Comments

1
"Nevertheless, let us not forget in all of this that the death rate for white women as a whole is still much lower than that of white men, Hispanics, and black Americans."

Funny how in the conversation about race, privilege, and general social outcomes - Asian Americans are always left out. This is especially surprising from a newspaper in a city where Asian-American readers represent the 2nd largest demographic . . .
2
So you were too lazy to do any research beyond "My feeling is that it has something to do with..." ?
3
@1: Asian American have to be left out because they never fit the narrative, as they often thrive even when hampered by the same racial imbalances and disadvantages that other immigrant populations suffer.

Since they do not help with the "whites keep everyone else from succeeding" narrative, people like Mudede HAVE to erase their individuality and ethnicity to preserve his belief system, usually grouping them in with whites.
4
Having looked at the graphs in the original report, the differences between rural and urban women can be summed up as follows: Rural women are much more likely to kill themselves, accidentally or on purpose, and as they get older, they are more likely to die from unhealthy living choices such as drinking too much, smoking, and eating a poor diet.
5
@4: You can substitute "men" for every time you said rural "women". Again correlation does not mean causation. A person's (male or female) ideology and belief system would only be at best root causes for depression. Their factors for a longer life in rural America can also be increased, as opposed to an urban life, by less stress, better sunlight and water, better nutrition from gardens, etc.

I can't wait for the next set of silly juxtapositions that Charles will write about.
6
@5: if you think most rural whites are eating from gardens and drinking better water, you haven't spent much time in rural America.

7
"Let us not forget in all of this that the death rate for white women as a whole is still much lower than that of white men, Hispanics, and black Americans."

I believe this is incorrect because Hispanics have lower death rates than whites, as the article's charts indicate. This has a name, the "Hispanic Epidemiological Paradox":

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles…
8
@6: It depends on location of course and studies should be a lot more definitive than simply "rural" vs "urban".
9
@6: As if you don't think there's a difference between rural Louisiana and rural Montana.
10
@9: there is (the water is better in MT), but lower-class rural whites have shitty, destructive lifestyles almost everywhere in Merica. the opiate crisis seems to be spread evenly across the countryside.
11
@2 Pretty much. Just wait for the commenters to come rolling in to say how insightful and deep he is, or how this is all just satire and the rest of us are too dumb to get the joke. Those are the best.
12
Lame data. Not granular enough. Something like this is a better choice to chew on - were it to incorporate ethnicity....
14
If I had to live in rural America (eg Kansas), I think I'd want to kill myself.
15
I think the order of rural/urban got mixed up in the first paragraph in linking former and latter which contradicts the title and the premise of your article. You also do not mention sexism which is probably an important factor to be considered as it pertains to decreased sense of power, increased stress, depression, adverse mental health, substance misuse/abuse, etc. The general inequality in American society can have stronger impacts on health in vulnerable populations such as poor, rural, females. I won't cite any relevant information because I want to put as much effort as you did in this piece.
16
Interestingly, Hispanic females have a notably higher life expectancy than white females (83.7 vs. 81.3 years). Also, Hispanic males have a higher life expectancy than black females (78.8 vs. 78.2).

When will The Stranger start talking about the real issue of "Hispanic Privilege" of when it comes to life expectancy in the US? And why no mention that the bottom two demographics for life expectancy are white and black men? What is being done to better protect these two obviously disenfranchised (when it comes to heathcare) groups?

http://www.prb.org/wpds/2014/img/gallery…
18
@15 That is exactly what I wanted to add. I have lived in rural America, (like, "Jesus Camp" was uncomfortably familiar to me), and the level of misogyny is staggering, especially internalized misogyny. It really does kill women and contribute to mental illness and family breakdown.
21
Not surprised. Rural white culture is not healthy. My personal experience sample is purely subjective, but includes E. WA, ID, MT, IL, WI, OH, and TX. I've spent considerable time and/or lived in each. Diets are poor. Lives are frequently sedentary. The rural ideal of people working outside and being active all the time is mostly a mirage. Rural whites I know or are related to, as a whole, walk little, drive a whole lot, eat a lot, weigh too much, are more likely to keep guns in their houses, and watch a whole lot of TV. The women in particular look unwell and are treated poorly again, just on average. Every public incidence cringe-worthy sexism I've witnessed in my life has happened in rural and exurban communities.

Purely anecdotal. I'm sure you can dismiss it if you're disinclined to believe it. But this squares 100% with my personal experience.

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