Blacks who murder whites have a much higher chance of getting death row than whites who murder blacks, according to a study discussed in this article. But what are the data? The article is available only for a fee, and the data themselves I can find now where.
Do we have 1,000 whites murdering blacks, compared to 50 blacks murdering whites? Or are these groups similar in size?
Do both groups have have similar types of situations? Or do the white murderers tend to be premeditated, and the black murderers tend to be heat-of-the-moment?
I do not doubt that the US is unwashed of anti-black bias, but without more info, we cannot know to what extent this study's reported results accurately reflect the bias on death row.
2007-08-03
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Interesting points made by Brown economics Professor Glenn Loury on "choices" in the ghetto.
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/4/6/mathUsedToModelRace
Steve: I agree with this economist that white folks created the ghettos, and that being born into the ghetto instills the very attitudes that you and I discuss round and round. In this sense of course I agree that white racism is the ultimate source of these problems.
But although this economist directly states that we cannot blame "personal choices" for the ghettos, nowhere does he demonstrate that people in that situation cannot solve their own problems merely by making constructive choices.
My boyhood friend from Austin is visiting me in Detroit, along with his 11-year-old son. His family lived for about a year in the housing projects in my neighborhood (they were original residents), then moved out into one of the houses on my block. His parents were married and both worked. Though they divorced when he was in Jr High school, the family unit was established, and his father was a constant force in their lives, always working, helping around the house once or twice a week, and paying support.
There were three kids, all boys. We lived in a "high crime" area. He and I were criminals as teenagers. He and the middle brother made a set of choices typical of people who move up into prosperity; their younger brother made a set of choice typical of those who end up in prison, where he now lives.
He and I see this pattern repeated countless times amongst our fellow childhood chums. Many made smart choices, and they all seem to be doing very well; many made bad choices, and all are doing poorly.
Therein lies the difference.
The FAMILY UNIT was in place.
As I've gone 'round and 'rounbd with you on this issue, I've gone round and round with my own mother and in-laws you can't understand how they withstood Jim Crow and legal discrimination and didn;t turn to crime and yet inner city kids today don't face those obstacles yet many do turn to crime.
What they and you fail to accept is that for 3 generations now in the inner city we have children making children with no concept of a nuclear family, the roles and responsibilities of parents and accountability.
I grew up during the 70s in the West Bronx in NYC.
Many of my childhood friends are now either dead or the walking dead.
Some are functioning and others (I like to include myself) have gone on to very successful professional careers and happy family lives.
The difference between those of us who made and those who didn't were our families.
There was no way I or my brother could drop out of school. There was no way my sister would get pregnant before marriage.
My father gave me a box of condoms when I turned 15. He told me if I got any girl pregnant while I was in school, he would pull me out of school, make me get a job and support the child.
At 15 that's all I needed to hear.
My first child was born when I was 26 and married.
The intellectual odyssey of Glenn Loury.
With the rightwing domination of the corporate owned media currently, we often hear and read stories of erstwhile liberals like David Horowitz and PJ O'Rourke who suddenly took an intellectual walk to Damascus and became conservatives.
It was more like recognizing the political and cutural winds shifting to the right in the 80s and jumping aboard that ship to reap the rewards, both monetary and exposure wise.
Loury made a heartfelt and spiritual reevaluation of himself and the new man is wonderful to behold.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0905/p18s01-ussc.html
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