Just when you think you’ve heard it all…
Harvard professor David Williams and Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist Morgan Medlock have collaborated on a new study that will be published in the June 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In the report, the researchers make the astounding claim that Donald Trump’s election could be responsible for an uptick in disease rates, premature childbirths, and even deaths, especially among “marginalized groups” like illegal immigrants and Muslims.
Yes, this is what science has come to.
“Elections can matter for the health of children and adults in profound ways that are often unrecognized and unaddressed,” Williams said.
The two did not conduct any original research for the study, instead relying on past research to come up with their conclusions. This, strangely enough, was enough for them to make the claim that Trump’s hostility towards minority groups could lead to “serious health effects” within the targeted populations.
Well, yes, they’ll have to be treated by the medical facilities in their home countries, which aren’t up to the standards employed by the United States. We suppose they might have a point there.
Of course, that’s not what they mean.
“Health care organizations could take a strong stance against hate crimes, discriminatory political rhetoric, and incivility; and the health care community can advocate for further research, or conduct their own, on potential negative health effects related to elections and the societal climate, as well as on identifying effective interventions to reduce their adverse effects on health,” said the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in a statement accompanying the study.
Okay, so let’s be clear about what this really is. These researchers dug up a bunch of studies that prove – to no one’s surprise – that victims of hateful prejudice can wind up suffering physical and psychological consequences. They then extrapolated from that to drum up some publicity by dragging the 2016 election into the mix – something they would not have done if they weren’t funded and driven by liberal ideology.
The New England Journal of Medicine should be ashamed of themselves for publishing this partisan garbage, and these researchers should lose whatever respectability they might have in the medical community. We already have a huge problem at the intersection of science and politics; “studies” like this don’t make the situation any better.
