Criminality Does Not Originate In A Vacuum

A few days ago, I stumbled across this study of over 7 million people that found in-group bias among black Americans is approximately 5 times stronger than in-group bias among white Americans.

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised to find a difference. There are many reasons, good and bad, why the notion of black solidarity exists. But 5 times stronger?! What could explain such an enormous difference?

Thankfully, I didn’t have to look far.

In the replies, a political science professor pointed out that the discrepancy is mostly due to what I will henceforth refer to as the “white, liberal guilt” effect. Rather than black people being unusually likely to exhibit in-group preference, white liberals are extraordinarily likely to exhibit in-group aversion. So likely, in fact, that they drag the average for white people way down. 

The “5 times stronger” framing isn’t incorrect, it just needs context to be properly understood. And this is true of pretty much all statistical data. As Mark Twain put it (is there a single pithy quote that isn’t attributed to Mark Twain??), there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

In my article, Black Lives Matter Has Been a Disaster For Black People, I pointed out that the perception of police brutality as a “black issue” needs context too. I asked whether police brutality would be more effectively addressed if we focused more on the brutality instead of the skin colour of the victims.

Wanda brought some statistics to bear.

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Wanda:

I have my own issue with the BLM movement. Like how for so long Black women's lives were not held with equal value to Black men's lives. And I can see partial validity to your argument.

I agree that the murder of Tyre Nichol's was about the grotesque monstrosity of police brutality. It stems from outright bad policing. But to divest the scourge of on-Black racism from the discussion of why this occured, further shields people from truth.

Yes, all lives matter. But in this case, even to 5 Black men of power, this one Black life did not. They may be Black but he was not 'Black like them'. Internalized bias against Black people seems to be endemic within too many police forces. The argument that other races are also being killed is true. But to refer to this while dismissing the particular danger that Black people are susceptible to, by any law enforcement officer, adds even more danger to the situation. Numbers interpreted incorrectly lead to even more danger. It's not about total numbers but percentages. When the percentage of Black people in this country is at maybe 17% but the percentage of Black deaths at the hands of police, exceeds that 17%, it's about targeted police brutality. It's an ugly reality.

Because we not dealt with racism in this country, it has become insiduous. Too many will think that if they cannot 'see' it, it must not exist. And because of that, it will continue it's destructive and insiduous path.

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Steve QJ:

“When the percentage of Black people in this country is at maybe 17% but the percentage of Black deaths at the hands of police, exceeds that 17%, it's about targeted police brutality. It's an ugly reality.”

I hate having to raise this point, but there's another ugly reality here. Namely that black people are disproportionately represented in crime statistics.

The percentage of black people in America is around 13%. But the percentage of homicides committed by black people is around 50% of the total.

If you're over-represented in crime, you'll be over-represented in police interactions, and therefore, if the police force are violent, abusive, unaccountable bullies, you'll receive a disproportionate amount of that violent and abusive treatment.

To be clear, the actual percentage of black people committing these crimes is tiny. I've written about it here. But focusing on one disparity without acknowledging the other gives you a skewed picture.

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I really do hate having to raise this point.

Not only because I can’t help but feel a twinge of irritation at the very notion of “black” crime, but because I know that mentioning these statistics will trigger defensiveness that I both understand and find utterly unhelpful.

No matter how carefully you choose your words, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll be misinterpreted as saying that black people are criminals. Even if you happen to be black yourself. And sure enough…

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Wanda:

Oh, my dear man... Criminality does not originate in a vacuum. Percentages are there for other characterizations, too. The way that I see it, the conditions that lead to Black-perpetrated crime go back generations to racism roots. The desperation seeds were planted. Some of us were positioned to not succumb to it. Others of us, were not as fortunate. Desperation can be endemic to any group. But its deadly within the Black community. I don't think that I am far off in concluding that the percentage of socio-economically desperate Black people is much greater that socio-economically desperate white people.

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Steve QJ:

“I don't think that I am far off in concluding that the percentage of socio-economically desperate Black people is much greater that socio-economically desperate white people.”

No, you're not far off at all. In fact, this is demonstrably true. I'm not suggesting that black people have some kind of criminality gene. 😅

I'm saying, as I said elsewhere recently, that if you want to solve a problem, you have to look at the whole of it. Pointing out that black people are disproportionately the victims of police brutality without acknowledging the factors that contribute to that disparity doesn't get you any closer to solving it.

I'm not denying that there's racism within the police force. I'm just saying that treating police brutality as a race-neutral issue and stopping pretending that the only explanation for the disparity in police brutality against black people is racism, would almost certainly be a more effective way of addressing the problem.

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Wanda:

That one, I give a 🤚🏾 to. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾🕊️🕊️🕊️

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The most frustrating thing about the discourse on police brutality is that the facts are all right out in the open.

The police are very often on video committing their crimes, the lack of consequences and accountability is writ large in headlines, and the statistics on crime rates and racial breakdowns of criminals is widely available.

Yet millions of people are convinced that police brutality is a black problem. Not because black people are especially likely to be unfairly targeted by the police, but because the press devotes a wildly disproportionate amount of time showcasing police brutality against black people.

Because the statistics about police brutality against black people are rarely accompanied by context around police encounters.

Because too many people are afraid to acknowledge that context for fear of being called racist.

BLM weaponised the “white liberal guilt” effect to embezzle millions of dollars, all while police brutality against everybody got worse. There’s no context that stops that being unforgivable.