I’ve avoided the Ferguson, Missouri story because I don’t believe the majority of people think there is a “there” there…..
The evidence strongly supports the decision rendered by the grand jury. It just does….
But along comes the 11/26/14 New York Times lead editorial:
“The case resonated across the country – in New York City, Chicago and Oakland – because the killing of young black men by police is a common feature of African-American life and a source of dread for black parents from coast to coast. This point was underscored last month in a grim report by ProPublica, showing that young black men in recent years were at a far greater risk – 21 times greater – of being shot dead by police than young white men. These statistics reflect the fact that many police officers see black men as expendable figures on the urban landscape, not quite human beings.”
This is claptrap. It’s a cruel cheap-shot at people’s intelligence. And it’s wishful thinking by the self-loathing American liberal…..
I say ‘wishful’ because the above reasoning implicitly abdicates the perpetrator’s accountability for their actions. It’s also a reversal of cause and effect. More blacks are killed by the police because blacks commit a greater proportion of violent crime relative to other racial groups and therefore police have a greater number of interactions with blacks relative to other racial groups…. If one accepts the NYT’s argument then the remedy for the suffering of inner-city blacks would be straightforward – mitigate policing in their neighborhoods…..
Here’s the stark statistical reality: Black’s represent about 13% of the American population. Blacks commit slightly more than 50% of ALL murders in America. Of those 50% roughly 90% are black-on-black! Less than 1% are a result of policing. LESS THAN 1%!!!
And the NYT editorial board believes the “killing of young black men by police is a common feature of African-American life”?
Daniel Moynihan famously quipped that American Society was seemingly “defining deviancy down”….It’s getting dangerous now…
From a purely self-interested perspective, by all means, let’s decrease the policing of African-American communities based on self-delusional reasoning. And then? Let’s watch the crime rates rise again. More prison lock manufacturing for me…
If we really – REALLY – wanted to help blacks we’d bust teacher unions nation-wide and fix our public schools (a Gov. Scott Walker busting)…We’d try once again to contract the nominal number of all people on the public dole like Bill Clinton successfully started… And we’d acknowledge the true cause of inner-city African-American under-performance: The breakdown of their FAMILIES……
God, if only racism was the problem….Wouldn’t that be easy?