Can Anybody Figure This Out?

Faced with an odd phenomenon, it may be hard to come up with a true explanation, but it’s usually a breeze to devise a superficially plausible one. For once, though, I am stumped.

A friend happened to visit a hospital emergency room in Auburn, Washington, twice in the same day (for a sufficiently minor emergency that the doctors felt comfortable about telling him, after a couple of hours’ wait, to come back later). The first time was near midnight, the second near noon. At midnight, all of the patients, except himself and one other, were black. At noon, all but one were white.

Why the discrepancy? Race can hardly be a factor that determines when in the day people suffer accidents and other medical emergencies. Nor is self-segregation very likely: Does a white guy, even white bigot, who sprains his ankle at 11:00 p.m. wait till the “black shift” is over before seeking treatment?

Though it surely isn’t socially significant, an answer to this puzzle would be welcome. It doesn’t have to be a correct answer, just one that is remotely credible. Any ideas out there? (But no, Mr. Hodges, it is not the fault of George W. Bush.)

Comments

[pbh]

Mr. Veal’s covert racism is, increasingly, his own problem. Its origin is irrelevant. As for his original question, he has yet to explain why his friend’s one time observation led him to conclude that “whites” are “underrepresented” in the Auburn General ER at midnight. He is, however, consistent in the display of his prejudice. Substituting “blacks” for all individuals of non-European ancestry could not be more myopically self defeating.

[Tom Veal]

Mr. Hodges’ misplaced emotionalism is his own problem. I shan’t speculate about its origin. As for his empirical research, it still doesn’t explain why whites are so underrepresented in the Auburn General ER at midnight. He does, however, seem to have solved half the puzzle: There are few blacks in the ER at noon, because not many blacks live in the area.

[pbh]

“White bigot” and “black shift” were your phrases, not mine. Your use of “scare quotes” does not “qualify” your choice of “subject” or your “lack” of “comprehension”.

With regard to the original question:

According to the 2000 census, Auburn is a community of 31,000 with about 7,500 (25%) with “ancestries which are equivalent to specific race & Hispanic/Latino groups, such as Cree, Thai, Samoan & Cuban.” African Americans are not a large part of the demographic (about 300).

Of the surrounding communities, nearby Federal Way City, two and a half miles west of Auburn, with a population 68,500, including many of German, Norwegian, English and other European groups' descent, also includes 23,000 (33%) with the “ancestries” mentioned above. There are only about 1,000 African Americans in this area.

Kent City, barely six miles north of Auburn, is a community of 64,000, with a similar population of European groups which also includes 23,000 with other “ancestries”, only 1,000 of which are African American.

Milton and Pacific are small communities to the south and south east, with populations of about 4,500 each. About a quarter of these are of minority “ancestries”.

Major 24 hour ERs in the area include: 1., Valley Medical Center Emergency in Kent, 2., St Francis Hospital in Federal Way City, and 3., Auburn General.

So, there are basically three 24 hour ER facilities in the immediate area. One for Kent, one for Federal City and one for Auburn. Auburn has one half the population of either Kent or Federal Way. The minority population of Kent and Federal Way combined is 150% of Auburn’s total population, but these two communities have only two 24 hour ERs to serve more than four and a half times the population of Auburn.

The Auburn ER is closer to Kent and Federal Way City than either of those two are to each other.

I would therefore account for the (one time observed) disparity in the Auburn ER daytime vs. evening distribution as nothing more than spillover from the nearby communities. And spillover (in accordance with travel time) tends to occur after working hours. This effect has probably become more pronounced since 2000 as a result of the BUSH DEPRESSION.

Certainly not a reason to imagine "white bigot[s]" or “Black Shift[s]” by way of explanation.

My suggestion to you is to reset your “default” mode to something less pejorative.

pbh

[Tom Veal]

Seeing Mr. Hodges hyperventilate is so much fun that I really must think of other ways to upset him. We retired old codgers need our hobbies, after all.

It is also refreshing to discover that there is at least one person in the world who has no concept of the use of scare quotes.

[pbh]

More research is obviously needed, IF this is a subject worthy of exploration.

I find Mr. Veal's interest unfortunate. For instance, there is no suggestion that there was a "black shift", yet Mr. Veal creates one, as if people of color are only permitted or able to work the late shift.

Perhaps the Auburn facility sees more working commuters on their way to or from work after hours. Perhaps the ERs in other nearby communities close after hours. Perhaps, DUE TO THE BUSH DEPRESSION AND THE SUDDENLY DECLINING TAX BASE, neighboring communities have had to limit, or even discontinue, ER facilities. Or perhaps Mr. Veal's friend observed a random after hours event and drew the false conclusion that it meant something.

Why should anyone care? Only because Mr. Veal chose to draw attention to his own mindset by discussing it in his typical, small-minded way.

If it is really all that important, why not send someone out to the hospital to ask? I have no doubt that the staff could explain. Would that not be better than indulging in armchair racial profiling?

[Tom Veal]

A possibility, except that the population of Auburn is overwhelmingly white. In the 2000 census, blacks were only about 2½ percent.

[Sam Shaw]

I propose that the hospital your friend visited is located in an area which is home to predominantly "white" industry but predominantly "black" housing. There are industries even today that are not fully integrated thanks less to official racism and more to cultural directives. At midnight, the white commuters had gone home, and the black inhabitants had returned from their work in some other neighborhood.