Health Law and Bigotry Distractions.

Bigotry distractions are strategic invocations of racism, transphobia, or negative stigma toward other marginalized groups to shape political discourse. Although the vast majority of Americans agree on large policy issues ranging from reducing air pollution to prosecuting corporate crime, bigotry di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 350 - 364
Main Authors: Aaron, Daniel G., Francis, Leslie P.
Format: pictorial Journal Article
Published: Cambridge University Press Summer2024
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Bigotry distractions are strategic invocations of racism, transphobia, or negative stigma toward other marginalized groups to shape political discourse. Although the vast majority of Americans agree on large policy issues ranging from reducing air pollution to prosecuting corporate crime, bigotry distractions divert attention from areas of agreement toward divisive identity issues. This article explores how the nefarious targeting of identity groups through bigotry distractions may be the tallest barrier to health reform, and social change more broadly. The discussion extends the literature on dog whistles, strategic racism, and scapegoating.