A22 SUNDAY,APRIL 23,2017 S LATIMES.COM

OP-ED Trapped in the endless fights of 2016

DOYLE McMANUS herself from Trump. seem trapped in an endless loop of at least 30,000 Democrats failed to In a district owned by the GOP their bitter 2016 primary cam- The Democrats’ turn out in the special election. fter strong show- for the last 37 years, Ossoff rode a paign. Ossoff would have won outright if ings in two special wave of anti-Trump enthusiasm The unresolved conflicts were unresolved primary 5,500 of them had shown up. elections for congres- and raised an astounding $8 mil- on painful display last week when In other words, to win a major- sional seats, Demo- lion from Democrats around the Sanders and the new chairman of conflicts are on ity in the House, Democrats will A crats are beginning to country. He had help from a long the Democratic National Commit- painful display. have to do everything right. Run- believe they have a real shot at list of progressive groups, too, with tee, former Clinton backer Tom ning Sanders progressives in every winning control of the House of one exception: Our Revolution, Perez, attempted to stage a unity district is probably not one of Representatives next year. But if the political action committee tour. The official theme was those things. Democratic strate- they hope to succeed, they’re going founded by . “Come Together/Fight Back,” but gain 24 House seats in 2018, the gists have targeted 23 districts to have to stop fighting one Why didn’t Sanders pitch in for togetherness was in short supply number they need to gain a major- with Republican incumbents another. Ossoff? “He’s not a progressive,” on the first few stops. ity. “ showed that the where Clinton won the presi- The first straw in the wind the Vermont senator told the Perez was booed by Sanders House is in play,” Mark Mellman, a dential vote. Most of those seats came in Kansas, where a virtually Washington Post. supporters several times, even Democratic pollster and strate- are in the Sun Belt, seven in Cali- unknown Democrat came within a By Sanders’ yardstick, that’s though he praised the Vermont gist, argued. “That was a huge fornia alone. few percentage points of winning true. In a district Trump won senator lavishly and presented a turnout for a special election. Many of the up-for-grabs dis- the House seat that Mike Pompeo, narrowly in November, Ossoff ran policy message (drawn from Clin- Democrats are energized and tricts are not natural progressive now President Trump’s CIA direc- as a generic moderate-to-liberal ton’s notably progressive plat- mobilized.” territory, Mellman said. “The tor, won by 32 points only six Democrat — a Hillary Clinton form) not too different from Our Still, the House remains an winning coalition in Georgia 6 is months ago. Democrat, in effect. A Sanders- Revolution’s. In return, Sanders uphill battle, in part because not a Bernie Sanders coalition,” he “That threw a scare into us,” a style progressive, he wasn’t. delivered a reprise of his 2016 mes- redistricting has made few seats said. top Republican strategist in Wash- But Sanders’ brusque dismiss- sage, arguing that the party still susceptible to change. And Demo- The Sanders-Perez not-ready- ington confessed. “Even in conser- al of the Democrats’ hottest new doesn’t get it. “The Democrats crats have a chronic problem for-unity tour suggests that Demo- vative districts, there’s a backlash face produced anguish even have not put forward an agenda turning out voters in a non-presi- crats have a long way to go before against Trump.” among some of his allies. “What that speaks to the needs of people dential year. “Democrats under- the wounds of 2016 heal. Until then, Even more tantalizing was last was Bernie thinking?” a member in pain,” he said. performed the last two midterms Sanders and his supporters have week’s primary election in the of the Congressional Progressive Intraparty squabbles normally by about 20%,” warned Doug decisions to make ahead of the suburban district once Caucus moaned to me. “That’s wouldn’t matter much in a non- Sosnik, a former aide to President 2018 congressional election: How held by Tom Price, Trump’s secre- going to make it harder for Ossoff election year. But in addition to Clinton. “Can they change that? progressive will they demand that tary of Health and Human Serv- to raise money for the runoff.” Georgia, House seats are up in Maybe, but just opposing Donald Democratic candidates be? How ices. A 30-year-old Democratic On Friday, Sanders relented. Montana and South Carolina, Trump won’t be enough.” tough a litmus test will they apply? newbie named Jon Ossoff took “It is imperative that Jon Ossoff be conservative states where Demo- In Georgia’s 6th District race, They hope to change the party 48% of the vote and almost won elected,” he said in a written state- crats need to cast a broad net. for example, even though Ossoff and change control of Congress, the seat outright. Now Ossoff faces ment. “I applaud the energy and Their strength in the Kansas came in first, he drew only a too. The choice before them is: atough runoff in June against a grassroots activism in Jon's cam- and Georgia contests have led slightly larger percentage of the Which do they want to do first? well-funded Republican, Karen paign.” But the episode revealed a many to believe that they have a vote than Hillary Clinton did last Handel, who wisely distanced problem for the Democrats: They better-than-expected chance to year. DNC Chair Perez noted that [email protected]

Why aren’t people The high cost of listening to scientists?

bella vaccine is linked to autism. It is up to experts to Their original study, published in the racial ‘sleep gap’ engage with the public by the Lancet, was rescinded and re- pudiated, and thousands of scien- not just presenting but tists have come out to explain why elucidating the evidence. the rumors are not true. Yet the By Benjamin Reiss fear persists. By Marcus du Sautoy Our approach as a society to hen we study racial inequality, we counseled, was “hard work in the open air” and in- countering deadly diseases tend to consider factors that affect creased discipline on the part of the slaveholders. ho would you hinges on what is called “herd im- people while they are awake. Differ- The killing labors, constant anxiety and wretched trust more: a munity.” The concept requires us ential access to safe neighborhoods sleeping conditions of slavery no doubt produced politician or a to think collectively, for the good W with good schools, decent jobs and chronic fatigue, and yet Jefferson and Cartwright scientist? Even of humanity, rather than individu- unbalanced treatment bypolice and the courts surely perversely identified exhaustion as the problem and W in our age of ally. Think individually, and you have much to do with the stubborn disparities in hardwork as thecure.Such cureswere oftenadminis- skepticism, I think more people might argue that there is a risk in- wealth and well-being among blacks and whites, in tered at the end of a whip. As Frederick Douglass put would vote for the scientist. And volved in taking any vaccine. But particular. Yet it may be just as important to consider it in his memoir, “More slaves were whipped for over- yet politicians who challenge well- while there is a risk, it is often tiny. what happens when we’re asleep. Race shapes our sleeping than for any other fault.” Douglass went as tested scientific theories are get- Herein lies one of the primary rea- sleep, a relationship that has surprising roots deep in far asto suggest that keeping the enslavedpopulation ting unprecedented traction of sons for the dismissal of the ex- our national past. in a state of constant fatigue was a useful tool in late. The whole concept of the ex- pert, in my view: Rejectionists African Americans suffer from a “sleep gap”: breaking their will. He wrote that, on Sundays, he pert is under extraordinary at- don’t believe that the scientist has Fewer black people are able to sleep for the recom- regularly found himself “in a beast-like state, between tack on both sides of the Atlantic. their best interests at heart. mended six to nine nightly hours sleep and wake” that made it impos- To be fair, science often goes Perhaps it is up to scientists to than any other ethnic group in the sible for him to act on the “flashof ener- against intuition. As kids, we better understand this psycholo- United States; compounding mat- getic freedom [that] would dart build up models in our heads to gy and take it into account when ters, a smaller percentage of African through [his] soul.” Sinking back to explain the world around us. The we present our conclusions. But Americans’ slumber is spent in the ground, he would simply mourn Earth appears to be flat. The sun scientists don’t always speak with “slow-wave sleep,” the deepest and over his “wretched condition.” appears to go around the Earth. one voice. Indeed, robust argu- most restorative phase of sleep that What remains of this history is a Humans appear to be very differ- ment over the interpretation of produces the most benefits in heal- profound confusion as to the causes ent from mice. Only a careful pre- data is a critical part of practicing ing and cognition. Poor sleep has and effects of our racial inequalities. sentation of evidence counters science. Any new model must cascading effects on racial health Out of Jefferson and Cartwright’s these intuitive stories. undergo questioning. This can be disparities, including increased risk pseudo-scientific racism, the stereo- Take the mouse genome. It confusing to a public and govern- of diabetes and cardiovascular dis- type of the “lazy black man” was given contains nearly the same amount ment that want clear, definitive ease. medical legitimacy: Exhaustion was of base pairs — the ladder rungs of answers. The racial sleep gap is largely a seen as a character trait requiring the double helix — as the human The public’s desire for cer- matterof unequal access to safe, reli- more hard work, rather than an effect genome, about 3.1billion. Only 5% tainty presents one of the biggest able and comfortable sleep environ- of a fractured sleeping environment of these base pairs areresponsible challenges for the scientific com- ments, and this sleeping inequality and extreme physical and emotional for coding the proteins that make munity, since tension between the has a long history. For centuries, Frederick Douglass duress. us what we are. The other 95% are known and unknown animates whites have tacitly accepted — and To this day, opportunities for sound junk. Of the important stuff, 85% much of what we do. We are sure even actively created — such in- sleep are distributed unequally among of human genes are, on average, that our model of the cosmos is equality. Aboard the ships of the ‘More slaves the races, while the effects of such dis- identical to those of the mouse. correct, while at the same time transatlantic slave trade, African parities are frequently misidentified. If you are still reading this, you recognizing that new revelations captives were made to sleep en mas- were For example, minority students who have already experienced one of could require that we reconsider se in the hold, often while chained to- perform poorly on tests, appear apa- the problems with countering in- it. We grow confident in a theory if gether. Once in the New World, en- whipped for thetic or act out in school are often tuition: It takes time to lay out evi- it is confirmed every time we test slaved people were usually still oversleeping blamed for lack of will or poor values, dence, and the evidence can be it, and yet, as the great philo- made to sleep in tight quarters, when in fact they may be irritable, de- complicated. Although you don’t sopher of science Karl Popper sometimes on the bare floor, and than for pressed, or unfocused in large part be- need a doctorate to understand pointed out, a theory is consid- they struggled to snatch any sleep at cause they’re tired and stressed. An the science, you do need time and ered scientific only if it can be falsi- all while chained together in the cof- any other ongoing study by psychologist Tiffany awillingness to invest it in some- fied —thatis,if ithasthe potential fle. Slaveholders systematically dis- Yip of Fordham University examines thing other than the instanta- to be challenged. allowed privacy as they attempted fault.’ the joint effects of ethnic discrimi- neous news hits we’ve become ac- But while new evidence may round-the-clock surveillance, and nation and sleep deprivation on Afri- customed to. reveal that a model is awry, such enslaved women were especially susceptible at night can American and Latino youth; her preliminary But even people who do put in revelations do not throw all of sci- to sexual assault from white men. findings suggest a vicious cycle in which experiences the effort seem all too ready to dis- ence into question. The discovery One might think that slaveholders, looking out for of discrimination lead to poor sleep, which in turn miss scientific evidence. It’s not of a new subatomic particle their bottom line, would be interested in ensuring at leads to higher levels of anxiety, lower engagement in that they don’t believe the facts doesn’t challenge our under- least a modicum of restful slumber for their enslaved school and deepening problems of self-esteem. presented to them, exactly. It’s standing of biology or gravity. workers. The social reformer Thomas Tryon made Some pediatricians, psychologists and public that they question whether those That science is constantly im- this argument in1684 when he wroteof “inconsiderate health advocates are beginning to understand that facts are relevant to their own sit- proving does not mean it is always masters” who compel the enslaved to work so hard detection, prevention and treatment of poor sleep is uation. wrong. that they were often so “overcome with weariness and an important aspect of improving the educational Why, for example, are people Scientists could help bridge want of proper Rest” that they would “fall into the performance of socioeconomically disadvantaged rejecting the idea that vaccines the gulf in understanding by en- fierce boyling Syrups” of the sugar pots. Ensuring children. Little public attention, however, is given to are essential to preventing the gaging more with the public, par- proper rest, he wrote, “would add much to their Prof- the more pervasive problem of unequal sleeping con- spread of disease? The science is ticularly when it comes to re- it” as well as to the slaves’ health. ditions that is borne of our troublesome racial history. pretty clear. Every virus has search that will have a big impact Yet just as often, slaveholders justified overwork Slave quarters are now tourist attractions, but the something called a “reproduction on society. In fact, this should be and minimal rest as a positive good, in the process descendants of enslaved Africans are still more likely number,” which represents the part of our job descriptions. Not elaborating curious theories about the supposed na- than whites to live in inhospitable sleeping environ- quantity of secondary infections one-way lecturing, but a genuine tural differences between the races. ments. As public health scholar Lauren Hale points produced by an infected individu- exchange. We need to show our , for instance, opined that black out, African Americans tend to live in noisier and al in an unvaccinated population. work, as a teacher of mine used to people simply “require less sleep” than whites. And more dangerous urban environments than whites; Typically, influenza has a repro- say —to not just present buteluci- while he noted enslaved people’s propensity to drop suchenvironments may lead to shorterand shallower duction number of around two to date the evidence for climate off quickly at the end of a long day, he convinced him- sleep. African Americans are also more likely to have three. Smallpox had a reproduc- change, for evolution, for all of the self that a rapid descent into sleep was evidence of in- undesirable or unpredictable work schedules than tion number of five to seven. Giv- scientific theories we have devel- ferior intellects (rather than insufficient rest). White whites, which leads to chaotic sleep schedules. In- en the smallpox rate, epidemiolo- oped to explain our place in the people, he observed, could keep themselves up late creased risk of hunger as well as fear of violence or of gists predicted that inoculating universe. People don’t want ex- into the night to pursue intellectual or creative en- harassment by police make a good night’s sleep even 80% of the world population perts telling them how it is. They deavors, whereas “negroes” were deficient in the pow- harder to obtain. would successfully eradicate the want to understand how we ar- ers of “reflection” that allowed them to do so: “An ani- Langston Hughes described American slavery as virus. They were right. rived at our conclusions. mal whose body is at rest, and who does not reflect, “the rock on which/Freedom stumped its toe.” As we We are currently experiencing This weekend, many scientists must be disposed to sleep of course.” attempt to address the inequities of wealth, educa- aworrying growth in cases of around the world gathered to take physician Samuel Cartwright, who con- tion, health and incarceration that persist across the measles. According to the World astand against the attack on sci- ducted a widely disseminated study of the medical color line, we would do well to remember that these Health Organization, there were ence. Though it feels good to condition of slaves, also believed that differences in problems were formed by night as well as by day. If we 13 4,200 measles deaths in 2015 — march, protests signs alone won’t sleeping were evidence of the natural supremacy of want to close that gap, we’ll have to confront Hughes’ about 367 deaths every day, or 15 convince. Only a sustained dia- the white race. He claimed that black people at rest stubborn rock, which for too many serves in place of a deaths every hour. We have a vac- logue with the public will do that. instinctively smothered their own faces with blankets pillow. cine for measles. But because of or clothing, impeding the flow of oxygen to the brain, its high reproduction number — Marcus du Sautoy is Simonyi and that this obstruction permanently stunted their Benjamin Reiss, a professor of English at Emory 14 to 18 — measles will be eradi- Professor for the Public intellectual development. As for slaveswho wandered University, is the author most recently of “Wild cated only if we inoculate 95% of Understanding of Science and exhausted across the plantation, he considered this a Nights: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless the population. A few irresponsi- professor of mathematics at the special kind of black-people disease known as World.” He wrote previously for Opinion on why we ble doctors have spread rumors University of Oxford and the “dysaesthesia aethiopica.” The cure, Cartwright make children sleep alone. that the measles, mumps and ru- author of “The Great Unknown.”