Remember former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) who got censured for pulling the fire alarm in the Capitol Building as lawmakers prepared to vote to prevent a government shutdown? He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a $1,000 fine and lost the next Democrat primary.
He’s back.
Bowman, appearing last week as a panelist on MSNBC, said, “The reason why heart disease and cancer and obesity and diabetes are bigger in the black community is because of the stress we carry from having to deal with being called the n-word directly or indirectly every day.”
It’s been a tough week for blacks. Whoopi Goldberg of ABC’s “The View” said American blacks would be better off living in Iran:
Goldberg: “Murdering someone for their difference is not good whoever does it. It’s not good.”
(Applause) …
(Co-host) Alyssa Farah Griffin: “I think it’s very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is to live in Iran.”
Goldberg: “Not if you’re black.”
Goldberg’s level of ignorance is startling even for “The View.”
The Human Freedom Index is a project of the CATO Institute and the Fraser Institute. The index rates a nation’s level of freedom based on several factors including civil and economic freedom, religious liberty, personal security and rule of law. Iran consistently ranks among the most repressive nations in the world.
As for Bowman, where does one start? The stress of being called “the n-word directly or indirectly” makes heart disease, cancer and diabetes “bigger in the black community”?!
Other than in rap music or from black comedians, when was the last time a black person heard the n-word uttered directed at him or her? How is one subjected to the n-word “indirectly”? Is it like secondhand smoke? If someone says the n-word within a two-block radius, is it tantamount to being denied the front seat on a bus, prevented from voting or beaten by a racist cop? Where is the typical black person subjected to the n-word directly or indirectly? At work, at church, in a restaurant, on a bus or at Costco?
As for diabetes, the National Institutes of Health in an article called “Factors contributing to higher incidence of diabetes for black Americans” wrote: “A study (by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) found that biological risk factors — including weight and fat around the abdomen — are primarily responsible for higher rates of diabetes for black Americans compared with white Americans. The study suggests that making positive changes in known risk factors, like losing excess weight, can help reduce the racial health disparity for developing diabetes. …
“They found that biological risk factors accounted for most of the health disparity. These factors included a combination of body mass index, waist measurement, fasting glucose levels, lipids, blood pressure, and lung function. Differences between blacks and whites in neighborhood, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors were also linked with diabetes, although to a lesser degree.”
Plenty of studies attribute the disproportionate problem of obesity, particularly among black women, to “systemic racism.” But Thomas Sowell years ago wrote: “The political Left has turned obesity among low-income individuals into an argument that low-income people cannot afford nutritious food, and so have to resort to burgers and fries, pizzas and the like, which are more fattening and less healthful. … Burgers, pizzas, and the like cost more than food that you can buy at a store and cook yourself. If you can afford junk food, you can certainly afford healthier food.”
How does “systemic racism” prevent one from exercising? Why has the problem of obesity gotten worse when, by any measure, the country is markedly less racist than in the past?
As for cancer, the Cleveland Clinic says: “Cancer is a genetic disorder. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s inherited. It happens when genes that manage cell activity mutate (change). They create abnormal cells that divide and multiply, eventually disrupting how your body works.”
The National Cancer Institute says, “Although chronic stress can lead to many health problems, whether it is linked to cancer is not clear.”
But it is certainly clear to Dr. Bowman and his never-ending quest to describe blacks as helpless victims of oppression.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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