Being a racist is bad for your health

[struggle4progress]

... Living in a community with higher levels of anti-black prejudice increased residents’ overall odds of death by 24 percent when mortality risk was assessed independent of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic factors and individually held racial attitudes, the study found.

“Racial prejudice compromises health for the community as a whole,” said lead study author Yeonjin Lee, a sociology researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.

The findings challenge a widespread belief that only victims of racial prejudice can be harmed by prejudice, Lee said by email. Instead, the study found prejudice was harmful for the health of both black and white participants.

“The current finding — that adverse effects of structural racism were not specific to blacks – show that structural discrimination not only damages the low-status group members but also majority group members who live in the same community,” Lee added ...

http://nypost.com/2015/09/18/being-a-racist-is-bad-for-your-health/

[Chemisse]

1. Hatred is a destructive force.

The people who spend so much of their time being angry and hating others are really poisoning themselves.

[cprise]

2. That's great coming from NY Post :)

[Midnight Writer]

3. Not enough factors included here

For example, could it be racist folks tend to be less educated?

Could it be racist folk tend to be poor and underemployed and under educated?

Could it be racist personalities are more prone to stress and the adverse health effects that result?

Could it be that the racists do not live a healthy lifestyle for a variety of reasons (i.e. smoking, drinking, poor diet, inadequate healthcare, prone to conflict, poor interpersonal relationships, etc.)?

Could it be that the communities with high levels of racial animus are under served in terms of health and government services, such as police, fire departments, ambulance services, elder care, education, and infrastructure (such as clean water, sewage, air)?

In other words, is being racist bad for your health (as the headline reads), or are unhealthy people more likely to be racist?

I would never argue that hate is not self-destructive; it clearly damages the hater. It is the height of irrationality to allow your contempt for others to influence and ruin your own live, and the lives of your loved ones.

But from the limited factors considered in this particular study, I would need more evidence to conclude a causal relationship.

[struggle4progress]

4. Could be. Author is a Penn grad student. I haven't seen the study