Just when you thought the Democratic left could be more outrageous in what they proclaim to be ‘racist’ in America, officials at New York City’s Department of Health have stepped in to quell that notion.
As the country suffers through an unseasonably hot summer, New York City has not been spared. The temperature hit 100 degrees in the Big Apple on Thursday and returned to the upper 90s on Friday, leading the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (yes, that’s really what it’s called) to publish a heat advisory.
So far, so good. Lots of cities and communities around the country have issued similar advisories all summer.
But NYC went a step further with its heat advisory, going on to warn about the ‘dangers’ of structural racism.
“Extreme heat is the deadliest type of extreme weather. It can cause hyperthermia and worsen existing medical conditions and mental health problems,” the department said in its 17th heat advisory this summer. “Structural racism and the resulting social and economic inequities increase the risk of heat stress for Black New Yorkers, who are twice as likely to die from heat as White New Yorkers.”
White, Hispanic, and Asian New Yorkers, apparently, have an unfair advantage to air conditioning.
“Most people who die of heat stroke in New York City did not have or use air conditioners and were overcome by heat in their homes,” the Health Department went on to say. “Fans do not provide sufficient cooling during extreme heat. Air conditioning (AC) is the most effective protection.”
In addition, the alert went on to say that New Yorkers most at risk “do not have or use AC” and have one or more of these health conditions, per the American Wire: chronic health conditions; mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia; cognitive difficulty, dementia, or difficulty thermoregulating; are prescribed diuretics, anticholinergics, psychotropics, or medications that affect thermoregulation; have substance abuse issues; are socially isolated or live with limited mobility.
Those over the age of 60 are more susceptible to developing those conditions.
But of course, the department’s advisory as it pertains to “structural racism” as well as “social and economic inequities” came without any further explanation or context, which is par for the course for the far left: These claims are simply made, without explanation, and are expected to be taken at face value because the left has gotten away with not having to justify such claims or prove them for far too long.
Extreme weather is not “racist,” period, and while certain ethnicities may be more susceptible to extremes for a variety of reasons, that is not de facto “proof” of anything other than known physical characteristics.
We can debate all day about whether institutions in one of the most left-wing cities in America adequately provide for residents. But equating extreme weather with racist outcomes is beyond nonsensical. It is also self-indicting.
