In Monica Potts’ essay discusses how white women’s life expectancy is decreasing dramatically due to lack of education, and better jobs that are depriving them from beneficial standards of living. Potts’ audience was targeted towards the uneducated white women to give as a cautionary tale on how they could better themselves and the lives they lead, as well an general audience, in order to educate the on the causes behind why poor white women are dying. Bringing in Crystal Wilson’s story brought in a personal element that southern white women could relate to , understand why she died the way she did, and what it was like to be in her shoes and how to avoid it.
One of researchers that attributed their evidence to this, was James Jackson, who is a public health researcher from the University of Michigan pointed out that life for those who are uneducated, like Crystal, becomes more problematic. Jackson remarks that, “‘Hope is lowered. If you drop out of school, say in the last 20 years or so, you just had less hope for ever making it and being anything'”(598). The jobs differ greatly for those who graduated from college with a degree than those who dropped out of high school. People with college degrees will usually attain jobs with higher wages that are more dependable. People, namely women without a degree don’t have the same number of opportunities available to them instead have a minimum wage job that allows to make ends meet and for people to get, but often not as comfortably as they wish, making them work 2 or 3 jobs just to get by to take care of themselves and their families.
I think Potts wanted to bring an awareness to Crystal Wilson’s story as well as the other uneducated white women who share similar fates, and how we need their quality of life to be improved so they do feel a sense of purpose and hope.
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