[ebola1717]

It's true though. We talk about the loss of industrial jobs and NAFTA as a white working class phenomenon, despite the fact that people of all races are affected. We pathologized drug use for decades, until the recent opioid crisis hit rural areas. We talk about the loss of mining jobs, but rarely mention the loss of retail jobs. The Brookings report showed that while white people are dying more, they're still dying at lower rates than blacks. Gentrification, which is a huge economic issue for marginalized populations, is batted away as the way things have to be. Not to mention the treatment of issues like redlining. The biggest political impediment to social welfare policies that would have helped poor white communities has always been "welfare queen" rhetoric that pathologizes black poverty. Moving forward as a country requires us to acknowledge the racial biases in the ways we talk about economic issues.