There’s an ugly narrative developing about COVID-19 that is spreading like the virus itself in certain Baton Rouge circles, writes Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel in a new opinion piece.
One person explained it to Riegel in terms of the acronym HONDA, which stands for the five factors known to increase one’s risk of developing complications or dying from the disease: high blood pressure, obesity, non-compliance (with medication), diabetes and African American.
“That is the high-risk group,” this person said. “It’s underlying conditions, lifestyle choices. This disease is hitting these communities because of their lifestyle choices.”
But there’s an implicit cruelty in the idea that those at most risk for getting hit hard by the disease somehow did it to themselves, Riegel writes.
Instead, we must acknowledge that those who make the kind of poor choices that ultimately leave them in the vulnerable category for any number of poor outcomes likely didn’t have better options or know how to find them.
Is it the government’s job to provide those options? Not entirely, but it is the government’s job to help, Riegel writes, because the private sector can’t or won’t do it on its own.
It’s worth noting that public investment in things like a robust mass transit system, which could make it easier for those without a car to get to a grocery store that sells fresh produce, and initiatives that seek to attract supermarkets to food deserts, are typically decried by many of the same people who have so little patience for those who can’t seem to bootstrap their way out of poverty or the COVID-19 high-risk categories.
All this matters now because recovering from the spring economic shutdown at a time when the pandemic remains a very ever-present threat will be difficult and will take a united, informed, reasoned and compassionate approach that doesn’t point fingers or blame the victims. Read Riegel’s full column. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
