one funny piece that gets dragged out in this all the time is drug testing, both for those on welfare and, as highlighted in the book “Nickel & Dimed”, increasingly even in low-wage jobs with major corporations. sounds reasonable right? why not mandate good behavior?
well two things:
First, i know of an outrage that spread at a major bank when they were going to institute a drug testing policy, which was clearly aimed at the low-pay employees (service employees, tellers, etc… who just happen to be more likely to be people of color), but they backpedalled and quick b/c of backlash from high pay employees (bankers, lawyers) who we all know are amphetamined/coked up half the week.Second, most major hospitals have mandatory tox screening rules in place for ALL neonates, but when that has actually been looked at there is HUGE disparity in how that policy is enforced. If you are a white middle- or upper-middle class mom who comes in to the hospital with insurance and your own OBGYN, guess what? Your baby ain’t getting no fucking tox screen. If you are poor, and of color? You better hope your baby ain’t in withdrawal b/c you are most certainly getting tested. And guess what? Rates of substance use in pregnancy are often high or higher in high ses moms. And the Maternal Lifestyles Project out of Providence highlighted that crack exposure on babies was completely overblown and has far less severe long term consequences than some of the alcohol exposure that rich fetuses get…moral of the story is that poor people and people of color should be as free to self-medicate and make bad decisions as the rest of society.
—
bite of Pythias…: on bad choices and personal responsibility…
