A new scientific study shows that discrimination can kill.

At least, the perception of discrimination:

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30 -- The more discrimination African-American women report, the more likely they are to have coronary artery calcification, a buildup of calcium in the vessels that is associated with atherosclerosis, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 45th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

The women answered a nine-item Everyday Discrimination Questionnaire regarding their experience of discrimination and the results were averaged over a four-year period. Coronary artery calcification was measured on the fourth year through electron beam computed tomography.

The questionnaire measured subtle rather than overt discrimination on a scale of one to four, with four points being the highest.

Discrimination was measured by things such as feeling ignored or treated with a lack of courtesy or respect, she said. "The women reported discrimination in the form of having poorer service in stores or restaurants, being treated as if they were less smart or being treated as if they were dishonest."

The discrimination that people face today is more subtle, Lewis said. "It's rare that someone would use blatantly racist language in public, but that doesn't mean that discrimination is no longer a problem."

Coronary artery calcification was present in 59.6 percent of the women. The more discrimination they reported, the more likely they were to have any calcification, she said.

But my concern is with the issue of perception. It is one thing to be discriminated against. But if there's one thing I've seen in life, it's that when you're expecting something bad to happen, you tend to make it happen. The power of positive thinking versus the power of negative thinking.

Let's take three of the stressors mentioned:

I can't count the number of times I have experienced poor service in stores and restaurants. Fortunately for me, I don't stand out as being especially unusual, so I tend to regard poor service as, well, poor service. The grass always seems greener at another table.

"They got there at the same time we did, and they already got their salad, while we haven't even ordered yet!"

There could be countless explanations for such a delay (such as different waiter sections, or simple inattentiveness), but if you're expecting discrimination, you'll definitely perceive it.

Once again, how can one ever know whether one is being treated as less smart? I get treated like an idiot all the time! The now omnipresent dumbing down phenomena almost guarantees it. Plus, it's human nature for those in authority (especially petty tyrants like bureaucrats) to condescend to the public and show off their superior knowledge. If you're expecting to be thought of as less smart, then don't leave your house.

What really fries me is being asked idiot questions ("Is your modem plugged in?") when I do things like call tech support. The problem is: THEY ARE TRAINED AND REQUIRED TO DO IT! Stupidity has become a mandatory assumption.

What store doesn't have security cameras and guards at the door inspecting packages? In many cities, stores keep their doors locked until a customer rings the bell. Of course they're treating everyone as if they're dishonest! That's the modern reality of doing business. I don't like it either, but I try not to take it personally. I'm not black, but if I were, I might take it personally.

I have a friend who's a white cop, working a mostly white suburban neighborhood. He told me that he hates pulling over black motorists, because he can feel this perception -- that he's pulled them over for their race. Yet what has a broken tail light to do with race? If he saw two broken tail lights -- one on a car driven by a white man and one on a car driven by a black man -- and he deliberately pulled over the white driver to avoid this feeling of perception, would the white driver* be a victim of racism?

Yes, but he'd never perceive it!

Such is the magic of perception versus reality. When racism becomes "subtle," we're all victims. (Anyone who thinks the subtleties of perceptions of race discrimination are tricky to perceive should try perceiving subtle "homophobia". . .)

The article concludes:

Further studies are needed to find out if other minority women experience discrimination and health outcomes in the same way, and whether the stress of discrimination might spark inflammation that could contribute to the onset of atherosclerosis. "Other studies have found that inflammatory markers might be prevalent in people who feel socially rejected," she said.

While discrimination is a regrettable fact of life which cannot be denied, I don't think studies like this do wonders for the mental health of either the victims, or their accusers.

Sooner or later we'll all be victims of perceptions.

Only then can we achieve the goal of true equality!

*In this instance, both the white driver and the black driver would be victims of discrimination. If a police officer avoided doing his duty (ticketing the driver) because of race, is this any less discriminatory than if a waiter avoided serving the same person? Just because we might want a meal and not want a ticket -- how does that change the operative principle? If, to avoid being considered a racist, one avoids negative interaction with members of a certain race, is that not just as racist as if one avoids positive interaction?

(But have there been any complaints of racism based upon the deliberate avoidance of situations where there might be an appearance of a perception? Like, "Why didn't I get a ticket?")

Is it illegal to avoid the appearance of perception?