Black men survive longer in prison, then outside of it.

**(I) Doomsday** · 1st October 2011 11:29 AM

(Reuters Health) - Black men are half as likely to die at any given time if they're in prison than if they aren't, suggests a new study of North Carolina inmates.
But that pattern didn't hold for white men, who on the whole were slightly more likely to die in prison than outside, according to findings published in Annals of Epidemiology.

Black men survive longer in prison than out: study | Reuters

**jackalope** · 1st October 2011 11:36 AM

Medicare for all, and this problem is eliminated.

**Rasselas** · 1st October 2011 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by (I) Doomsday

(Reuters Health) - Black men are half as likely to die at any given time if they're in prison than if they aren't, suggests a new study of North Carolina inmates.
But that pattern didn't hold for white men, who on the whole were slightly more likely to die in prison than outside, according to findings published in Annals of Epidemiology.

Black men survive longer in prison than out: study | Reuters

Does the fact that black men in prison are younger than in the general population have anything to do with this? Does the fact that a much larger proportion of black men are incarcerated than white men have anything to do with this? Does the fact that the violence in prisons divides up according to race rather naturally suggest that there is more solidarity among black gangs of inmates than among whites? White prisoners mostly form their gangs around ideologies of racial superiority and therefore probably don't include some whites who can't get behind that viewpoint--leaving more whites unprotected and perhaps even targeted by other whites?

**jackalope** · 1st October 2011 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Rasselas

Does the fact that black men in prison are younger than in the general population have anything to do with this? Does the fact that a much larger proportion of black men are incarcerated than white men have anything to do with this? Does the fact that the violence in prisons divides up according to race rather naturally suggest that there is more solidarity among black gangs of inmates than among whites? White prisoners mostly form their gangs around ideologies of racial superiority and therefore probably don't include some whites who can't get behind that viewpoint--leaving more whites unprotected and perhaps even targeted by other whites?

Good questions. Hard to tell from the short article, but I don't think so. It says the rates of deaths of inmates was the same for both populations (black inmates and white inmates):

Less than one percent of men died during incarceration, and there was no difference between black and white inmates. But outside prison walls, blacks have a higher rate of death at any given age than whites.

**Rasselas** · 1st October 2011 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by jackalope

Good questions. Hard to tell from the short article, but I don't think so. It says the rates of deaths of inmates was the same for both populations (black inmates and white inmates):

In the general population, the life expectancy of a black man is about five years less than for his white counterparts. Whatever inequalities exist on the outside, that create this disparity, may not exist in prison.

1st October 2011 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Rasselas

In the general population, the life expectancy of a black man is about five years less than for his white counterparts. Whatever inequalities exist on the outside, that create this disparity, may not exist in prison.

Why do you assume inequalities on the outside create this disparity? Perhaps you shouldn't let your ideological disposition intrude on your thinking is so obvious a manner.

**jackalope** · 1st October 2011 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Rasselas

In the general population, the life expectancy of a black man is about five years less than for his white counterparts. Whatever inequalities exist on the outside, that create this disparity, may not exist in prison.

Yes. The article focuses on healthcare and access to healthcare. That's why I said, medicare for all, and we eliminate this problem.

**Rasselas** · 1st October 2011 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Mister D

Why do you assume inequalities on the outside create this disparity? Perhaps you shouldn't let your ideological disposition intrude on your thinking is so obvious a manner.

Is there evidence that some biological disposition based on race is the cause? That would be both unlikely and easily testable. Other biological traits don't really vary proportionally with race, which is why scientists of human biology of study think of 'race' as a illegitimate concept--a culturally determined idea, not a natural one. And if race were a causal factor, then the many mixes of European and Africa genes in African Americans would lead to the discovery that darker blacks live shorter lives, all other factors being controlled.

There's plenty of evidence for other causes of earlier death: poverty, anger over abuse that raises blood pressure, the likelihood of violence. The undeniable economic and social disparities are likely at least part of the cause for the difference in life expectancy. Nationally, life expectancy varies from place to place roughly proportional to median income, for example.

1st October 2011 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Rasselas

Is there evidence that some biological disposition based on race is the cause? That would be both unlikely and easily testable. Other biological traits don't really vary proportionally with race, which is why scientists of human biology of study think of 'race' as a illegitimate concept--a culturally determined idea, not a natural one. And if race were a causal factor, then the many mixes of European and Africa genes in African Americans would lead to the discovery that darker blacks live shorter lives, all other factors being controlled.

There's plenty of evidence for other causes of earlier death: poverty, anger over abuse that raises blood pressure, the likelihood of violence. The undeniable economic and social disparities are likely at least part of the cause for the difference in life expectancy. Nationally, life expectancy varies from place to place roughly proportional to median income, for example.

I'm not particularly interested in discussing the viability of race as a biological construct. I follow the research and you clearly do not, no offense. Moreover, the members of this forum tend to go psycho when anything like this comes up so no thanks. There is a healthy debate within the scientific community regarding the use of race in biology and your side, IMHO, is losing it. NOVA provided an interesting overview here

NOVA | Does Race Exist?

Try and have an open mind. It will help guide you in life.

Anyway, people don't just drop dead. They die for various reasons such as particular diseases, for example, which may be more prevalent among some populations than it is in others. Of course there are plenty of socio-cultural reasons that may or may not contribute to this disparity. I'm not denying that. On the other hand, I don't have ideological tunnel vision. I simply asked why you would assume a disparity in health could only be caused by inequality. Now I know.

**Rasselas** · 1st October 2011 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Mister D

I'm not particularly interested in discussing the viability of race as a biological construct. I follow the research and you clearly do not, no offense. Moreover, the members of this forum tend to go psycho when anything like this comes up so no thanks. There is a healthy debate within the scientific community regarding the use of race in biology and your side, IMHO, is losing it. NOVA provided an interesting overview here

NOVA | Does Race Exist?

Try and have an open mind. It will help guide you in life.

Anyway, people don't just drop dead. They die for various reasons such as particular diseases, for example, which may be more prevalent among some populations than it is in others. Of course there are plenty of socio-cultural reasons that may or may not contribute to this disparity. I'm not denying that. On the other hand, I don't have ideological tunnel vision. I simply asked why you would assume a disparity in health could only be caused by inequality. Now I know.

Tell you what...answer one question. Is there any evidence (in your link or elsewhere) that would support your contention that different races have different life expectancies based on biology? We KNOW that inequality creates different sorts of health problems--no reason to deny it. Is there any evidence to positively implicate race in life expectancy, or is that just some chum you're throwing into the water?