Reply to How can someone be born and raised in the DC area yet still be racist?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would say one would have had plenty of positive and negative interactions with people of all shades, creeds, races in this region.

Honest question, how can someone still have such views when the area is so diverse?

[/quote]

Unfortunate realization: virtually 99% of all crime in DC is committed by youngish black males. I returned here after college fully woke  and somewhat strident about it, but over the last many years, I've reached the point where I can't reconcile the progressive dogma with the realty of DC's crime statistics. And I really have no patience left for street criminals and shooters.

I don't think noticing this makes me racist, but I'm sure others disagree.[/quote]

This.  It is the elephant in the room.  Most people DO notice this and they know it.

Anyone with half a brain has a serious issue with police brutality and systemic racism.  BUT most people also are well aware that AAs are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in this country.  Where are the people marching about black on black crime?  Yes, I get that the police are held to a higher standard or should be than the average person.  But people still can't ignore the criminal activity and lack of agency.  I can assure you this is what the "silent majority" thinks.  Why would most people want to support a movement that in their eyes represents violence and crime?[/quote]

And you still won't ask Why? That's the problem. By not caring about the fact that an entire system has created a hopeless and depressed situation for a segment of a population, you're showing that the people don't matter to you. Its just another excuse to further cast off an entire group of people as inherently violent. And, oh by the way -ever think that what you're looking at is the percentage of people arrested for crime and not the percentage that's committing it? If over-policing is one of the problems, look at why Blacks are actually arrested more than Whites. Its a proven fact that White people commit just as much crime as Black people, wherever you live. But taking statistics without the perspective of the entire population of the area is just disingenuous and a way to fit the narrative that you've created.[/quote]

You’re framing the problem as though 100% of the cause of black criminality and violence stems from historical and current structural inequalities in the system and frankly that’s dishonest and strips every black person of their agency.  I don’t think anybody who is paying attention doubts that these structural barriers exist, but there is zero interest in discussing much less addressing the immense cultural problems that also contribute to the insanely high black on black crime rate.  The PP highlighted the need for police reforms so she’s an ally on that front.  Your focus on parsing statistics at the margin while ignoring the enduring vastness of the problem is the sort of indifference that causes fatigue amongst allies on the broader racial inequity issue.[/quote]

Well said. Thank you for taking the time to explain this nuance.[/quote]

If we allow Black people the "agency" to have a criminal element just as every other race or group has a criminal element, then this is not a "cultural" thing. Humans have criminal elements and Black people are not immune to that. If you add a depressed condition generated by structural inequities on top of that element, you end up with a higher crime rate. The problem with calling this a "cultural" situation is that you're implying that Black people are inherently more violent, despite their circumstances and that is not true. If the crime was a part of the culture, why doesn't the same phenomenon of Black on Black crime occur in wealthy Black neighborhoods? It doesn't and I know because I've lived in several.[/quote]

Generally speaking, crime doesn’t occur in more affluent areas the way it does in low income areas. And, media coverage focuses on urban areas where minorities are represented rather than rural areas where whites comprise more of the low income and criminal stats.

See how this is more of a class/socioeconomics thing than a true race issue?

Nobody is afraid of their black neighbors in Potomac or McLean. Most people aren’t interested in living in or driving through low income areas. Some/many affluent people don’t want poor kids of any color bused into their schools, but they don’t have an issue if the family can afford the million dollar home in the W school pyramid (because, again, nobody is worried about affluent people regardless of skin color).

[b]I don’t understand why people aren’t acknowledging this?[/b] [/quote]

Because it does not fit into a 10-second sound bite and requires critical thinking.[/quote]

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