Study Determines the Most Racist Places in America

A study of Google data shows that the most racist places in America are the rural Northeast and Southeast, and racism could be bad for your health.

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A new study published in the journal PLOS ONE (via Wonkblog) has analyzed Google search data to determine the most racist places in America. 

More than that, the study shows that living among racists could actually affect black residents' health and lead to an 8.2 percent higher death rate.

For the study, scientists analyzed the number of searches of the N-word and it's variations, filtering out instances of the word ending in "a," and factoring in that not all searches for the N-word are inherently racist, Wonkblog explains.

While Internet searches might not make for a perfect measure of racism, the technique is probably better than traditional surveys, where people are likely to either lie about being racist or simply not realize their subconsciously racist attitudes, the study notes. 

People's Google searches, on the other hand, tend to be unfiltered. 

The study showed an above average amount of racist searches clustered in the rural northeast and southeast, especially along the Appalachians, the Gulf Coast and Ohio. The racist searches tapered off as you head west. 

The craziest part of this study though, is that black people who live in these racist climates actually live shorter lives, according to the data. 

"Results from our study indicate that living in an area characterized by a one standard deviation greater proportion of racist Google searches is associated with an 8.2% increase in the all-cause mortality rate among Blacks," the study says. 

Obviously,  racist Google searches aren't literally killing black people, but as the study explains, racial discrimination can impact people's health through segregation and geographic isolation into bad neighborhoods (which can literally affect health), and job discrimination can lead to financial strain, which also affects health.

 

 

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