other social services to disadvantaged populations. And because these principles are not accepted as true, we continue to render downstream responses and interventions instead of solutions to upstream problems and causation. This is why we keep fighting the same battles over and over and wandering in the desert looking for the progress.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:25:12 +0000
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