Althouse: "People can’t empathize with what it truly means to be poor in this country, to live in a too-small space with too many people..."

April 6, 2020

"People can’t empathize with what it truly means to be poor in this country, to live in a too-small space with too many people..."

"... to not have enough money to buy food for a long duration or anywhere to store it if they did. People don’t know what it’s like to live in a food desert where fresh fruit and vegetables are unavailable and nutrient-deficient junk food is cheap and exists in abundance. People are quick to criticize these people for crowding into local fast food restaurants to grab something to eat. Not everyone can afford to order GrubHub or FreshDirect. Furthermore, in a nation where too many black people have been made to feel that their lives are constantly under threat, the existence of yet another produces less of a panic. The ability to panic becomes a privilege existing among those who rarely have to do it. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone who can to stay home, but I’m also aware enough to know that not everyone can or will, and that it is not simply a pathological disregard for the common good. If you are sheltering in place in an ivory tower, or even a comfortable cul-de-sac or a smartly well-appointed apartment, and your greatest concern is boredom and leftover food, please stop scolding those scratching to survive."

From "Social Distancing Is a Privilege/The idea that this virus is an equal-opportunity killer must itself be killed" by Charles M. Blow (NYT). Blow is discussing the WBEZ article — "In Chicago, 70% of COVID-19 Deaths Are Black" — that were were talking about here, last night.

117 comments:

Sebastian said...: "stop scolding those scratching to survive."

Don't blame the pro-sanity action. We want most of the scratchers to be back at work.

But serious quarantines for the risk groups. Yes, that includes separating old overweight blacks from their families in overcrowded spaces. I hear hospitals and college dorms are pretty empty.; 4/6/20, 7:58 AM
DarkHelmet said...: It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?; 4/6/20, 7:58 AM
MayBee said...: Furthermore, in a nation where too many black people have been made to feel that their lives are constantly under threat, the existence of yet another produces less of a panic.

This is interesting wording. I do believe the "made to feel" is important here. Perhaps the progressive message that people don't care about you - or are actively trying to hurt you- isn't helpful in the long run.

I do agree with this article. Someone told me Mayor Duggin is saying there will be a $1000 fine in Wayne County for breaking social distancing mandates. I like Mayor Duggin, but if you know you don't have $1000 to pay, how much do you even fear that fine?; 4/6/20, 8:01 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Wrap your brain around this mess. Like Pelosi's Chinatown celebration speech.

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2020/04/identity-politics-lied-new-yorkers-died.html
Loved the quote about subway riders.; 4/6/20, 8:01 AM
MayBee said...: It's not even just the call space people are living in. Families that are dysfunctional aren't suddenly becoming functional because they are on lockdown. The kid with little parental supervision or care isn't suddenly getting homeschooled in Latin. How easy is it to tell people who are already leading pretty marginally functional lives that now they have to "socially distance" themselves?; 4/6/20, 8:05 AM
Kevin said...: Yet another piece in which the poor are dehumanized and objectified so people like Charles Blow can tell us about their subjective perceptions of them.

You might think people and organizations who purport to serve the poor might have a few around to speak for themselves.; 4/6/20, 8:13 AM
Oso Negro said...: I yearn for a society in which all citizens are above average.; 4/6/20, 8:14 AM
paminwi said...: I am lucky enough to not have to experience what Blow is talking about.
I have a hard time criticizing those whose living situation is so different than mine.
I my relatively large space there are times I really need space from my spouse.
I am able to find another space.
I empathize with those who can not.
THAT is ANOTHER reason we need to figure out how to get out of this quarantine ASAP!; 4/6/20, 8:15 AM
Michael said...: Well the CIA’s scheme to poison the black community with cocaine failed. Maybe this Republican plot to kill all the brown people with a virus they brought from China will work.

You can bet this will be a rumor in the hood. Inserted by you know who.; 4/6/20, 8:18 AM
Michael said...: Obvious that people crammed into small spaces are more susceptible. But mainly black Compton, Ca has fewer cases than Beverly Hills. Both suburbanish with single family homes.; 4/6/20, 8:21 AM
MayBee said...: If you are sheltering in place in an ivory tower, or even a comfortable cul-de-sac or a smartly well-appointed apartment, and your greatest concern is boredom and leftover food, please stop scolding ...."

I would end the quote here, and think it is excellent advice.; 4/6/20, 8:23 AM
Leland said...: So much to agree and disagree. First, I've written it around here before, but COVID-19 isn't racist. It doesn't see the color of one's skin. The world wide death toll shows this to be true. That Blow wants to make this a racist issue tells us about him, not the virus.

However, Blow is right about the privilege to panic and stay at home. I see too many on social media writing something like this, "All you have to do is sit on the couch and do nothing, you can do this!" Nope, not everyone can just sit on the couch, and many can't do so binge watching Netflix like they are Joy Reid or something.

Those who feel the need to work right now understand PPE and use it in their daily lives more than they use make-up. They need to work in order to pay their bills, because $1200 won't do it. You wonder why their bills are too high? It is because they are trying to improve their lives beyond the poverty they would otherwise live in. Staying at home is staying in that poverty. They'll take a risk to avoid that life.; 4/6/20, 8:23 AM
narciso said...: and yet they don't give a column to Berenson, who is actually mining the numbers, but that would interfere with the narrative,; 4/6/20, 8:24 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: You first, Blow.; 4/6/20, 8:27 AM
Clayton Hennesey said...: The karma settling its talons like the angel of irony over this issue is that it is the richest enclaves able and prone to travel and thus seed the virus among themselves which are the ones most becoming infected with it, while the poorest and most isolated have already been socially distanced by everyone else.; 4/6/20, 8:27 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Mr. Blow is an idiot, but mixed in with his beclouded judgments is the germ (no pun intended) of a really important point - wealth makes health. Growing GDP has brought us better public health, clean water, sanitation, discovery of penicillin, vaccinations, best doctors, best hospitals, etc, etc. Last time I checked, average life expectancy increased in the US from age 52 in the 1920s to the late 70s by 2020.

But sadly, the inverse is true - lack of wealth, leads to lack of health. Blow is seeing this with his own eyes, and he is largely correct.

But, my take is, that is why we cannot afford to tank the economy. If we keep the economy under lock down for months, while Dr. Fauci gives esoteric press conferences about curves and graphs and CFRs, Mr. Blow is going to see a lot more of the poverty that concerns him.; 4/6/20, 8:27 AM
Calypso Facto said...: It's not a "staycation" for everyone? Althouse hardest hit.; 4/6/20, 8:29 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: I call total shenanigans.

I've been in countries, like Mexico and the Philippines where people are really poor and undernourished. They are small and thin.

We're in the midst of an obesity epidemic in the U.S. Our #1 health issue, until this pandemic, was obesity, and blacks have the highest incidence. The poor in the U.S. are huge and fat. They're killing themselves with soda pop and massive doses of carbs. This is a choice, perhaps made out of ignorance, but it's a choice.

So, Blow is simply lying for dramatic effect.; 4/6/20, 8:31 AM
narciso said...: blow is all about ressentiment, there is nothing you can salvage from that screed. it's like taking small doses of idocane, like inigo Montoya did, to guard himself against the poisoning to vizzini,; 4/6/20, 8:32 AM
Temujin said...: I get what Blow is saying and I do not disagree with much of it. Surprising, because I rarely agree with Charles Blow. The same issues with health that always apply to the poorest neighborhoods most certainly will apply with the coronavirus. It is a factor of many things in our poorest urban neighborhoods. Culture- born out of poverty that pervades, evolves, and becomes intractable within those communities. What started as race- breaking people down by color and segmenting them into separate areas, evolves into a culture. And by culture I mean many many categories- from what the sources of information are, to what the options for food are, to how those communities find solace in churches, to living with danger everyday and why is this day different than any others? Look at Chicago, for instance. Or Baltimore. The killings have slowed down, but they have not stopped.

So while all of us commenting here might be finding our way and, as Blow says, fighting off boredom or having to order groceries for delivery (the horror), there are entire communities that do not, cannot, and they are getting hit the hardest because of how they have to live. The disease is not racist. But it will find its way down the easiest path to destruction and that runs right through the neighborhoods that racism created long ago.; 4/6/20, 8:34 AM
Lucien said...: A nice description of what “people have been made to feel” by one of those laboring to make them feel that way.; 4/6/20, 8:34 AM
Michael K said...: "Food deserts" are created by shop lifting, which is now a non-crime to most leftist politicians.; 4/6/20, 8:34 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 8:34 AM
Andrew said...: "Well the CIA’s scheme to poison the black community with cocaine failed. Maybe this Republican plot to kill all the brown people with a virus they brought from China will work."

I get your point. But the CIA involvement in the Central American drug trade, which did indeed affect the black community severely, is feasible to me, if not definite. I don't think it can be dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Fortunately, the CIA cleared itself and found no evidence of such things.

An agency that can kill Orlando Letelier in DC is certainly capable of anything.; 4/6/20, 8:35 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This virus was tailor made for the left to keep us all separated, anxious, and filled with hate and resentment.

It's as if the Chi-coms and Hillary/hack press created it in a lab.; 4/6/20, 8:36 AM
DavidUW said...: ST, this is a classic trope- Basically, poor people are so stupid they can't buy fruits and vegetables/don't know donuts and McD's are bad for them, plus the racism of grocery stores of course.

It's all BS.

People who grew up in the 'hood in milwaukee knew that donuts aren't good for you.
We ate them anyway. Why? They taste good.

Jesus.; 4/6/20, 8:37 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I recognize and am grateful for everything I have. We should all strive to do as much as we can for others in need. Our intimidate neighbors. Right now, that is easier said than done. Our distance from each other is magnified right now.

I don't need a Blow-hard progressive in NY lecturing me on ANYTHING. EVER.; 4/6/20, 8:37 AM
A Voice of Reason said...: Poverty (other than abject poverty, of course) is not as much a problem as is relative poverty. We know and care way too much about how (better off) others are doing. There is always someone better off. The trick is not to care, and to count your own blessings, which, historically speaking, are immense.; 4/6/20, 8:38 AM
James Pawlak said...: The (Violent) crime rate (Approaching Zero) of the poor people who came to the USA from China (AND their "children") should be compared with like rate among the USA's Blacks. The same, for the most part, applies to the poor Jews who were immigrants into our Republic.

There is a very distinct cultural difference between those cultures.

No solution to Black's crime rate (And disease rates) is possible until those differences are publicly admitted and addressed.; 4/6/20, 8:45 AM
narciso said...: of course they don't address this; 4/6/20, 8:48 AM
Calypso Facto said...: BleachBit-and-Hammers said..."Our intimidate neighbors"

Love the portmanteau, and I'm trying to envision its cause: Nice neighbors, but big dog? Nice, but odd lights in the windows at night? So Stepford-like it's scary? Close, but almost too close in the time of Coronavirus?; 4/6/20, 8:48 AM
rhhardin said...: You don't get coronavirus from huddling with ten people. You get it from huddling with somebody with coronovirus.

If only one of the people ever goes out, there's no extra risk to anybody, the public or the huddlers.; 4/6/20, 8:49 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: While the left gear up to blame Trump... and you...
and you and you and you and you...and racism and you and not themselves ever...

China Will Do Anything to Deflect Coronavirus Blame; 4/6/20, 8:53 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: C Facto?

What?

I ask some of my elderly nighbors if they need something from the store. Do they have everything they need? Some on the blog are sewing masks. is that stepford?; 4/6/20, 8:56 AM
Fernandinande said...: Donuts are a food dessert.

The (Violent) crime rate (Approaching Zero) of the poor people who came to the USA from China (AND their "children") should be compared with like rate among the USA's Blacks.

"Additionally, the ghetto was very racist. It was common for minority kids, whether they were Black or Hispanic to regularly hurl racial epithets at Asians. The adults often did the same, but the racism coming from the kids was a lot worse because kids are kids and they usually don’t know any better. Racial violence was common too."

Anyway, poor Chinese immigrant girl who didn't speak English goes to ghetto schools in the US and ends up going to Standford and Cornell, apparently because the schools were so bad; but at least they didn't put her picture on a tube of toothpaste.; 4/6/20, 8:57 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Instead of shop-lifting, tend a garden. nah - that's racist.; 4/6/20, 8:58 AM
narciso said...: a more topical offering; 4/6/20, 8:58 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Chicago is a blue city. Where is the fix? The long term and short term answer? Don't ask!; 4/6/20, 9:00 AM
Calypso Facto said...: BleachBit-and-Hammers said...C Facto? What?

Just got a chuckle from your typo, Bleach: "Our intimidate neighbors". I tried to imagine a reason to mash up intimate and intimidating regarding your neighbors.

On the serious side, I totally agree with your intended sentiment regarding taking care of intimate neighbors. We've done the same ourselves, helping the old folks and young parents in the neighborhood.; 4/6/20, 9:04 AM
320Busdriver said...: To understand just how F@#$&*% up our nations health, nutrition , and food system is I recommend

“Fat, a documentary”. Available on Amazon ....free with prime.

Being so unhealthy just got a LOT more risky.; 4/6/20, 9:04 AM
Peter said...: Yup, there is no doubt the poor residents of inner cities are in tough and will suffer badly. Some righteous souls will roll up their hands to help them in concrete ways, but for the most part they are just going to have to take comfort knowing that thousands of NYT readers are emoting for them and cursing Donald Trump for their plight.; 4/6/20, 9:04 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 9:05 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 9:07 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: C Facto - Oh right., SORRY. I didn't even notice my type-o, even after YOU posted it. I have the word in my head and it doesn't match my fingers and then boom - auto-correct, and I ignore/do not see, my own typo.
LOL -

It's important to intimidate the neighbors right now.; 4/6/20, 9:08 AM
Ken B said...: althouse sets another trap. Lovely.; 4/6/20, 9:11 AM
MayBee said...: I think about the looting after Hurricane Katrina, and how that was justified by the watching news media figures. At least there hasn't been any Corona Virus looting that I've heard of.; 4/6/20, 9:11 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Intimidate = immediate. on post # 8:37.; 4/6/20, 9:12 AM
LYNNDH said...: Food Deserts - so how many big city Mayors and SJW's have kept WalMarts out of the inner cities?; 4/6/20, 9:14 AM
MarkW said...: If you are sheltering in place in an ivory tower, or even a comfortable cul-de-sac or a smartly well-appointed apartment, and your greatest concern is boredom and leftover food, please stop scolding ...."

But scolding is definitely needed -- it's just that relatively comfortable white folks in the suburbs are the wrong ones to do it. The flip side of "it's not their fault" is "there's nothing they can do about it" -- a terrible (and false and racist) message. This guy gets it (or rather got it, since he died of the virus a few days after making the video):

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/us/detroit-bus-driver-dies-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

Also note that while African Americans are dying at a disproportionate rate, Hispanics are not -- in Illinois (one of the few states to track the race of patients), they're actually accounting for a much smaller percentage of victims (9%) than their overall share of the population (17%):

https://news.wttw.com/2020/04/05/41-illinois-residents-dying-covid-19-are-black

Hispanics are poorer than average and tend to live in smaller homes in urban areas but appear to be doing much better than average, not much worse.; 4/6/20, 9:14 AM
NMN said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 9:15 AM
LYNNDH said...: And in Europe you find well stocked grocery stores, small but stocked, in cities. Why not in the US?; 4/6/20, 9:15 AM
Gahrie said...: More Leftwing racist paternalism.

"Don't blame Black people..they can't help it"

"Don't blame poor people, they can't help it"; 4/6/20, 9:15 AM
Gahrie said...: The idea that anyone in America lives in a "food desert" - other than people who choose to live in the wilderness - is ludicrous.

There are far fewer stores in some communities than there are in others. This is largely due to the fact that in some communities stores are looted and burned down on a regular basis, and shoplifting is a local past time.; 4/6/20, 9:17 AM
Farmer said...: Michael K said...
"Food deserts" are created by shop lifting, which is now a non-crime to most leftist politicians.

I don't know if that's true. I think it's much more likely that "food deserts" are a bullshit term. If the urban poor want fresh fruit and vegetables and don't have a market nearby, they have access to public transportation. They can get fresh produce, and they can get it easily and cheaply. Similarly, the rural poor - who have access to vehicles, because they couldn't survive without them - can drive to the nearest WalMart for fresh produce. The issue isn't inability to buy healthy food. Maybe the issue is people are choosing not to. The idea that anyone in America lives in a "food desert" - other than people who choose to live in the wilderness - is ludicrous.; 4/6/20, 9:17 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: People can’t empathize with what it truly means to be poor in this country, to live in a too-small space with too many people..."............."... to not have enough money to buy food for a long duration or anywhere to store it if they did

Mr. Blow also can't seem to empathize with (or want to acknowledge) the fact that many other truly poor people do NOT live in cities and are not all "people of color".

Yes if you live in a city, you probably don't have a stockpile of food, a good way to cook, and do rely on day to day supplying. You don't have enough money to last this artificial situation, much less a regular life.

Poor is poor, no matter where you are or what color you are. However....it is a bit easier to be poor when you don't live in a big city. A bit.

If you want to talk about food desert and distance to shopping.....well.....let me tell you....NAH. Nevermind.

Trying to make this situation all about race, is a big big mistake.; 4/6/20, 9:21 AM
The Minnow Wrangler said...: Writers like this always assume that "poverty" is something you can never escape. They say things like, "you don't know what it's like to be poor". Almost everyone is poor at some point in their lifetime (college students, young married couples, etc.)

I despise people who think that the "poor" have no agency at all and are just helpless victims.; 4/6/20, 9:23 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: You know your country is wealthy, when your poorest are your fattest. You think the poorest in India somehow have a lotta food to eat and get fat?

Never mind that, let's talk health:

Obesity causes many diseases that kill you - heart disease and diabetes are the two biggies. There's probably a cancer angle too.

Simple medical advice - don't eat a large pepperoni pizza for breakfast. It'll make you fat - which 'll make you sick.; 4/6/20, 9:23 AM
Chris N said...: ‘Frankly, these long days, I find myself in either a food desert or a food prison. I cannot be made to feel comfortable amongst the rabble. Their florid street poetry no longer grips my ear. Racism!’

-Sir Charles Fairfield Blau (Mayflower Patrician, from the 1619 Letters, volume 1); 4/6/20, 9:27 AM
Doug said...: I wonder if the poor people to whom this wealthy writer refers ever take the opportunity to examine the choices they have made in the past that put them in this predicament.; 4/6/20, 9:29 AM
bagoh20 said...: "."Our intimidate neighbors""

My neighbor has two 10 foot dragons guarding his driveway. He's plays a fire breathing wizard in Las Vegas show, but he's a really nice Wizard.; 4/6/20, 9:30 AM
Pookie Number 2 said...: I cannot help but point out that ostensibly-compassionate Democratic billionaires are willing to spend far more of their fortunes in pursuit of political power than in attempting to provide for the disadvantaged.; 4/6/20, 9:31 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: In addition to what I said....Mr Blow does have a very valid point that others on this very comment section have made. The inability to understand and empathize with those who are less well off.

Some who have the means to be able to "stay at home" with just a small amount of discomfort to their lifestyle and who are being all sanctimoniousness about telling everyone else to do the same; don't have the understanding of just how impossible and difficult it is.

Besides facing the possibility of catching a virus, many more are facing CERTAIN financial ruin. Not a possibility....certainty!!!. Loss of their homes and other assets. Loss of their businesses. Draining of all of their savings. A lifetime of work going up in smoke. Great difficulty in having or finding the supplies that are needed to be stuck in quarantine. For many...not being able to go to work for a just a few weeks is enough to send them into a financial death spiral.

Complacent Celebrities tell everyone to "stay home". Yeah. Easy for YOU to say. The financially well off.....Ditto.

Sanctimonious posturing from the ivory towers. Doesn't play well with the proles.; 4/6/20, 9:38 AM
bagoh20 said...: I have been really poor, and I know many other people who have climbed out it too, some with very few advantages in life. It really is a matter of choices and discipline, and neither are easy, but I've never seen that combination fail. It doesn't require abandoning fun or avoiding pleasures, or accepting painful sacrifices, but you have to have priorities that win out most of the time. Those I know who never got out of it, just never really tried.; 4/6/20, 9:43 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: It's important that the 10 foot dragons intimidate the neighbors.

!; 4/6/20, 9:45 AM
AlbertAnonymous said...: Charles Blow? Tells you all you need to know.

One trick pony.

No thanks. Even if it weren’t behind a paywall, I still wouldn’t waste my time.

And talk about privileged... look in the mirror Charles.; 4/6/20, 9:49 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Indeed, DBQ. and another point that comes to my mind is tax season. All the property taxes and big fat checks and income taxes paid by the working class. we pay and pay and pay and what needs fixing never gets fixed.; 4/6/20, 9:49 AM
Big Mike said...: The funny thing to me is that people read Charles Blow and imagine that he has any particular insight into the plight of poor, inner city black people. Why is that, one wonders. Because he lives among poor, inner city blacks people? Not hardly! Perhaps because of his skin color? I dunno about that — my own white skin doesn’t give me much insight into the plight of white billionaires on Long Island. Could it be that he pulls facts out of his ass for the benefit of credulous readers who want to emote all over poor folks?; 4/6/20, 9:50 AM
rcocean said...: I'm shocked we haven't heard from Tanishi Coates with some genius thoughts about "Black bodies and white doctors".

Most of these poor black people - living in food deserts - are dying in Democrat run big cities. Why do white democrats hate black bodies, Mr. Blow?; 4/6/20, 9:50 AM
SGT Ted said...: "I call total shenanigans.

I've been in countries, like Mexico and the Philippines where people are really poor and undernourished. They are small and thin.

We're in the midst of an obesity epidemic in the U.S. Our #1 health issue, until this pandemic, was obesity, and blacks have the highest incidence. The poor in the U.S. are huge and fat. They're killing themselves with soda pop and massive doses of carbs. This is a choice, perhaps made out of ignorance, but it's a choice.

So, Blow is simply lying for dramatic effect."

Yup. Diseases that are caused by a diet that makes you fat are self inflicted. It isn't Devil Whiteys fault that people don't use their EBT cards to buy basic healthy groceries. Basic healthy groceries are cheaper overall than processed foods and junk food, but you have to be willing to actually cook them and that takes effort and time.

No one ever blames poor fat white folks diets on other people.; 4/6/20, 9:50 AM
bagoh20 said...: The stay at home thing was definitely not the same sacrifice for everyone. Not even close. For some it was pretty much normal, with no loss of income, and probably even helped them add to their savings account, get some reading done, and avoid irritating neighbors or family.

For others it was daily anxiety about bills piling up, and if their previous work and sacrifices were being wiped out overnight. They were left looking at their families and knowing they were getting poorer every day, and that it is your job to provide for them, and you couldn't even try.; 4/6/20, 9:51 AM
Francisco D said...: Writers like this always assume that "poverty" is something you can never escape.

Writers like Charles Blow don't want people to escape. It would belie the poverty scam that leftists have been perpetrating on us for 60 years.

It is an obvious offshoot of the racism scam (aka the White Guilt scam).; 4/6/20, 9:51 AM
Big Mike said...: @Dust Bunny Queen, you tell ‘em!; 4/6/20, 9:54 AM
bagoh20 said...: "On Saturday, state data shows that New York hospitals admitted 574 COVID-19 patients while discharging 1,704. New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the trend "good news" during his Sunday news conference."

That's huge. I'm not religious, but this thing turning around right at Easter would be very nice.; 4/6/20, 9:56 AM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 10:24 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Why are there “food deserts”?

There was a pharmacy/grocery near my work that had no shopping carts because people living across the street would take them home and were too lazy to bring them back. I always kept an eye out for stray carts while driving by. Products I could simply pick from the shelf and buy elsewhere were locked up like oppressed minorities. It quickly went out of business. I wonder where folks get their needed weave.

The supermarket across the street couldn’t stay open due to a massive rate of shoplifting. I’ve never seen anyone else buy an apple or an orange at the local quick mart. It’s a food desert, but I didn’t build that.

LUB DAT CHICKEN FROM POPEYES!; 4/6/20, 10:24 AM
cacimbo said...: Some valid points included with the standard race baiting drivel. What he doesn't mention is that if you live in NYC and are an "essential worker," you commute 1+ hours on a crowded subway/bus, you are surrounded by people all day, then commute home another 1+ hours in crowded conditions. Now you get home to your cramped studio apartment and want to relax by playing a little one on one basketball with a neighbor - you can't because the Mayor had the hoops removed because poor people were not practicing social distancing. You decide to workout in your local playground, but that is locked - because - social distancing. Seems it is okay not to social distance when doing government approved functions like commuting and working - just not for socializing. Understandable why people are getting tired of that real quick.; 4/6/20, 10:27 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: I don't know if empathy is the right word. I think it is just factual knowledge of the different situations people live in. People have a lot of implicit assumptions about how life works in general, and unless you have experience with other lifestyles, it is hard to know how many of those implicit assumptions just don't transfer to different lifestyles.

I think a good example of this is all the talking heads who keep pushing for a national stay-at-home order. I imagine most of these people live or have lived in densely populated urban areas, which for an average person on average day might mean that person has a couple hundred close encounters with other people outside their household. For that type of person a stay-at-home order and social distancing might mean that couple hundred close encounters gets down to a dozen, which is a huge marginal effect. That would mean the potential mitigation against the spread of this disease from those actions should be quite significant. Making it worth the cost involved in the social distancing.

But it is quite possible that a person living in a sparsely populated rural area, might on a typical day, pre-corona, only have a handful of outside the household close encounters. For them a stay-at-home order would only have a minimal effect, since each individual close encounter bears its own individual risk. But the cost for them would still be real, and it might not be worth the cost of social distancing for them or the community to have mandatory across the board stay-at-home policies.

Governors of those states understand this, talking heads in Urban areas don't because frankly they are just ignorant. Well ignorant is my hope. They could just be apathetic assholes, in which case I guess they would be in need of empathy. Well, that is assuming those same talking heads aren't largely sociopaths, of which I have yet to see conclusive evidence proving they are not.; 4/6/20, 10:38 AM
n.n said...: Diversity, diversitist, and straw clowns, yes. Also, high-density population urban jungles connected through public transportation favored by the 1%ers and planners, and people who indulge poor choices.

this thing turning around right at Easter would be very nice

Proof: Forced Mitigation Is Worthless @RealDonaldTrump

There is evidence that the virus arrived earlier, with greater geographical coverage, and we are on the downslope of its spread, approaching an asymptotic, hard limit that will be passed when there are a sufficient number of people with innate, acquired, or inoculated immunity. In the meantime, we remain prudent and bold, and follow best practices in context.; 4/6/20, 10:42 AM
Michael K said...: Is there a conspiracy to elect idiotic black Congress members to make blacks look stupid ?

I really wonder.

State Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-OH) fumed Sunday night that President Donald Trump should be tried for “crimes against humanity” for his remarks at the White House’s coronavirus task force press briefing.

“I can’t take it anymore,” Galonski wrote on social media, condemning Trump’s expression of hope that the drug hydroxychloroquine will successfully treat coronavirus patients. “I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow.”

“Today’s press conference was the last straw,” Galonski tweeted. “I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one”:

I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow. Today’s press conference was the last straw. I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one. https://t.co/XQin24gqY4

— Rep. Tavia Galonski (@RepGalonski) April 6, 2020; 4/6/20, 10:44 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: ST, the choice of donuts and soda over healthy food is made from gluttony, not ignorance. Anyone with a IQ above imbecile level (roughly half of all Blacks) knows that veggies are better for them than sweets, but they can’t help theyselves.; 4/6/20, 10:45 AM
Tina Trent said...: Utter bullshit. I never walked into a client household where they didn’t have all the latest electronics and were mostly obese.; 4/6/20, 10:46 AM
Achilles said...: MayBee said...
If you are sheltering in place in an ivory tower, or even a comfortable cul-de-sac or a smartly well-appointed apartment, and your greatest concern is boredom and leftover food, please stop scolding ...."

I would end the quote here, and think it is excellent advice.

Seconded.; 4/6/20, 10:47 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Well said.

Of course, if reparations had been settled, more blacks would be able to weather storms.

And respect the law.

Funny how that works.; 4/6/20, 10:49 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Blow it out your ass Crack.; 4/6/20, 10:50 AM
Tina Trent said...: Dust Bunny, ALL public housing and Section 8 included have far more than adequate cooking areas and by federal law required energy efficient refrigerators which means newer ones.

All of them.; 4/6/20, 10:54 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: Blogger The Crack Emcee said...
Of course, if reparations had been settled, more blacks would be able to weather storms.

If more black households had more wealth they would be better able to weather storms. Now it may follow that if reparations were paid, it would lead to a lasting increase in Black household wealth, or it could be a momentary increase that only lasts 5-10 years.; 4/6/20, 11:00 AM
JAORE said...: And yet the left wants the shelter at home to continue indefinitely.

I even heard a moronic media (But I repeat myself) guy ask why Trump didn't shut down everything including the grocery stores.; 4/6/20, 11:10 AM
Aggie said...: We're almost there.....just a little farther, and Social Distancing will become.......RACIST Don't mistake this, by the way, for asserting that COVID-19 is racist. What is racist is that Trump and the Cis-Normal White Male Patriarchy isn't doing anything to make it NOT RACIST

Sorry guys, we're all too busy navigating the pandemic to provide for your care and comfort needs. If you're looking for indulgence, it's on the shelf right next to the toilet paper.; 4/6/20, 11:15 AM
JAORE said...: "If we keep the economy under lock down for months, while Dr. Fauci gives esoteric press conferences about curves and graphs and CFRs, Mr. Blow is going to see a lot more of the poverty that concerns him."

But the question becomes how do we make this dramatic increase in poverty proportionately impact all races, right?; 4/6/20, 11:24 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: To understand how food deserts and other things about poverty I suggest re-reading Katherine Boo's The Marriage Cure in the August 11,2003 New Yorker, an insightful and brilliant piece of writing.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/08/18/the-marriage-cure?source=EDT_NYR_EDIT_NEWSLETTER_0_imagenewsletter_Classics_ZZ&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Classics_040120_Sunday&utm_medium=email&bxid=5bd676e424c17c10480152cc&cndid=39571519&mbid=CRMNYR062419&utm_term=TNY_SundayArchive; 4/6/20, 11:24 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: In Crack’s case, the reparations dough would be blown in about 6 months. Maybe 3.

He’d be right back to square one.; 4/6/20, 11:48 AM
Openidname said...: All true, except that it confuses poverty with race.; 4/6/20, 11:50 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Well, he’s spot on about the panic part. If doing all the things that privileged White People do is out of the economic question, then all you can do is wait. If you’re not panicking about the corner boys dropping every weekend, you’re probably not panicking about this latest piece of (what is no doubt characterized as) White People Bullshit.
How long before the rumor takes hold in urban neighborhoods that KungFlu is a CIA plot against Black folks? I bet it’s already happening.; 4/6/20, 12:05 PM
Tomcc said...: Good grief! First Frank Bruni and now Charles Blow; 2 times the smug superiority! An exponential increase?; 4/6/20, 12:05 PM
Tomcc said...: R/V: that was an interesting article. Provocative sentence in paragraph 28:
"Having already complied with social and economic pressures to work, poor women were now being asked to do something that their government had so far failed at: push their male counterparts into the cultural and economic mainstream."; 4/6/20, 12:08 PM
Anonymous said...: My father once told me that if we could take all of the money in the world and divide it equally among everyone, in two weeks, half the people would have all of the money and half would have none.; 4/6/20, 12:14 PM
Michael said...: Crack

Fewer cases in Compton than in Beverly Hills.; 4/6/20, 12:17 PM
Roger Sweeny said...: in a nation where too many black people have been made to feel that their lives are constantly under threat

Why do they feel that way? How much is real and how much is race men and progressives telling them so?; 4/6/20, 12:22 PM
Francisco D said...: Of course, if reparations had been settled, more blacks would be able to weather storms.

What amount of money are we talking about Crack?

Would it be a one-time payout or a lifetime payout?

Sounds just like the lottery. Do you know what happens to the majority of lottery winners?; 4/6/20, 12:25 PM
stlcdr said...: Cheap junk food? Where is that? It is cheaper to cook at home. Even with just a microwave, and a single burner.; 4/6/20, 12:26 PM
Caligula said...: ""Food deserts" are created by shop lifting, which is now a non-crime to most leftist politicians." That, and lack of demand: potato chips and meat-stick snacks sell; spinach, not so much.

Although what I saw on my last supermarket trip was that much of the fresh produce was spoiling, possibly because of concern about eating raw food others may have handled.

(When I lived in a crappy neighborhood I used to make a weekly trip outside the neighborhood to buy better food at better prices. This involved walking or taking a bus to get there, and then a taxi to get it all home. The problem with doing that now presumably is the exposure risk inherent in using public transportation. And, wither all those "new urbanism" high-density-housing zealots in the time of viral pandemic?); 4/6/20, 12:35 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Tina Trent said Dust Bunny, ALL public housing and Section 8 included have far more than adequate cooking areas and by federal law required energy efficient refrigerators which means newer ones.

Seriously?

You think that ALL people who are poor are in public housing. There are many people who are poor and struggling with substandard or inadequate resources, who are not in Section 8 housing projects. I can also guarantee you that they would never submit to Section 8......EVEN IF such housing were available in their area.

Really?; 4/6/20, 12:45 PM
Gahrie said...: In addition to what I said....Mr Blow does have a very valid point that others on this very comment section have made. The inability to understand and empathize with those who are less well off.

Just for the record, is this a much more serious problem than the inability to understand and empathize with those who aren't less off? Or fuck those assholes instead?

Where did the idea that being poor makes you noble come from?; 4/6/20, 1:00 PM
Robin Goodfellow said...: The food desert myth has been debunked.

This is the only country in the history of the galaxy where poor people are routinely overweight. It sucks to be poor (I've been there), but if you must be poor, this is probably the best place and time.; 4/6/20, 1:04 PM
Jupiter said...: Black deaths matter!; 4/6/20, 1:59 PM
Kirk Parker said...: LYNNDH,

"Food Deserts - so how many big city Mayors and SJW's have kept WalMarts out of the inner cities?"

As a first approximation, every single one of them.

Oops, I mean every single damn one of them.; 4/6/20, 1:59 PM
Skippy Tisdale said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/6/20, 2:05 PM
Lovernios said...: Ah, yes! The poor, poor, pitiful poor. Who have no agency of their own. Once could say they have a poverty of agency. It’s not their fault! They can’t help themselves. If it wasn’t for racist teachers, cops, bus drivers, grocery store owners, newspaper columnists, politicians, why they’d be living a life of luxury. They need white knights (in this case black) to advocate on their behalf and scold all you privileged racists locked down in your racist communities, about how good you have it. Why do you privileged racists insist that the poor, poor, pitiful poor act like you? They can’t. Like I explained. Racists!

PS. Of course, this doesn’t apply to poor, poor, pitiful poor white people. It’s their own fault for being poor. They have no excuses. They’re white! The lazy bastards. Serves them right. Looking down their poor, poor pitiful noses at the truly poor, poor, pitiful poor. Taking away resources from the truly needy. Racists!; 4/6/20, 2:09 PM
Skippy Tisdale said...: I live in the inner-city by choice. I inherted a house full of oak and it's really close to downtown. There are no food-deserts in the inner-city. It's all a ruse as their definition of food desert is that there is not a full-service grocery store within a mile of their homes. By that definition, a farmer out in the country, who has to drive five miles into town is living in a food desert

Are the people in my neighborhood practicing social distancing? A good many are, but many are not. It's called freedom of choice. And choices have conequenses. The people in my neighborhood who are poor are poor due to their bad choices. And their kids are the ones all playng outside, which puts their entire family unit at-risk. Ergo, statistically more of them are doing to die. Again, they are reaping the fruit of their poor choices.; 4/6/20, 2:10 PM
Lovernios said...: By the way, I was raised a poor, poor pitiful poor white child. I never knew I was poor. Seemed like everyone moved twice a year, saying one step ahead of the landlord. We got pretty good and painting and wallpapering. Everyone wore hand-me-downs from older siblings. Got most of our Christmas gifts from Globe Santa. Got most of our food from the USDA store: Mmmm ...canned chicken and beef, powdered milk and potatoes. Not to mention the peanut butter. I always considered myself luck, I got new shoes when school started. Speaking of school, no fancy store bought book covers for me. I ‘preferred’ making my own from paper grocery bags. That way I could customize them.; 4/6/20, 2:21 PM
Jason said...: Also note that while African Americans are dying at a disproportionate rate, Hispanics are not -- in Illinois (one of the few states to track the race of patients), they're actually accounting for a much smaller percentage of victims (9%) than their overall share of the population (17%)

From this, we can conclude that ginger ale is ineffective against the coronavirus but Vick's Vaporub is highly effective.; 4/6/20, 2:30 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Look, I remember working in SF's Mission District. There was perhaps a ten-minute walk from 16th and Mission BART to my workplace, and another five minutes down to the next major street. At the BART end was a McDonald's; at the other end was a Burger King. In between were a pho house, an Indian buffet, a Chinese takeout, a huge Asian market, and a large Safeway with any number of raw and prepared fruits and veggies, fresh bread, milk and juice, &c. Now, this is an insalubrious neighborhood, for sure (one day I fetched in the SF Chron and saw my BART stop labeled "the heroin capital of SF," as though one couldn't have guessed from the daily puddles of vomit and urine you needed to dodge on the way out). Still, its Black residents, who didn't look or act especially poor, btw, managed to dodge the pho and the Indian and the Chinese and the two large markets on their way to the Burger King or the McDonald's. Where (as I discovered after a couple of times eating lunch at one or the other) their preferred sport was ragging on the poor -- much poorer than themselves -- Hispanic kids who made their meals. Ugh. I am not into bear-baiting, thanks.

As for "food deserts," I lived in one for seven years. It was in Emeryville, CA, but before Emeryville became the libertarian success story it has. The nearest store was Janta International, a tiny Indian place. A little further were Bottoms Up Liquors and Black and White liquors, right near the Oaks Club (card gambling was legal in Emeryville, but not elsewhere). The nearest thing purporting to be a proper greengrocer's was Fred's Market, across the Oakland border, a couple of very long blocks from my house; there you could find a few wilting veggies, though there were lots of flies. If I wanted actual groceries, I took a bus, or more usually two. I didn't have a car. And this was while I was a UC/Berkeley grad student.; 4/6/20, 2:50 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: I should add that Harvard Law students are making complete asses of themselves over the hardship of "sheltering in place." I would've thought that being locked in a room with nothing to do but study would be law student heaven; but after an article in the Harvard Crimson argued that everyone ought to get an A, b/c "stress," they are now arguing to be admitted to the bar w/o, you know, actually passing the exam or anything. Not ALL law students, of course; only Harvard law students.

To me it seems that this proposal, if enacted, should be enacted statewide, not just for students at one of the Two Most Important Law Schools In the Country (tm).; 4/6/20, 3:21 PM
walter said...: So..my 2 posts hour and a half ago, one originally shown here removed/blocked?; 4/6/20, 3:53 PM
Michael K said...: I would've thought that being locked in a room with nothing to do but study would be law student heaven;

My partner's son said he got into medical school because he went to UC, Davis and there is nothing to do there but study and hunt pheasants in season; 4/6/20, 4:02 PM
walter said...: Twas up to the minute update on Chi/Il covid pressers.
You know, "helpful"
Wasn't like I was talking about a celeb jerking off.; 4/6/20, 4:16 PM
walter said...: Must've scared off commentary, me Hostess..; 4/7/20, 2:00 AM