Saturday, May 1, 2021

Crack vs. menthol

White junkies prefer powder cocaine. Black junkies prefer crack. For a long time, crack-related crimes were punished much more harshly than their powder-related counterparts -- until it was noticed that this was totally racist. In 2010, President Obama announced that this "longstanding wrong," one of the many "structural inequalities that have held so many of our fellow citizens back," was being righted -- a belated recognition of the inalienable right of all people, regardless of race, to use the type of cocaine they prefer without fear of discriminatory treatment.

White smokers prefer smoke-flavored cigarettes. Black smokers prefer menthol. For a long time, both were freely available to paying customers over the age of 18 -- until it was noticed that this, too, was totally racist. This year, Antipresident Biden announced that, in a compassionate effort to "address health disparities experienced by communities of color," the type of cigarettes black people like would be banned, while the type white people like would continue to be freely available.

I don't have anything to say about this. Just juxtaposin'.

3 comments:

Bruce Charlton said...

Clearly menthol is the greatest threat to health in the USA today. Therefore, They had no alternative but to take decisive action.

Wm Jas Tychonievich said...

It’s a start, but We Must Do Better! I’m thinking a ten-day waiting period to buy fried chicken.

Francis Berger said...

You got it all wrong. The menthol ban will save black people while white people will be encouraged to continue smoking and die premature deaths. It's called equity . . . or something.

K. West, five years or hours, and spiders

I was listening to some David Bowie last night and was struck by the album art for  Ziggy Stardust . Right above Bowie is a sign that says ...