Summary Of What's Killing Poor White Woman

Young women in rural America are dying. More specifically, poor Southern white women in rural America are dying. An impotence surrounds the mystery of this phenomenon. Researchers and analysts cannot explain it. And most of America is unaware they have cause to care about it. Monica Potts, a senior writer at the American Prospect, reaches out to readers in her article “What’s Killing Poor White Woman?” Through her writings, she brings awareness to the statistical findings of poor, white women succumbing to an early death in the rural South. Should we, as a prominent society, be concerned about the early death of poor white women in the rural South? Absolutely. Women living in poverty-stricken environments are dying much earlier today then in generations past; and no one seems to know why. Several inclusive theories emerge from research: education, smoking, alcohol abuse, and unemployment, but none are convincing enough to identify even a causal link. Education is the most forthcoming in this equation – without it a person is incomplete and hopes for a better future are diminished. Crystal, a high school drop-out, remained in her comfort zone, living the life she was accustomed to. “Everything about Crystal’s life was ordinary, except for her death,” Potts determines.(2)
She is one of a demographic-white woman who don’t graduate from high school-whose life expectancy had declined dramatically over the past 18 years.
Potts, begins her analogy by focusing on Crystal Wilson, age 38, of Cave City, Arkansas.
A mother, a wife, a grandmother caught in the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Potts gives an account of the Crystal’s life, trying to rationalize the death of one so young. Crystal died at home in the early hours of morning; her death recorded as “natural causes”. Potts provides a descriptive overview, not physically active, a newly diagnosed diabetic, and grossly overweight. No indulgent of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Though Crystal did not meet all criteria researchers incorporated into their statistics, her inability to access quality resources to save her life, ultimately ended her
life.
Lack of access to education, medical care, good wages, and healthy food isn’t just leaving the worst –off America behind. It’s killing them.”
Women in poverty-stricken areas become caught between the emotional states of childhood vs adulthood. Unable to separate the two as they grow into womanhood, these women fall victim to mental health issues. They have taken care of their families and now take care of families of their own, but who is taking care of them. When her relatives look back, they think Crystal was probably lonely. (6) Statistics can make known, but will not cure, what is already broken. It cannot calculate or know the desperation a person feels when trying to overcome the odds. Medical care is limited to women living in these conditions; their only choice is to diagnose and medicate themselves. While Potts’ article is convincing on the surface, what lies within may give better insight to the cause of why.
“’It’s just horrible, you know? I don’t if ‘horrible’ is the right word.’ Julie puts her face into her hands. ‘The desperation of the times. I don’t know anything about anything, but that’s what kills them.’”