Is it unreasonable for a bunch of white people to debate rationale for higher proportion of BAME people dying from Covid-19?

[TGear]

I am part of a professional group on Facebook. A member has asked why people from BAME communities have a higher number of covid-19 related deaths. It's now just a bunch of white people trying to work this out. Is this totally inappropriate? I want to be sensitive to other people and acknowledge that it's not something I can relate to on a personal level, but equally I feel everyone should be asking the answer to this to support those that are disproportionately affected.

Does it matter what colour skin the scientists have?

Really?

Do you think only non-white people should discuss it?

Professional group? Facebook?

I'm sure it's fine to debate these sort of questions.

No, what they should do is ignore it instead. Wouldn’t want these professionals to offend anyone. Better to wait for the right people to discuss the potential cause/solutions and let people die in the meantime.

Seriously???

Isn't it exhausting tiptoeing through life, constantly on the lookout to prove how woke you are, while at the same time being deathly afraid of offending someone?

It's now just a bunch of white people trying to work this out. Is this totally inappropriate?

This is about research. Science. Methodology. Statistics.

You claim to be a professional yet don't understand this?

it's now just a bunch of white people trying to work this out
I'm sure the BAME communities won't mind at all who works it out. There is no problem here.

Facts dont care who discovers them.

Your comment sounds a little racist to me. ‘A bunch of white people.’

Pretty sure top scientists are trying to work this out in India, Nigeria, and South Korea too.

You don’t have to be a scientist to have an opinion to work this out surely? I haven’t even got ‘0’ level in any sciences but the reports are that there is more deaths in households where there is multi generational living. This is more common in Asian families than British families and-there is a similar pattern in some Italian and Spanish households. I’ve also read that there are some underlying health problems that could also make the death toll higher in ethnic groups.

Also if you look at the deaths of doctors and nurses of ethnic origin who have died many of them are elderly, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. We know that these higher age groups are the most at risk. Yet these poor souls come out of retirement to help other people and ended up paying for their kindness by loosing their lives.

There's nothing professional about those Facebook groups in my experience.

It is worrying about how many deaths so far have been BAME staff members though. I know a lot of NHS staff are BAME (I'm often the only white/British person on shift), but there seems to be a disproportionate amount who have died so far compared to white people. I have no idea why that is though. Am I allowed to say that as someone from a "bunch of white people"?

Also the media seems to only be featuring white staff members as "NHS heroes" on their front pages atm .

Surely it doesn't matter who cracks it as long as eventually someone does?

I’ve heard various theories about vitamin D, genetic predisposition to body type etc. If one of them is correct and someone does the research and lives are saved who cares what ethnicity is involved in debating it.

Absolutely. Also highly inappropriate for white people to discuss diabetes 1 (more prevalent in Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi Indian and Pakistani men in the UK), Coronary heart disease (more prevalent in South Asian people in the UK) and strokes (more common in
black ethnic group than the white in the UK).

Then of course in the question of fairness make sure only white people are allowed to discuss road accidents and cancer.

Really, what do you hope to achieve? 86% of the British population is white. You want the conversation to be based on 14%?. I have lupus, I'm white British. Much more prevalent in Hispanic countries, and over here in these BAME community, but it doesn't change my reality. Should I not be allowed to discuss it because I'm not Hispanic? It's illogical.

My supposition is that it is little to do with the ethnic genetic make up, and more to do with social/ financial and consequently lifestyle standards/opportunities. Cut white people out of that conversation and you are creating a whole new divide for the future.

Kamlesh Khunti, professor in primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at the University of Leicester, is one of several academics looking into why COVID-19 appears to be affecting BAME groups so much - have a look at www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2020/apr/report-states-bame-communities-could-be-at-greater-covid-19-risk.html just as an example

Should white people not be concerned about the health of their fellow humans then?

O.K. I was wrong. The poster has deleted it now anyway. I DM them to say my thoughts.

No it's not inappropriate op. People are allowed to discuss whatever they want. Whatever colour their skin is. And yeah, that includes white people.

Most non-white people don't believe the stats. I haven't seen any proof, or evidence of exactly what purpose it's supposed to serve, going on about black people's infection rates. Look at China now, demonising black people claiming we are the Covid carriers. It all fuels nonsense conspiracy theories amongst other dubious things.

Just focus on finding a vaccine or way to minimise this terrible virus would be nice, thanks.

Covid does not discriminate.

Covid-cases have been in single figures in my home country for weeks btw. No new cases.

Of course it is not as long as you are using facts and not relying on stereotypes. If however you are relying on stereotypes to inform biased opinions, then of course it is not okay. So context is everything.
And if it matters I am brown.

So an obvious question is are more black and asian people dying because of the geographical spread of the virus? Or is it because of the types of jobs that black and asian people are more likely to do? For example a very high proportion of older Drs in hospitals are black and asian. And Birmingham and London have been worst affected, places with a very large black and asian population.
Or is it because of living conditions such as more multi generational living increasing viral load? This only applies to specific groups of BME people though, so should be easy to isolate if it is this.
Or is it to do with prevalence of some underlying conditions in certain BME groups?
Or are BME people less likely to get the treatment they need?
There are a lot of possible reasons, and like most questions there are probably a variety of answers.

I thought the collective name for people was now ‘herd’ so YABU for using the term ‘bunch’.

So let me understand this. You are saying that the colour of a person's skin determines what they can, or cannot, discuss?