Kennedy’s hearing signifies how close a man with medically racist beliefs is to becoming the US’s leading health official

  • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    During Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Senate confirmation hearing on 30 January, Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic senator from Maryland, pressed the nominee on his past claims that Black people have a stronger immune system than white people and thereby, should receive vaccines on a different schedule than them. “What different vaccine schedule would you say I should have received?” Alsobrooks, who is Black, asked the health secretary nominee. Kennedy then referenced a “series of studies” showing that “to particular antigens, Blacks have a much stronger reaction”.

    I randomly rewatched The Help and one of the racist white ladies was talking about how black people have different germs. “How ridiculous,” I thought. And yet here we are.

    Again.

    • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      They were still telling students in med school as recent as the past 4 years that black ppl need less painkillers because we, “Tolerate pain better than other races.”

      Ppl surprised by this rhetoric haven’t been paying attention

      • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        It’s well documented that black people get less care and are prescribed less painkillers because of this myth, as well as the racist assumption that block people seeking out pain relief are just after drugs

        • charade_you_are@sh.itjust.works
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          3 hours ago

          Red headed black people shouldn’t need painkillers at all.
          (I bet I could write a 5 sentence research paper and send it to this dipshit and he’d quote it)