Stress For Blacks Is More Deadly

“A concerted effort is being made to improve the overall health of black men. According to the latest CDC study, life expectancy at birth for a black male is 69 years old.”
That isn’t fantastic news at all man. Because of the stress that life brings. Including racial tensions. Job. Kids. Spouses. I mean just life in general without proper stress relief, this is what happens? I mean all of my life I keep hearing how blacks are more susceptible to dying before our white brothers. Before our Tom Cruise’s. Before our Micheal Bolton’s. Before our Super Mario’s. I gotta admit that I have sleep apnea. It’s scary.

I’ve had a lot of convos with non-blacks about the state of race relations in this era. For the majority, their responses were like, “I think it’s good now.” Of course they do. NBA, NFL, Hip-Hop, Randall, Cunnlingus Rice. C’mon We Sexy Now! But what about us regular zillas that always somehow fit the description. I mean, I got my Suge Knight profile poppin’ somethin’ fierce right now (bald head, beard growing). Nah make that Hawk. And still I get bothered by the bacon! Lights flashed on me when I’m entering my own residence. Followed around stores ‘n shit. That shit is everyday. I worked with a cop at my job and little did he know, I didn’t trust him for shit. Still don’t and he doesn’t work anywhere near the place of business now. Recently a cop visited the job and the cop sat there quietly while me and my co-worker dealt with customers. All I could do was stare. Peep game, I’m in there with a full room of anxious people and I’m not giving a shit because I have tunnel vision, like on Torque, towards the cop. All I could do to stop staring was to go outside. And yes, I’ve dealt with bacon back in the day. And I cheer at the beginning of Robocop when it comes on network TV! And before you get any type of misconception, I have a clean record. I don’t really consider them heroes. There are good spots and bad spots with any position that requires human/customer interaction. But, this is why I expounded on all of that:

In one of the most disturbing scenes from the movie “Crash,” an African-American man, played by Terrence Howard, chokes back his rage as he watches a bigoted police officer take unwanted liberties with his wife during a bogus traffic stop. NCCU law professor Irv Joyner says the scene is not just in the movies - - it’s real.

“It’s very real, and it adds to the stress that black men experience on a regular basis,” he said. “Because every black man knows, but for the grace of God, that could happen to them at any time.”

Studies conducted by US, Canadian and British medical experts show stress caused by years of enduring racial insults can be deadly for black men. Starting in their mid-20s, some black men develop signs of hypertension, heart disease, or other potentially fatal health problems.

The report continues…

Dr. Leroy Darkes of the Rex Senior Center says the health of those at-risk men could get worse as they get older.

“It could be devastating,” he said. “Again, most of the conditions that affect us as human beings are symptomless.”

That’s why Darkes plays health-education videos in the waiting room of the Rex Senior Center in Raleigh for men, or their loved ones concerned about missing check-ups.

Still, some African-American men have difficulty taking long delayed steps toward needed health care.

“When your body begins to deteriorate, we go into denial,” according to NCCU law professor Irv Joyner, “because we don’t want other people to see our vulnerability.”

Author and Duke professor of black popular culture Mark Anthony Neal agrees.

“You know, my father’s 70 years old, and as a kid, I think I recall him going to the doctor twice,” he said.

I blame the health care being either too inadequate or too expensive. A friend of mine told me that for his family of four the healthcare at job was $400 per month! Who can afford that at the middle class and lower? Especially for the type of tests and medication one would eventually need from these ailments son! You gotta go into denial! If not, you’d crumble from your own anxieties when you get the sniffles. You know it’s sad when you can’t AFFORD to get sick! You can’t stop yourself from getting sick. It’s as natural as ass. Here’s the conclusion:

Professor Neal hopes people who relate to the stress depicted in “Crash” will be motivated to take control of their health and help others.

“I’m someone who suffers from sleep apnea,” Neal said. “Whenever I hear about black men who have problems breathing at night, who are snoring, the first thing I tell them is go get a sleep test. So we have to have black men who are serious about speaking out to other black men about taking care of themselves.”

And you KNOW El Loco Zillaman Banderas suffers from apnea. Damn. Life expectancy in the hood was 21. It doesn’t get THAT much better when you leave the hood.