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>White people make up roughly 62 percent of the U.S. population but only about 49 percent of those who are killed by police officers. African Americans, however
by gozur88 9y ago
>White people make up roughly 62 percent of the U.S. population but only about 49 percent of those who are killed by police officers. African Americans, however, account for 24 percent of those fatally shot and killed by the police despite being just 13 percent of the U.S. population.
Which is meaningless, since black people commit more serious crimes than white people.
If you break it down by people suspected of having committed a felony, you're actually more likely to be shot as a white guy.
- extra88 9y ago> black people commit more serious crimes than white people. Convicted? Yes. Arrested? Sure. Commit? I don't know, maybe, but I bet if you factored in economic status there'd be a lot of evening out; i.e. poor people commit more serious crimes, black people are disproportionately poor, therefore more black people commit more serious crimes.
- weberc2 9y agoAs I understand it, there's no real question about whether or not black Americans commit more crime than other races (the data are all consistent, including that collected from victims and witnesses), but SES alone doesn't explain the gap IIRC. I suspect it has to do with the relative concentration of poverty, but that's just a hunch and I doubt it's all down to one simple factor anyway.
- gozur88 9y agoCommit, yes. For serious crimes like murder and A & B there's a victim. The causes are irrelevant from the standpoint of police officers. Cops have to deal with the situation in which they find themselves.
- extra88 9y agoThat's assuming there's an officer involved at all. I also didn't have a specific definition of "serious crimes" in mind, whether it would only include violent crimes or also non-violent ones like burglary or fraud (of significant value).
- gozur88 9y agoBy "serious" I meant violent. The statistics line up for non-violent crimes, too, but cops don't get amped up when they arrest shoplifters, and I thought I would preempt the whole "but cops don't arrest white people for drugs" line of argument.
- extra88 9y agoOkay. I return to my earlier point, "black people commit more serious crimes" suggests there's a genetic or cultural explanation while economic status is likely more relevant; i.e. poor people commit more serious crimes.
- gozur88 9y ago>I return to my earlier point, "black people commit more serious crimes" suggests there's a genetic or cultural explanation... Does it? Not that I can see, particularly in response to the assertion black people are shot disproportionately by police.
- weberc2 9y agoI don't understand the relationships between SES, culture, and crime, but I'm baffled that we pretend that veneration of gang life in inner city communities can't possibly factor into the equation even in a small way. To head off the stupid "white people listen to rap too!" false equivalence, crime worship can't be reduced to music selection, it's (by definition of "worship") a way of life. I guess I don't think we should rule out a cultural cause; it's not like we need to say "every black person worships criminals" or "no white people worship criminals"--if culture plays a role, I hope we can be mature enough to recognize that it's not a binary proposition, and can engage it earnestly and compassionately.