I am a Kalenjin Kenyan,a trully blooded African.I am proud to be an Africa.I must admit that crime is a creature of oppressive environment:social,economic,political,psychological etc.I as watched the Hurricane Katrina destroy New Orleans I was horrified by the scene.ALL the victims were black.The dying and the the corpses that were afloat on water were black.In Kenya slums where black Kenyans inhabit crime is the highest.Rape,theft,prostitution and violence is galore in poor neighbourhood.In rural Kenya where I come from theft is unheard of.The morals and integrity is the order of the day.If the superpower America gave African American same priviledges:access to education,health,scholarship African Americans would be more humane.Crime is not an issue of DNA.However what is universal is the fact that mankind are fallen beings.They were all conceived in sin.All of us are vulnerable to sin.The economics or race or politics or technology cannot make us humanity good enough.That is why racism has endured.All of us humanity are vulnerable to depression,sadness,hopelessness and the lack of self-esteem

Poor Steve, if guilt and embarassment are such great motivators for giving you should be absolutely broke by now.

As far as the beneficiaries of public assistance go(your other idiotic and cliched example), corporations—especially the Halliburton types in the military-industrial whore-plex—have been sucking the treasury dry for decades. Since you’re such a little whiny ass titty baby watchdog for the public interests, why aren’t you screaming about the billions in subsidies they receive?

The real problem underlying the crime rates was right there on the page you pointed to, Steve. I’ll quote it.

“For the years 1976-2004 combined -

  * Black victims are greatly over represented in homicides involving drugs. Compared with the overall involvement of blacks as victims, blacks are less often the victims of sex-related homicides, workplace killings, and homicide by poison.”

That goes right back to what was quoted in the post I made before.

“Mandatory sentencing laws disproportionately affect people of color. African-Americans make up 15% of the country’s drug users, yet they make up 37% of those arrested for drug violations, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of those sentenced to prison for a drug offense.” http://www.idpi.us/resources/factsheets/mm_factsheet.htm

When we turn neighborhoods into war zones we shouldn’t be surprised when they start to look like one. Prisons don’t improve people. Prisons are a source of violence, of aggression, of knowledge on how to be a better criminal. And most of all a source of gangs, a kid doesn’t do well alone inside and it’s not that easy to leave when you get out. When you take 15% of the drug users in the country and turn them into 74% of those doing time for a drug crime you’ll turn a lot of kids into something they weren’t before they went in. Prisons don’t reform, they harden people and remove options.

A kid in the suburbs commits a crime and it might go unnoticed at all,  enforcement isn’t that tough. If they are caught they are likely to get probation or treatment rather than to do time. The same kid commits the exact same crime in the poor parts of the city and enforcement is not only strict but the area is covered with close or overlapping safe school zones so even minor offense require mandatory minimums. Add the fact that you don’t even have to be in possession yourself anymore, just being in the wrong car or home is enough sometimes. We’re looking for excuses to lock people up and it’s now made us the single most imprisoned nation in the world. Most of that among the poor. http://sentencingproject.org/pdfs/1044.pdf

If we had the crime rates that we see with a level playing field there might be something to the racial aspect, but we don’t. We have these statistics in a bizarre system that punishes not based on race as some try to make it seem, but based on economics and living conditions such as crowded or not. If race plays a factor in crime rates, which I doubt, it’s the smallest part. The bigger part is economics and class, it can happen to a poor white kid as easily as a poor black one. The laws just tend to hit some neighborhoods harder than others and those without resources are easy to ignore. By both parties so far, in this respect at least.

Apparently none of you have studied the FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics for the last 20 years. I’m not talking about prison populations or stereotypes. I’m talking about simple incontrovertible facts dealing with crime rates. This is not an extremist opinion, but rather a long acknowledged truth known by most in law enforcement and government.

Example: in 2004 the rate of murders committed by blacks in the United States was 7 times higher than that of whites. 

Source:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm

The same is true with the rates of forcible rape, aggravated assault, etc. Most types of violent crime are committed at much higher rates by American blacks as compared to whites and other ethnic groups.  The triuth is in the statistics collected by the FBI and Department of Justice if you care to look.  It’s taboo to talk about in prime time media of course, but this is TRUTHDIG, so I hope you can stomach an inconvenient truth.

I suppose you could blame the traditionally white dominated society in which blacks live, except a quick look at the black governed societies in Africa would show rape and murder rates off the charts by comparison. I’m afraid you can’t blame those statistics on white oppression.

The real cause is likely the same one that causes most American blacks to be lactose intolerant: their DNA. People of all races inherate genetic traits of their ancestors. We all know this is true of physical traits, but many refuse to even consider that violent tendencies in some racial populations may be due to an inherited variation in DNA that is simply an unfortunate consequence of evolutionary development.

Europe and much of Asia had multiple ice ages, while central Africa did not.  What many scientists suspect but are unwilling to discuss on public record is that the last ice age changed the affected human populations in Europe and Asia genetically in a way that bolstered the human characteristic known as ‘altruism’ . Natural selection rewared groups that worked more cooperatively and communally (and less aggressively) to survive in the harsh ice age conditions with higher survival and reproduction rates.

I am not a racist in the sense that I hate any race. I value all human life equally. I’d like to see all blacks be successful law abiding citizens of this country and every country where they live, with the same socioeconomic status that whites and most nonwhite immigrants have.

The realization of that future starts with acknowledging the real problem underlying black crime rates, however politically sensitive it may be, and looking to science to seek real solutions, such as identifying the genetic precursers to violent predisposition in the human genome, and working on a ‘cure’ in the form of gene therapy, preventive medication, and specialized education for individuals born with the genetic markers for violent tendencies.

In the mean time, no amount of public giving by black americans is going to shield them from the quiet resentment that residents of crime-plagued communities across the country feel when they see with their own eyes what the politicians are afraid to acknowledge.

Steve couldn’t be more wrong. It’s true that they fill our prisons more than most but it inst due to committing more crimes. It’s due to safe school zones being so close or overlapping in poor neighborhoods so resulting in mandatory minimums where in the suburbs the same crime might draw probation, treatment, or no notice at all.

I’ll leave a couple of points to consider on the subject, first a quote from a fact sheet on mandatory minimums and the second a page with the current racial balance of our system, the results of our laws.

Mandatory sentencing laws disproportionately affect people of color. African-Americans make up 15% of the country’s drug users, yet they make up 37% of those arrested for drug violations, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of those sentenced to prison for a drug offense. http://www.idpi.us/resources/factsheets/mm_factsheet.htm

For the results of those laws check the following web page. http://www.prisonsucks.com

I don’t know that the laws are racist by intent but they certainly are in effect and the system needs some serious work.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet made their money at the expense of American workers.  It is sad that our system is so corrupt that business can take advantage of workers and the government co-operates with trade agreements like NAFTA and also pretends that we have no soverign borders so that cheap slave labor can pour into our country.

I think that stats show that poor people in general give much more to charity than do the rich.  I don’t know what the psychology of that is but I suppose the poorer classes can more readily identify with others who are needy.

Fadel, I think Christians are scapegoated for what is happening in the middle east.  I think that Jewish money, power and influence in our government is responsible for our foreign policies.  I am southern, white and my family is Christian and I am pro-Palestinian.  I am furious that my government is being used on behalf of israel which is a cancer on America.  I believe that AIPAC has more say in my government than I do.

The United States once had wonderful Arabists at our State Department but now we don’t have anyone there who can speak Arabic languages.  When and why do you think that changed.  Do you think Christians, who have always been in our government, are responsible?

Most Americans were against the invasion of iraq and yet it happened anyway.  That indicates that there are people in control of the government and they are going against our wishes.  Identify those people and you will have the villians.  I can assure you they are not Christian although they are definitely Zionists.

As far as I’m concerned Israel is the terrorist engine of the world.  There is a double standard in how people are treated.  Christians are being scapegoated and used by powerful propagandists.

For instance, nobody would consider Nat Turner to be a terrorist.  He was fighting back against oppresion.  Yet the Palestinians are considered to be terrorists.

Christians are victims of propaganda just the same as everyone else.  Who is spreading the lies and propaganda?  For the Jews its a win-win.  They can use Christians for their purposes with the result that they become the object of everyone’s hatred.  Muslims and Christians are hated while Jews come up smelling like roses.  The eternal innocent victims.

Poor Steve.

You need a dose of self-esteem. Then you won’t feel the need to make yourself feel better by trying to believe others are worse than you are.

I’m glad to see this information in print where a broad audience can learn something new. Those of us in the community of color have known this for a long time.

the comment from #12859 is another one of those sick, tunnel visioned, neurotic racist who cannot believe African Americans are anything outside of the sterotypes they so devotedly but desperately cling to in order to make themselves feel better about being the loosers they really are.

I’m shocked (yes, naive of me) that some people obviously prefer to hold onto negative stereotypes instead of letting them go.  I’ve always considered American blacks the heart and soul of the liberal movement and wish more would follow their example.

Thank you brother Jabari Asim for your informative, well-researched and documented article on what is really true giving.

It is sad that two of the first three comments on your article came from two sick racist white fellows; namely Lamont and Steve Miller, who are trying to put Afro-Americans down. I am not an Afro-American, but in my 30 years sojorn in America, I met all types of noble, warm, sincere Afro-Americans who are far more superior human beings than whites claim for themselves. I am not trying to counter white racism with racism. But white racists must be told that they are ugly, racist, bad, and uncivilized savages.  This is the only language they understand!
A marginal note: One reason for this racist reaction is that your name is obviously Muslim; had you name been George, John, James or something like that, they might not have reacted that way! Believe me! I am a natural born psycologist and I know how much hate white Americans, especally Zionist Christians, have for Islam, Muslims and Arabs. Your consolation should be that they hate Arabs and Muslims more than they hate Afro-Americans.
To all hating racists of whatever background they are I always have the following prayer:
“May you be healed from your sickness; otherwise, may you be consumed by your hating racism till you drop dead!”

The first comment is total BS. Where are your statistics to back up that information, and even if they were true, considering African Americans make up only 12% of the US population, the numbers of blacks committing violent crimes and on public assistance would be considerably lower than that of whites. In a country, where 150 years ago, you weren’t considered a whole person, and just until 40 years ago you couldn’t vote, how could African Americans feel any guilt or embarrassment against themselves in the US? We have less money to give, but we still give because we know what it means to be beaten down and oppression by and indirect and systematic degradation from the government, and from whites who think as you do.

Or perhaps they are just much, much kinder than people like Steve.

Perhaps American blacks feel the need to give more to charity to compensate for the fact that they commit violent crime in America at a much higher rate than any other group, and are the beneficiaries of far more public assistance dollars than other minorities on a per capita basis?

Guilt and embarassment are great motivators for charitable giving.