The series Gossip Girl, which was a fan favorite on Netflix for many years features a large variety of injustices due to the very different socioeconomic status of the characters in season one. The show features characters who have grown up and lived in Brooklyn, New York their entire lives and also feature those who were more prestigious and grew up on the Upper Eastside of New York. This is where the large divide between classes begins. Dan and Jennie were siblings who grew up with their father in a small apartment in Brooklyn. Blair, Serena, Nate, and Chuck were all wealthy kids who grew up in large penthouses and had everything they could need at their disposal 24/7. They all attended the same private school except Dan and Jennie were on scholarship, because of this they struggled deeply to fit in and those who were wealthier did not make it any easier. They would have little groups that excluded those who were less fortunate and made them feel as though they were less because they did not have the same opportunities or money. Another example where socioeconomic status played a large role in an injustice was when Jennie the young girl from Brooklyn tried so hard to fit in and be a part of the popular group. The leader of the group Blair made her do mean things and did terrible things to her only because she was of a lower status than her and her friends. All of the cruel things that the wealthier and upper-class students did to those less fortunate were only done because they felt as though they were better than them because of the money that they had. These examples are very similar to the way the “one” and the “other” are used because those such as Jennie and Dan are comparable to the “other”. Blair, Serena, Nate, and Chuck would be considered the “ones” because people see them as being higher up and better than those who are less fortunate than them. The characters who are seen as the “other” face many more injustices and are treated very differently than those who would be seen as the “ones”. All of these examples and comparisons show how injustices truly affect people and should be considered more when talking about socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status is a large part of people’s daily lives, but sometimes it is taken too seriously and is used to treat people the wrong way.
Author: ange.4
Yo is this Racist Podcast – Ali Ange, Madi Shenkel
Transcript:
Ali: Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s episode of Yo is this racist? I’m Ali Ange
Madi: and i’m Madi Shenkel
Ali: And we are here to talk to you guys and inform you on the topic of racism in health care and how this is affecting African American individuals in their day-to-day lives.
Madi: Thank you, Ali, We will be kicking this off by first introducing some important key terms, such as systemic, injustice, racism, and systemic racism.
Ali: We will be diving a little deeper into these terms and how they are being used today.
Madi: The first term we will be covering is systemic. The definition revealed in Merriam Webster dictionary states that systemic is “of or relating to an entire system”. The next term we’ll be covering is Racism. The definition that comes from Oxford Languages states that Racism is “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership to a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized”.
Ali: Thank you for that definition Madi. This then leads us into learning the true meaning of systemic racism and how this affects individuals. According to the Fair Fight Initiative, systemic racism unfairly elevates white people over everyone else. It influences how people are treated by the justice system, but it can also affect housing, education, health care, hiring processes, and many other things in their lives. Systemic racism is not always obvious, although it certainly can be. The Jim Crow Laws were one of the most obvious examples of this. Systemic racism can even be unconscious and it helps create inequality.
Madi: Yah ali, your right and I completely agree, I believe that systemic racism can happen without realization of the harm and/or distraught toward people that it can cause.
Ali: It is so sad and heartbreaking to not only hear but to see systemic racism within these environments.
Madi: As we broaden our knowledge on systemic racism, I would like to touch on an article that was posted by Medical News, it states that a study found that unfair treatment of people of color has a significant consequential effect on sleep and physiological functioning in midlife. Many studies have cited structural racism within medical care as a key factor in poor physical health. For example, a 2016 study into racial bias and pain management found a link between undertreating pain in Black patients and false biological beliefs, such as, “Black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s skin.
Ali: This was a great example of systemic racism and definitely shows how something so small can have a large impact on a person physically as well as mentally. Looking into the bigger picture, and current events that have shown racial injustice as well as systemic injustices, we see that racial bias within health care has been a major problem today, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Madi: I completely agree. Throughout this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic, African American patients have entered the health care system with distinct disadvantages which are seen as a systemic injustice today.
Ali: After looking through many articles, one that stood out to me the most was from the New York Times. This article had conveyed that decades of research shows that black patients receive inferior medical care compared to white patients and they also have less access to quality healthcare. This was shown this past year throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with African Americans being denied a say in regards to medical resources such as ventilators.
Madi: First of all, that is absolutely devastating and this just shows that this is an example of a systemic injustice and has greatly affected the African American community throughout not only receiving medical care but for people within the medical field having some sort of human decency to understand that humans should be treated equally no matter their race.
Ali: So I would love to just talk briefly about an article that had covered some of the major effects of African Americans’ injustices within health care and how they had dealt with and had to work around these circumstances. I read an article by the medical news today and they covered many of the statistics regarding African Americans’ ability to receive health care and how racism within health care is constantly affecting their overall health.
Madi: The article is a great example of systemic injustices within health care and allows people around the world to gain knowledge on this topic to hopefully find and fight for a change within the healthcare system. I believe that these statistics regarding African Americans within the COVID 19 pandemic are valid and I also believe it is very crucial to understand the position that these individuals are placed in when it comes to receiving medical help.
Ali: Yes! We see that African Americans were 3.57 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people. So what is your outlook on this and why do you think such a large number of people have to face these challenges?
Madi: I believe that African Americans are put at an unfair advantage and these challenges that they are facing suppress their rights to have access to the best medical care, just as anyone else does, the color of their skin should have no impact on that.
Ali: I completely agree, this issue has been seen in many cases all over the world and shows how great the mistreatment of African Americans really is which is affecting their ability to live an equal and fair life just as anyone else of a different race would.
Madi: After researching all of the challenges that many African Americans face when working to receive the best medical attention it allows people to realize the long-lasting effects that may come as a result of these difficulties. Some of the effects include physical and mental health, their careers, and their livelihoods.
Ali: That’s very true Madi, these things leave very large impacts on people every day and many people don’t think twice about how devastating that can be for families. So many people around the world try so hard to make it past those difficult circumstances that are put against them and many are unable to do so.
Madi: Physical and mental health are very serious issues that should be talked about more often in society than it really is..
Ali: Yes, and that is why we are here. Our jobs are to tell the world the things that other people are way too scared to.
Madi: And that is exactly what we are doing. One article that I read recently does exactly that and shows some of the serious problems that stem from racism itself. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the data shows that racial and ethnic minority groups, throughout the United States, experience higher rates of illness and death across a wide range of health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and heart disease, when compared to their White counterparts. Additionally, the life expectancy of non-Hispanic/Black Americans is four years lower than that of White Americans. The COVID-19 pandemic itself and its disproportionate impact among racial and ethnic minority populations is another stark example of these enduring health disparities that people go through.
Ali: Wow, that article made some really great points and I truly believe that there are so many different ways to help solve this ongoing issue. The problem is getting everyone to understand how big this issue really is.
Madi: I wish that it was just as easy as telling people about it and then the whole problem would be solved. But it’s not. Although we are going to try, by giving some good advice to help with the main issues that people are dealing with in these trying times.
Ali: That is exactly right. We have both discussed this issue before and have agreed upon a few things that could help to stop this systematic injustice from harming any more people in the future.
Madi: The first idea that we came up with is to start early on educating people about this topic. Educating people is a great way to inform them of the many consequences that come from racism and the difficulties that African Americans face because of it.
Ali: I wish that this was talked about more, then maybe more people would understand and it would not be as traumatic for African Americans today. We also decided that another way to help fix this issue is to take a deeper look at laws that affect healthcare for these African Americans.
Madi: That’s true, many laws that are still enforced today have underlying racist values and nobody ever seems to talk about them. The laws themselves have been around for a very long time, but they’ve never been changed or altered to work in today’s society, and the society that we live in today is very different from what it used to be. The laws themselves are being looked at in some states because COVID-19 has brought light to the issues.
Ali: Solving these issues is a very important way to help these African Americans through the even harder times of the pandemic. I read one article that I found to be very interesting regarding the small changes that are beginning to be made in legislation today. The article by the National Conference of State Legislatures said that In the wake of COVID-19, and the evidence highlighting health disparities among historically underserved populations, several states have changed data reporting these requirements, increased equitable access to referral systems, required different state executive branch agencies to study, update and implement policies that address health disparities where applicable, and issued executive orders and declared racism as a public health crisis.
Madi: Wow, I love that that is going on these days. This article was a really great example of a major issue in racism that could be solved in such a reasonably simple way.
Ali: Well that’s all the time we have today for this episode. Madi, do you mind doing a quick review of everything we have learned and covered in today’s episode.
Madi: Of course! Throughout this whole episode, we have discussed some major problems in the healthcare system and how that has led to a large systemic injustice. How the effects of these injustices destroy families and how there are long-lasting effects of systemic racism in the healthcare system. What we really need to do is get everyone around the world to truly understand the difficulties. Once people understand, is when the real work truly begins in stopping the injustices. If every listener takes away one thing from this episode I truly hope that it is to just treat everyone equally whether that is in the healthcare system or just in your daily lives.
Ali: I hope this episode helped you learn some important facts that can aid others in the future and help people cope with these difficulties. Please drop any comments or concerns that you have down below and don’t forget to subscribe and look out for our new episode next week.
Madi: Thanks for listening
Ali: PEACE!!!
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/coronavirus-african-americans-bias.html
https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/racism-in-healthcare
https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-disparities-laws.aspx
Diary of Systemic Injustice Showcase: Injustices within the health care system
Throughout this past year and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, African American patients have entered the health care system with distinct disadvantages which are seen as systemic injustices today. In recent months, African Americans have experienced extreme inequalities when it comes to receiving not only healthcare but resources to cure an illness that is potentially life-threatening. In the article “Racial inequities in COVID-19 — the impact on black communities” posted by Medical News Today, Prof. David R. Williams and Dr. Lisa A. Cooper acknowledges the fact that “By creating unequal access to resources and opportunity, racism is a fundamental cause of racial inequities in health” ³. This quote portrays African Americans’ struggle to receive medical care on top of the worry of racial bias potentially playing a role. The struggle that they face is suppressing their rights to have access to the best medical care, just as anyone else does, the color of their skin should have no impact on that. As stated in an article by the New York Times, decades of research show that “black patients receive inferior medical care to white patients” ². This article conveys that African Americans have clear disadvantages that should be taken into consideration and fixed immediately. African Americans or a person of any race should not have to face inequalities and or challenges in the health care system when trying to receive serious medical help. This is seen as a systemic injustice today because African Americans are facing life-threatening challenges that are affecting many people’s lives in various ways. Another example of why this is seen as a systemic injustice today is that African Americans have “less access to quality healthcare” in many African American communities ¹. This was shown this past year throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with African Americans being denied a say in regards to medical resources such as ventilators. This issue has been seen in many cases all over the world and shows how great the mistreatment of African Americans really is. Receiving medical attention should in no case be denied to a person due to their race. The struggle that they face is suppressing their rights to have access to the best medical care, just as anyone else does, the color of their skin should have no impact on that. Looking more in-depth on these challenges that African Americans face within the healthcare system allows me to connect my understanding of this topic to the topic of the “one” and the “other” from the short story written by Simone deBeauvoir. In this systemic injustice example, the “one” can be seen as the healthcare system and the “other” would be African Americans that are trying to receive medical help. This is an example because the healthcare system is looking down on them as if they are not worthy of quality medical care. These examples of systemic injustice have greatly affected the African American community throughout not only receiving medical care but for people within the medical field having some sort of human decency to understand that humans should be treated equally no matter their race.
(1)https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hast.1135
(2)https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/coronavirus-african-americans-bias.html
Satrapies Persepolis: Suppression of Self Expression and Freedom
In the reading, The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, suppression of self-expression and freedom were a few themes that were spoken about and referenced throughout this story. At the beginning of the story, we observe the country of Iran from the perspective of a 10-year-old. This allows us to visualize the background of this story in Iranian history where schools became segregated by gender and women needed to wear veils, also known as hijabs. Throughout the time period of 1979, the Islamic revolution took place, then in 1980, the veil became mandatory for all women, all bilingual schools were closed down, and Satrapi was placed into an Islamic school for all girls.
BBC News article states “Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini decreed that all women had to wear the veil – regardless of religion or nationality.” During this period, the hijab became a symbol of resistance and protest against the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah, who was the Former Shah of Iran. Although many people may have supported the political symbol of the veil, many citizens were against it. Looking more in-depth at these themes that were displayed throughout the book, an article from CBC states, “By 1981, it became compulsory for all women in Iran above the age of 9 to wear the veil. Other changes also followed: gender segregation in the workplace, schools, and sporting events.” This message portrays that women were being suppressed of their freedom and self-expression by Khomeini, the Iran leader. This quote also compares the experiences that Satrapi and her mom had gone through including the veil mandate as well as Satrapi being separated from her friends.
Some events that have occurred recently that relate to the suppression of freedom and self-expression within the book could be COVID vaccinations. Requiring vaccinations for all people within a work environment around the world could be seen as suppressing their right to self-expression as well as freedom of religion. The Cornell Law States, “Government adopts and enforces many measures that are designed to further a valid interest but that may restrict freedom of expression.” This shows that although government mandates may be valid, they do suppress citizens’ right to self-expression and freedom. There are many examples of suppression of freedom and self-expression that can relate back to the experiences that Satrapi endured as a child during the Islamic revolution.
BBC. (2019, February 8). Iranian women – before and after the Islamic revolution. BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47032829 , September 29, 2021
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Particular governmental regulations that restrict expression.
Legal Information Institute.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-1/particular-governmental-r
egulations-that-restrict-expression , September 29, 2021
“The Stolen Revolution: Iranian Women of 1979 | CBC Radio.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio
Canada, 9 Dec. 2019,
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-stolen-revolution-iranian-women-of-1979-1.504832
October 1, 2021