THOUGHTS FLOWING FROM ONE OF THE BEST LA PROGRESSIVE ESSAYS THAT I'VE READ SO FAR
BY LUCY M WARNER
APRIL 11 AND 12, 2017



SEE THE VERY INSIGHTFUL LA PROGRESSIVE ARTICLE BY JESSIE DANIELS BELOW ON THE COMPLEX NATURE OF RACISM. I OFTEN LIKEN RACIST THOUGHT AND OTHER CRUEL ATTITUDES TO THE GROWTH OF STINKING AND ALLERGY PRODUCING BLACK MOLD. YOU CAN TRY AND TRY, BUT IF YOU WERE TO ACTUALLY SUCCEED IN KILLING EVERY SPORE, THE MINUTE YOU OPEN A WINDOW OR DOOR, SOME MORE WILL BLOW IN. WHAT IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF RACISM, RELIGIONISM, SEXISM, ETC.? THIS FOLLOWING ARTICLE SPEAKS A PROFOUND AND IMPORTANT TRUTH. MANKIND IS A PRIMITIVE LIFE FORM, COMPARED TO OUR IDEALIZATIONS OF OURSELVES. “MAN IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS” IS, TO ME, A FALLACY.

IN MY YOUTH, THERE WAS A WONDERFUL CARTOON STRIP, POSSIBLY STILL EXISTING IN SOME NEWSPAPERS, CALLED “BEETLE BAILEY,” ABOUT A HAPLESS ARMY RECRUIT CALLED BEETLE BAILEY, WHOSE LOW KEY AND OFTEN SILENT COMMENTS ON THE IRONIES OF ARMY LIFE WERE EXTREMELY FUNNY, BUT TELLING. THE MILITARY “CHAIN OF COMMAND” WAS ONE OF THE MAIN TOPICS, ALONG WITH THE INANITY OF ARMY DUTIES AND THE CLEVERNESS OF BEETLE HIMSELF.

IN BEETLE BAILEY, THIS SUBJECT OF THE SECOND IN COMMAND’S SOMETIMES ABUSIVE INTERACTIONS WITH HIM IS USUALLY PRESENT, THOUGH OFTEN ALONGSIDE FRIENDSHIP WITH BEETLE. THIS CHARACTER IS SIMPLY CALLED “SARGE,” AND BEARS A PHYSICAL RESEMBLANCE TO HIS ENGLISH BULLDOG. SARGE’S ONLY RECOURSE WHEN THE GENERAL CHEWED HIM OUT WAS TO ABUSE THE NEXT IN LINE AND ON DOWN THE TOTEM POLE. IN THAT PARTICULAR DAY’S STRIP, HE KICKS HIS LOYAL IF STUPID BULLDOG, WHO GIVES A RESENTFUL EXPRESSION THAT MEANS “WHAT DID I DO?”

THAT’S HOW TROUBLED FAMILIES WORK IN MANY, MANY CASES. IN A GENUINELY SANE FAMILY, OF COURSE, ABUSE WILL BE NAMED FOR WHAT IT IS – RATHER THAN BEING CALLED “PARENTAL RIGHTS” – AND WILL BE AVOIDED WHEN POSSIBLE, NOR BE CONDONED AMONG THE CHILDREN. AN EXCELLENT, THOUGH FRIGHTENING NOVEL BY WILLIAM GOLDING CALLED “LORD OF THE FLIES,” IS A SHOCKING CASE, BUT IT DOES OCCUR WHERE THERE IS NO WISE SUPERVISING ADULT TO KEEP THINGS IN THE PROPER BALANCE, SUCH AS IN STREET GANGS IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF “ROUGH” NEIGHBORHOODS. “INITIATIONS” INTO SEEMINGLY ACCEPTABLE GROUPS CAN BE VERY SIMILAR.

THE TERRIBLE CASE OF A COLLEGE BAND MEMBER WHO WAS KILLED IN AN INITIATION RITUAL JUST A FEW YEARS AGO WAS ESPECIALLY DISTURBING. A NUMBER OF OTHERS HAVE BEEN IN THE NEWS ALSO. IN THOSE CASES, FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF OR BAND DIRECTORS WERE MISSING AT THE TIME, THOUGH THOSE THINGS ARE SO WIDELY “ACCEPTED” IN AMERICAN LIFE AS A MERE PART OF THE “GROWING UP PROCESS,” THAT THEY PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO STOP IT.

ANTHROPOLOGISTS CALL IT “RITES OF PASSAGE,” WHICH ARE A TEST OF THE METTLE AND LOYALTY OF A NEW MEMBER. PERSONALLY, I JUST DON’T BELIEVE IN THAT TYPE OF “LOYALTY.” SIMILAR CASES OCCUR IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS, WHERE THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ARE TOO OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE KIDS TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON, MUCH LESS INTERVENE. WE NEED TO CONSCIOUSLY DIVERGE FROM THINGS WHICH, TO ME, ARE PREHISTORIC AND BARBARIC, AND MOVE INTO CIVILIZATION. JUST HAVING CITIES DOESN’T MAKE A SOCIETY CIVILIZED.

THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT ALL SUCH ORGANIZED SYSTEMS ARE ABUSIVE. MY SISTER’S FRIEND HAD A UNIQUE AND IMAGINATIVE SOLUTION TO THIS IN HER HOME. THE PARENTS BOTH WORKED, AND WHEN THEY WERE AWAY ONE OF THE FIVE CHILDREN WAS PLACED “IN CHARGE” FOR THE DAY IN A ROTATING PATTERN. EVEN THE SMALLEST CHILD HAD A DAY IN WHICH SHE WAS “IN CHARGE.” IT BALANCED OUT THE DOMINANCE FACTOR AND GAVE THE CHILDREN SOME REAL EXPERIENCE IN HAVING A LITTLE AUTHORITY. IT ALSO REINFORCED THE NEED FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT “IN CHARGE” THAT DAY, THOUGH THEY ARE OLDER, TO OBEY THEIR YOUNGER SIBLING.

IN THE MORE HARMFUL “CHAIN OF COMMAND” REACTIONS, WHICH WILL OCCUR IN ANY RIGIDLY ORGANIZED AND THOUGHTLESS GROUP –- WHOEVER IS THE DESIGNATED SCAPEGOAT IS SUPPOSED TO KNUCKLE UNDER SUBMISSIVELY AND NOT “WHINE” ABOUT THE PAIN AND INJUSTICE. “WHINE” IS THE NEWEST ALT-RIGHT TERM FOR STANDING UP FOR ONESELF. THAT’S WHAT “GOOD” PEOPLE IN THAT POSITION DO, AFTER ALL. RIGHT? OBEY WITHOUT COMPLAINT? IN GROUP THERAPY, I WAS INFORMED THAT WHAT SOME GOOD PEOPLE LEARN TO DO IS TO STEP AWAY AND DISCONNECT PARTIALLY OR TOTALLY FROM THAT KIND OF FAMILY. THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, MAY LEAVE THEM IN A LONG-TERM STATE OF LOSS, GRIEF AND NEGATIVITY, WHICH IS ALSO NOT HEALTHY. THERAPY CAN HELP THEM, HOWEVER; BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ABUSE STOPPED BY ATTENTIVE AND FAIR PARENTS, INSTEAD, WITH ALL OF THE CHILDREN AND FAMILY MEMBERS RECEIVING THEIR SHARE OF NURTURING. THAT DOES REQUIRE ATTENTIVENESS, WISDOM AND GOOD MENTAL HEALTH ON ALL OF OUR PARTS, HOWEVER, SO TOO OFTEN IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPEN.

IN AN EXTREMELY INTERESTING TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY THAT I SAW SOME FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, FEATURING THE COMMENTS OF A FAMILY COUNSELOR-NARRATOR AND SOME VERY PAINFUL LIVE FILM FOOTAGE OF THE TOXIC INTERACTION BETWEEN A MOTHER AND SON, WITH OTHER CHILDREN BEING ALLOWED TO “PUNISH” THE SCAPEGOAT ALSO. THIS LOWEST CHILD ON THE CHAIN REACTION LINKAGE IS EFFECTIVELY DESCRIBED AS “THE GARBAGE CAN CHILD.” NOT SURPRISINGLY, THIS POSITION IN THE FAMILY SETS PEOPLE UP ALMOST CERTAINLY TO BE SO DEPRESSED, ANGRY AND TIMID THAT THEY SIMPLY CANNOT SUCCEED IN THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN WHILE WITHIN THE FAMILY THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE “BLACK SHEEP,” I.E. ANOTHER VERSION OF BLAMING THE VICTIM.

WE COULD, IF WE WOULD, BREAK THIS DESTRUCTIVE AND INHUMANE CYCLE WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION. A WONDERFUL MOVIE OF THE 1980S, DEPICTING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF PARENTAL REJECTION/NEGLECT AND SIMPLY NEGATIVE FAMILY INTERACTIONS IN GENERAL IS SUCH A CASE. THAT FILM IS CALLED “ORDINARY PEOPLE,” ADAPTED FROM THE FIRST NOVEL OF JUDITH GUEST. IT WON NUMEROUS AWARDS, WITH TIMOTHY HUTTON BEING NAMED BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE UNFORTUNATE SON. THAT IS STILL AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON. THE YOUNGEST CHILD, THE REJECT, WAS TIMOTHY HUTTON. HE RECEIVED THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR AWARD, ALONG A GRAND SWEEP OF OTHER OSCARS AND GOLDEN GLOBES. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT, GO TO https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-People-Donald-Sutherland/dp/B0012B1C3A. FOR MORE OF GUEST’S WRITINGS, SEE: http://www.judithguest.com/books.

UNFORTUNATELY, TRUE HEALING FROM THESE SITUATIONS DOES TAKE CONSIDERABLE INTROSPECTION, AN EXAMINATION OF ONES’ PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT PATTERNS, AND TALK THERAPY, EITHER IN AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP COUNSELING SETTING. THAT IS WHAT FAMILY COUNSELING, WITH PARENTS AND SIBLINGS PRESENT, DOES. IT IS HEALING FOR ALL PARTIES AND PROVIDES AN ANTIDOTE TO WHAT I TEND TO CALL “EVIL.” THE WAY I VIEW “EVIL,” IS JUST AS MUCH A RESULT OF LAZINESS AND SICKNESS AS OF AN INTERVENTION BY “THE DEVIL,” BUT IT IS STILL TERRIBLY HARMFUL. WE HAVE TO FIGHT IT BY LEARNING HOW TO FEEL FOR OTHERS RATHER MERELY “THINKING,” COMPETING, OR MAKING MONEY, AND IT ISN’T EASY. OPENING UP OUR HEARTS HAS TO BE LEARNED, EARLY IN A CHILD’S LIFE, HOPEFULLY.

IN THE MOVIE ABOVE. A YOUNG TIMOTHY HUTTON IS THE CHILD IN QUESTION, THE MOTHER PLAYED BY MARY TYLER MOORE, AND THE FATHER BY DONALD SUTHERLAND. THE MOTHER’S FIRST CHILD, WHOM SHE DEEPLY LOVED, IS KILLED AS A YOUNG MAN, AND SHE SIMPLY TURNED A COLD EYE ON THE YOUNGER CHILD. THE FATHER WAS SO HEAVILY DEPRESSED BY THIS COLD DISTANCING BY THE MOTHER THAT HE ALSO WAS MORE OR LESS NON-FUNCTIONAL. IT IS A GREAT THERAPY FILM, LIKE OEDIPUS REX, AND INDISPUTABLY “GREAT ART!”

IN FACT, PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS GET COUNSELING, BUT THEY OFTEN DO. THOSE WHO DON’T DO IT ARE IN DANGER OF VERY ROUGH TREATMENT BY THE WHOLE SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY A PRISON TERM. MOST CRIMINALS ARE IN THIS CLASS. THAT IS THE FACTOR THAT KEEPS ABUSIVENESS ALIVE IN HUMAN SOCIETIES. WE NEED TO SEE IT AS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE RATHER THAN A SIN. WE DO DESPERATELY NEED FREE HEALTHCARE, SINCE SO MANY CASES OF POVERTY HAVE VERY LITTLE PHYSICAL CARE AND VIRTUALLY NO MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR FAMILY MEMBERS. IN ORDER TO RECOVER FROM ANY KIND OF MENTAL ILLNESS, HOWEVER, THE PATIENT HAS TO RECOGNIZE THAT HE HAS THE PROBLEM, AND THEN WORK WITH THE THERAPIST TO MAKE ANY PROGRESS.

IN ULTRACONSERVATIVE AND RELATIVELY IGNORANT PLACES, EVEN IN THIS COUNTRY, THE PRICE OF SPEAKING OUT MAY BE DEATH, ESPECIALLY IF WE BELONG TO A MINORITY GROUP. BLM GROUPS MARCHING IN EVER INCREASING NUMBERS WILL HELP TO CURB THAT – POLICE WILL STILL SHOOT THOSE WHO “DISS” THEM, BUT MORE AND MORE THEY ARE FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR IT. THE FAILURE TO “OBEY ORDERS” IS NOT AN ASSAULT OR A THREAT. CHARGING POLICEMEN IN THESE CASES IS WHAT A GOOD STRONG SET OF ENFORCED LAWS DOES FOR US. UNFORTUNATELY, RACE AND RELIGION ASIDE, THAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE WHO ISN’T A MEMBER OF THE “IN CROWD,” AND I REALLY DETEST IT. IT’S REALLY A SHAME THAT OUR NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER TRUMP IS USING A NEW POLICING POLICY THAT IS AGAIN LEAVING POLICE MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE UP TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES. THAT OLD “STATES’ RIGHTS” MODEL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LACK OF PROGRESS ON THE ISSUE WHICH EXISTS TO THIS DAY. WE DON’T USUALLY SEE THE KKK NOW, BUT THEY ARE THERE. THEY JUST LOOK LIKE OTHER PEOPLE – LIKE US. THEY HAVE EVEN IN SOME CASES INFILTRATED THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS. IT’S SO VERY DISCOURAGING. THAT’S HOW DAVID DUKE HAS WORMED HIS WAY INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL STAGE. HE DOESN’T WEAR HIS HOOD.

I BELIEVE THAT WHOEVER WILL STAND UP AGAINST IT, EVEN FOR HIS OWN RIGHTS ALONE, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER CREATURE – HUMAN, CAT, DOG OR OTHER SENTIENT BEING – BUT ESPECIALLY MEMBERS OF UNDERPRIVILEGED HUMAN GROUPS, IS A KIND OF HERO. HE AND OTHERS LIKE HIM KEEP THE UTTER BRUTALITY OF THE SOCIETY DOWN TO A MINIMAL LEVEL. I DO HOPE THAT IN THIS REGARD, WE AS A REASONABLY BENEVOLENT SOCIETY WILL SURVIVE THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY.

THE “BEHAVIOR” IN THIS ARTICLE IS THE ESPOUSAL AND MANIFESTATION OF HOSTILE BEHAVIOR BETWEEN CULTURAL GROUPS IN A SOCIETY. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT THIS KIND OF HOSTILITY HAS NEVER SUCCESSFULLY BEEN STAMPED OUT THROUGHOUT LIFE ON THIS PLANET. JESUS WAS REFERRING AT LEAST PARTIALLY TO THIS WHEN HE SAID MANKIND IS “SICK WITH SIN.” IT CAN, HOWEVER, BE MODIFIED BOTH BY TEACHING, BY THE MAINTENANCE OF A POSITIVE SOCIAL CONSENSUS, BY AN EFFORT ON THE PART OF INDIVIDUALS TO CHANGE THEIR OWN ATTITUDES TOWARD OTHERS AND THEMSELVES, AND BY LAWS REGULATING WHETHER OR NOT THE “ENEMY GROUP” CAN LEGALLY BE ABUSED. I BELIEVE IT IS CRUCIAL THAT ANY GOOD SOCIETY WILL NOT ALLOW ABUSE TO GO ON WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES. SEE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN REGARD TO OTHERS.


THE ARTICLE THAT CAUSED THIS MENTAL SNOWBALL TO ROLL DOWN THE HILL IS BY LAPROGRESSIVE, ONE OF MY FAVORITES OF ALL THE VERY GOOD WEBSITES.

https://www.laprogressive.com/native-prisoners-war/
U.S. Native Prisoners of War
BY JESSIE DANIELS
From current issue, April 11, 2017

Republished with permission from Racism Review.

One of the ways I came to be interested in issues around race, was that my father identified as Native American and with the struggles of native peoples, yet for the most part passed as white (what a friend of mine refers to as a “chera-honkey”). My dad also frequently expressed overtly racist and antisemitic views about black and Jewish people, while he spoke with admiration about our Mexican American neighbors in South Texas. That, my friends, will set you on a lifetime of trying to figure out race and racism.

I mention this personal history because there was something really flawed – and telling – in my father’s logic of “comparing” the plight of Native Americans with what he referred to as the “whining” of blacks about racism. In his view, Native Americans had it “much worse” than black Americans and still do. I think that my father’s “reasoning” here is not isolated but rather a common misunderstanding about the politics of race in the U.S., and a view I’ve seen on the RacismReview.com blog in the comments.

Rather than trying to rank order oppression and which group “had it worse,” it’s important that we see these as connected. At RacismReview.com, for example, we’ve talked a lot about the book “The New Jim Crow”, and the system of mass incarceration of black and brown people. Of course, this system isn’t all that new, really. In fact, it’s directly connected to the legacy of colonization, forced migration, and oppression faced by Native Americans.

This photo essay and talk (h/t @TheAngryIndian)* by Aaron Huey of the native Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, based on five years of work there, is a compelling example of visual sociology. The talk is on the long side (16:00), but worthwhile (even if he needs to learn to not back out of his own spotlight). It was recorded at TEDDxDU, Denver.

One of the things I appreciate about Huey’s talk is that he clearly situates the health conditions among the Lakota as a direct consequence of forced migration and the loss of native lands, rather than on the pusillanimous “health behaviors”* that so pervades the language in public health. Huey’s talk is a powerful reminder of the deep roots of institutional racism in the U.S.

ABOUT JESSIE DANIELS -- Jessie Daniels is Associate Professor of Urban Public Health at Hunter College. She holds an MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. Following that, she was a Charles Phelps Taft Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Cincinatti.


THERE IS A GREAT WORD IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE: “PUSILLANIMOUS.” “… rather than on the pusillanimous “health behaviors” that so pervades the language in public health.” ON THAT TERM, SEE BELOW:

“https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pusillanimous

Definition of pusillanimous:
lacking courage and resolution:
marked by contemptible timidity;” pusillanimously, adverb.


ON RACIAL ANIMUS, SEE:

*https://www.ted.com/talks/aaron_huey – THIS IS THE TALK. VIEW IT IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TIME. IT IS A LITTLE OVER FIFTEEN MINUTES LONG. THEN, GO TO MALCOLM BELLAMY’S “LIFELONG LEARNING BLOG” FOR NOVEMBER 10, 2010, AT THE SITE BELOW. THE TED TALK VIDEO IS THERE ALONG WITH AN EXCELLENT WRITTEN ARTICLE. THAT SITE IS:
*https://malbell.com/2010/11/10/a-powerful-ted-talk-by-aaron-huey/.


LIKEWISE, THE TECHNICALLY USED “HEALTH BEHAVIORS,” AS MENTIONED WITH SOME SCORN IN THE ARTICLE ABOVE IS IMPORTANT, AND THE RANGE OF USES IN PUBLIC HEALTH LITERATURE IS NEITHER OBVIOUS, NOR DEFINED. SEE THE HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE HERE ON THE CLOSEST COMMENTS THAT I WAS ABLE TO FIND, WHICH GIVE ANYTHING LIKE A “DEFINITION” PER SE OF THIS USAGE. IT’S A LONG ANALYTICAL ARTICLE, BUT MAINLY UNDERSTANDABLE TO THE LAY PERSON WITH A GOOD HIGH SCHOOL OR EARLY COLLEGE EDUCATION, AND IS INTERESTING. THEREFORE, I HAVE TAKEN THE CLIP BELOW FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO ANSWER THE QUESTION I HAVE IN MY MIND ABOUT WHAT THE WRITER IS SAYING.

NO, IT IS NOT MAINLY A “PSYCHOLOGICAL” TERM IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH LITERATURE, BUT RATHER A STATISTICAL AND ANALYTICAL TERM USED IN PUBLIC HEALTH POPULATION STUDIES. IT IS, IN VARIOUS ARTICLES, CONCERNED WITH BOTH THE RESULTS AND THE CAUSES OF DIFFERENT “BEHAVIORS.” BEHAVIORIST PSYCHOLOGY DOES CONCERN ITSELF WITH THOUGHT AS WELL AS ACTIONS, BUT IN THE OTHER ARTICLES I SAMPLED ON THE TERM, IT SEEMS TO MEAN A SET OF SPECIFICS LIKE MAINTAINING A GOOD GENERAL HEALTH REGIMEN WITH THE AIM OF AVOIDING AN EARLY DEATH; IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS LESS CONCERNED WITH MENTAL HEALTH THAN WITH BIOLOGICAL HEALTH – SMOKING CAUSES CANCER, ETC.

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM DEFINITION AT ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM IS CLOSER TO THE CONCERN NOTED IN THE LAPROGRESSIVE ARTICLE ABOVE, WHICH SEEMS TO ME TO MEAN USAGES SUCH AS “AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE EARLY DEATHS AND A LACK OF SUCCESS IN LIFE” DUE TO THEIR [UNFORTUNATE] “HEALTH BEHAVIORS.” I AM BROADLY INFERRING THAT CONCLUSION, BECAUSE THE THRUST OF THE LAPROGRESSIVE ARTICLE IS SOCIALLY CAUSED INEQUITIES IN OUR SOCIETY, NOT EARLY DEATH. WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH WHAT ALL THE FACTORS ARE WHICH CAUSE DRUG ABUSE, RATHER THAN MERELY THE DELETERIOUS HEALTH RESULTS FROM IT. ON THE TERM “HEALTH BEHAVIORS,” SEE BELOW:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/psychology/psychology-and-psychiatry/health-behavior
Behavior, Health-Related
Encyclopedia of Public Health
COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc.

“…. In the broadest sense, health behavior refers to the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations, as well as the determinants, correlates, and consequences, of these actions—which include social change, policy development and implementation, improved coping skills, and enhanced quality of life. This is similar to the working definition of health behavior that David Gochman proposed, which includes not only observable, overt actions but also the mental events and emotional states that can be reported and measured. Gochman defined health behavior as "those personal attributes such as beliefs, expectations, motives, values, perceptions, and other cognitive elements; personality characteristics, including affective and emotional states and traits; and overt behavior patterns, actions, and habits that relate to health maintenance, to health restoration, and to health improvement." Interestingly, this definition emphasizes the actions and the health of individuals. A public health perspective, in contrast, is concerned with individuals as part of a larger community. These perspectives are interrelated, as the behaviors of individuals determine many of the social conditions that affect all people's health.”