The LA Times is going after “white and affluent drivers.”
In a bizarre article written for the Los Angeles Times, writer Sammy Roth says many “People of Color” suffer an environmental form of racism thanks to White and affluent drivers in Los Angeles.
White drivers are polluting the air breathed by L.A.’s people of colorhttps://t.co/1cBp2TTay6
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 9, 2023
From Fox News:
Roth described a study he had read claiming that it found, “[Los Angeles residents] who drive more tend to be exposed to less air pollution — and Angelenos who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution.” He went on to say, “It’s a function of the racism that shaped this city and its suburbs, and continues to influence our daily lives — and a stark reminder of the need for climate solutions that benefit everyone.”
He recounted a conversation with USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, professor Geoff Boeing.
“He told me it largely comes down to the shameful history of Los Angeles County’s low-income communities of color being torn apart to make way for freeways — a history that has been extensively documented by The Times,” he wrote. “Today, many residents of the county’s whiter, more affluent neighborhoods — who were often able to keep highways out of their own backyards — commute to work through lower-income Black and Latino neighborhoods bisected by the 10, 110 and 105 freeways and more.”
The study itself is titled, “Local Inequities in the Relative Production of and Exposure to Vehicular Air Pollution in Los Angeles.” The study’s abstract defines its findings in explicitly racial terms.
“We find that, all else equal, tracts whose residents drive less are exposed to more air pollution, as are tracts with a less-White population. Commuters from majority-White tracts disproportionately drive through non-White tracts, compared to the inverse,” the researchers wrote.
Twitter users aren’t buying it. Some responses below:
Just here for the ratio, you race baiting simpletons.
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) March 9, 2023
If *Finding Racism Everywhere* was an Olympic sport, this LA Times article would be heavily favored to win the gold medal 🏅 pic.twitter.com/bqIsuB70WE
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) March 9, 2023
Hey @CommunityNotes, is this true?
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 9, 2023
Wut
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 9, 2023
This has become like old timey, nonsensical racism at this point…
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) March 9, 2023
More over at Fox News:
LA Times writer says ‘White’ drivers are ‘polluting the air’ breathed by LA’s ‘people of color’ https://t.co/4sk8Hn9kJH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 10, 2023
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