Of the 198 counties compared in the study, Forsyth, Guilford, Cumberland, Wake and Mecklenburg counties took places in the top 20 spots as having the lowest rates of white people going to prison on drug charges. Among the study’s other findings:

 

❑ Blacks and whites use and sell drugs at similar rates, but blacks are 10 times more likely than whites to be imprisoned for drug offenses.

 

LINK

The linked article provides the links if you want them. You just have to email the author.

I have no plans to email the author. He should have provided the links in the article if he was not afraid for people to see them.

I believe the author got the information from the justice department. Are they biased too?

Whether the author is accurately representing the studies on which he claims to have relied and whether the studies themselves are biased are two separate issues.

 

I am always suspicious when authors do not provide enough information about their sources to allow readers to check the facts. I am more suspicious of the author than I am of the sources that he failed to adequately document.

I have no plans to email the author. He should have provided the links in the article if he was not afraid for people to see them.

Whether the author is accurately representing the studies on which he claims to have relied and whether the studies themselves are biased are two separate issues.

 

I am always suspicious when authors do not provide enough information about their sources to allow readers to check the facts. I am more suspicious of the author than I am of the sources that he failed to adequately document.

 

I decided to post more links, since you did not like the first one.

 

Please let me know if there is something wrong with either of the last two sources as well.

I've already told you that whites commit just as many crimes as blacks. Blacks are simply arrested more. The lack of education is who's fault? Have you been to their schools? Are their schools worth anything? I'd say many inner city schools are poor.

 

Without affirmative action, women and blacks would suffer from far more problems than they do at this point in time.

 

Gee, I'm glad YOU'VE told me that whites commit just as many crimes as blacks. I can't begin to tell you how much stock I put in that.

 

The imprisonment rate for blacks is certainly higher that whites, I will give you that. But you have no earthly basis on which to make a factual representation that "whites commit as much crime as blacks." None whatsoever. How would you or anyone else be able to gauge this? Are you some all-knowing, all-seeing god that is able to monitor the actions of every single person all day long, every day of the year? That's the only way you could make such a definitive statement. All you do know is that blacks are arrested at a higher rate than whites. Maybe, just maybe - this is because they do, in fact, commit more crimes. Am I saying or do I know this to be true? Not at all. Just as you don't know it to be true that blacks and white commit crimes at an equal rate. But it is certainly one possible explanation for their higher arrest rate. The fact that blacks represent a disproportionately higher percentage of those imprisoned is because they comprise - be it right or wrong - a higher percentage of those convicted of violent and serious offenses - i.e., those crimes more likely to receive prison time.

 

And this is far removed from the topic of the thread anyway. Blacks that are caught and convicted of crimes are themselves solely responsible for their lack of opportunities, and it is irrelevent whether or not those persons are arrested at a higher rate than their white counterparts. They violated the laws of our society. It is not that they are being unfairly disenfranchised from realizing their rightful pursuit of happiness and success. Your defense of the perceived disadvantages of the black community should be focused on the segment of that community that has NOT violated the laws of society - not those that operate outside those boundaries and whether those individuals are being pursued more agressively by law enforcement than is a person of white color.

 

BTW, maybe once you obtain a job in the law enforcement system you can help correct all the errors be perpetrated by the current "prejudiced" law enforcement community of which I am a part. We breathlessly await your arrival.

You said that whites are at least as likely as blacks to commit serious crimes. I believe that most of us would agree that there is a link between poverty and crime and that blacks are more likely to be poor than whites.

 

If you accept those facts, then it stands to reason that whites are less likely than blacks to commit serious crimes. Any gap between two races would narrow or disappear if one takes into account income levels. Therefore, it is an over generalization to conclude that whites are as likely to commit crimes as blacks when there is no data to support your assertion.

 

I do not believe that one's race makes one more or less likely to commit crime but I do believe that one's income level and its influence on the local culture does impact the likelihood of a person to commit crimes.

 

Please stop making sense. You are causing this thread to become quite confusing. :laugh:

Self-hate? The core of the problem for the black community is self-hatred??? Not fatherless families? Not a high crime rate? Not a lack of education? Not a reliance on government entitlement programs? But because they don't love themselves enough? Sorry, I just don't follow that one at all.

 

Their problems would appear to have everything to do with exactly what Mr. Cosby so eloquently stated. And these problems are difficult to overcome when the more publicly seen "spokesmen" for the black community are people like Jessie Jackson, Louis Farakhan, Al Sharpton, and others, who place the blame on everyone but their own race and preach everything but personal responsibility.

 

 

 

Have you read my previous posts in the thread?

 

There is somewhat of a context to what I was saying.

 

I did not say that it was the problem, I said it was the reason for the problems that you speak of.

 

You can't solve a problem until you know why the problems exists.

 

That is the reason why I feel those problems that you pointed out exist.

 

Is there any other reason that you would suggest?

 

If you really think about it (be sure to read my previous posts first) it makes sense.

Have you read my previous posts in the thread?

 

There is somewhat of a context to what I was saying.

 

I did not say that it was the problem, I said it was the reason for the problems that you speak of.

 

You can't solve a problem until you know why the problems exists.

 

That is the reason why I feel those problems that you pointed out exist.

 

Is there any other reason that you would suggest?

 

If you really think about it (be sure to read my previous posts first) it makes sense.

 

Yeah, I've read all your posts. And, no, I don't follow nor do I agree with your logic. Nothing personal, it just doesn't really explain anything to me. I know many, many black people. I am not aware of any of them that are suffering from the self-loathing you seem to feel they are. I also find it odd that no other black leader has latched on to this apparently obvious reason for the problems that plague their community. And even if it was that simple - which it is not - exactly how would we go about fixing this systemic self-esteem problem that is at the root of all the real problems afflicting that race?

Gee, I'm glad YOU'VE told me that whites commit just as many crimes as blacks. I can't begin to tell you how much stock I put in that.

 

The imprisonment rate for blacks is certainly higher that whites, I will give you that. But you have no earthly basis on which to make a factual representation that "whites commit as much crime as blacks." None whatsoever. How would you or anyone else be able to gauge this? Are you some all-knowing, all-seeing god that is able to monitor the actions of every single person all day long, every day of the year? That's the only way you could make such a definitive statement. All you do know is that blacks are arrested at a higher rate than whites. Maybe, just maybe - this is because they do, in fact, commit more crimes. Am I saying or do I know this to be true? Not at all. Just as you don't know it to be true that blacks and white commit crimes at an equal rate. But it is certainly one possible explanation for their higher arrest rate. The fact that blacks represent a disproportionately higher percentage of those imprisoned is because they comprise - be it right or wrong - a higher percentage of those convicted of violent and serious offenses - i.e., those crimes more likely to receive prison time.

 

And this is far removed from the topic of the thread anyway. Blacks that are caught and convicted of crimes are themselves solely responsible for their lack of opportunities, and it is irrelevent whether or not those persons are arrested at a higher rate than their white counterparts. They violated the laws of our society. It is not that they are being unfairly disenfranchised from realizing their rightful pursuit of happiness and success. Your defense of the perceived disadvantages of the black community should be focused on the segment of that community that has NOT violated the laws of society - not those that operate outside those boundaries and whether those individuals are being pursued more agressively by law enforcement than is a person of white color.

 

BTW, maybe once you obtain a job in the law enforcement system you can help correct all the errors be perpetrated by the current "prejudiced" law enforcement community of which I am a part. We breathlessly await your arrival.

 

I have provided links as to why I believe whites commit as many crimes as blacks. Maybe I should have been more specific and said "drug related crimes" but if the studies show that whites and blacks commit similar amounts of drug related crimes, why should one believe that other forms of crimes are different?

 

I'm sick of your personal attacks and asinine digs at me. They add nothing to the discussion and are completely unnecessary. I respect other peoples thoughts and opinions, why can't you? I never claimed to be an expert of anything, yet you falsely accuse me of doing so. I never claimed to know everything or be "some all-knowing, all-seeing god that is able to monitor the actions of every single person all day long" yet you accuse me of pretending to be able to do so. Once again, if you would take the time out of your day before jumping on me, to READ THE LINKS I HAVE PROVIDED you will understand why I believe the way I do. Whites and blacks commit similar amounts of drug related crimes, yet blacks are arrested more...according to studies. Maybe I should add that to the end of every claim, that way you will know that I'm not pretending to be God.

 

Blacks are convicted more, because they are arrested more, because they are targeted more.

 

I must ask before making my next statement, are you african american? If you are a white person, of course you don't mind that african americans are arrested more than whites for drug related crimes even though whites commit similar amounts of drug related crimes. You aren't black, why should you care?

 

Blacks are solely responsible for their lack of opportunities? Did I read that? You must not be serious.

 

Your last paragraph, is an example of the asinine statements you have been making that add absolutely nothing to the discussion. And maybe you should re-read my posts. I have said before that I do believe the majority of law enforcement officials are good honest cops. Before you go accusing people of something maybe you should be sure you know what you are saying.

Please stop making sense. You are causing this thread to become quite confusing. :laugh:

 

There are more poor white people in this country than there are poor blacks. More whites are on welfare than are blacks. Does that mean that if crime is directly associated with the amount of money one has, that whites commit as many or more crimes than blacks, since there are more poor whites?

I have provided links as to why I believe whites commit as many crimes as blacks. Maybe I should have been more specific and said "drug related crimes" but if the studies show that whites and blacks commit similar amounts of drug related crimes, why should one believe that other forms of crimes are different?

 

I'm sick of your personal attacks and asinine digs at me. They add nothing to the discussion and are completely unnecessary. I respect other peoples thoughts and opinions, why can't you? I never claimed to be an expert of anything, yet you falsely accuse me of doing so. I never claimed to know everything or be "some all-knowing, all-seeing god that is able to monitor the actions of every single person all day long" yet you accuse me of pretending to be able to do so. Once again, if you would take the time out of your day before jumping on me, to READ THE LINKS I HAVE PROVIDED you will understand why I believe the way I do. Whites and blacks commit similar amounts of drug related crimes, yet blacks are arrested more...according to studies. Maybe I should add that to the end of every claim, that way you will know that I'm not pretending to be God.

 

Blacks are convicted more, because they are arrested more, because they are targeted more.

 

I must ask before making my next statement, are you african american? If you are a white person, of course you don't mind that african americans are arrested more than whites for drug related crimes even though whites commit similar amounts of drug related crimes. You aren't black, why should you care?

 

Blacks are solely responsible for their lack of opportunities? Did I read that? You must not be serious.

 

Your last paragraph, is an example of the asinine statements you have been making that add absolutely nothing to the discussion. And maybe you should re-read my posts. I have said before that I do believe the majority of law enforcement officials are good honest cops. Before you go accusing people of something maybe you should be sure you know what you are saying.

 

Read carefully. Blacks that are arrested are responsible for their own destiny and lack of opportunities. Whether or not they are arrested, as a race, at a disproportionately higher rate than other races has no bearing at all whether that individual - be he black, white, yellow, or green - is responsible for depriving himself/herself of life's opportunities by breaking the law.

 

So tell me, if blacks are being unfairly targeted, unfairly arrested, and unfairly imprisoned - exactly whom is responsble for these misdeeds if not current members of the law enforcement profession? Are you telling me just a few wayward officers are creating all of this unfairness and disparity? Would it not appear to be an entire culture of unfairness and discrimination by the law enforcment community as a whole to be able to cause such a perversion of the arrest rates?

Of the 198 counties compared in the study, Forsyth, Guilford, Cumberland, Wake and Mecklenburg counties took places in the top 20 spots as having the lowest rates of white people going to prison on drug charges. Among the study’s other findings:

 

❑ Blacks and whites use and sell drugs at similar rates, but blacks are 10 times more likely than whites to be imprisoned for drug offenses.

 

LINK

This link is to a George Soros funded site so the statistics are very suspect at the very least. Soros also funded the study that overstated the civilian deaths in Iraq by a factor of four. I will look through the other studies when I have more time.

 

Thank you for providing the links. I had to run to my office for a couple of hours and have not had time to look at the studies yet. However, I don't think that I will find anything to convince me that Bill Cosby's message of taking personal responsibility for one's life is the correct one as opposed to Jeremiah Wrights blame America first action plan.

Read carefully. Blacks that are arrested are responsible for their own destiny and lack of opportunities. Whether or not they are arrested, as a race, at a disproportionately higher rate than other races has no bearing at all whether that individual - be he black, white, yellow, or green - is responsible for depriving himself/herself of life's opportunities by breaking the law.

 

So tell me, if blacks are being unfairly targeted, unfairly arrested, and unfairly imprisoned - exactly whom is responsble for these misdeeds if not current members of the law enforcement profession? Are you telling me just a few wayward officers are creating all of this unfairness and disparity? Would it not appear to be an entire culture of unfairness and discrimination by the law enforcment community as a whole to be able to cause such a perversion of the arrest rates?

 

I've answered a question similar to this already in either this thread or the one about Obama.

This link is to a George Soros funded site so the statistics are very suspect at the very least. Soros also funded the study that overstated the civilian deaths in Iraq by a factor of four. I will look through the other studies when I have more time.

 

Thank you for providing the links. I had to run to my office for a couple of hours and have not had time to look at the studies yet. However, I don't think that I will find anything to convince me that Bill Cosby's message of taking personal responsibility for one's life is the correct one as opposed to Jeremiah Wrights blame America first action plan.

 

 

I'm not necessarily agreeing with Jeremiah Wright's words...or Cosby's for that matter.

There are more poor white people in this country than there are poor blacks. More whites are on welfare than are blacks. Does that mean that if crime is directly associated with the amount of money one has, that whites commit as many or more crimes than blacks, since there are more poor whites?

 

The fact that higher crime rates are tied directly to income/poverty levels is well established. However, you are still using for the basis of all of your beliefs that blacks and whites violate the law at an equal rate across the spectrum of all crimes - something I tried to point out cannot be truly and accurately measured unless you (and I didn't mean you personally) are some omniscient being. What I am trying to convey to you is that it IS indeed possible that the very simple reason for the higher black arrest rate is that there is simply more crimes being committed by the black community. Period. And, if this is true (and I'm not saying that it is), a possible reason to explain at least part of this simple equation is that a far larger percentage of blacks as a race live at poverty levels than do whites.

 

We are too far off the topic of this thread, so I won't address this particular issue any further. You are right - you're entitled to your own opinions and I just happen to disagree with most of them. Without trying to be condescending here (sincerely), I assure you that the opinions you now hold as a 21 year old (not with repsect to this thread, but to life in general) will greatly change as you get older and when you actually enter the law enforcement field, should that be the career path you choose. I've arrested and convicted alot of people in my 21 years of law enforcement - black, white, and Hispanic. Not one of my arrests had anything whatsoever to do with the individual's race. Not one. And, yes, that is the reason I tend to get a bit passionate when it is implied that me and my law enforcement brethren are essentially racists.

 

Bottom line is that Cosby and people like Walter Williams are right - there needs to be more personal responsibility and accountability in the black community - and for all individuals, for that matter - before any real changes can expect to be made. Playing the blame game to explain away all of life's disadvantages is a sure-fire way to ensure no meaningful improvement in one's personal situation.

Cosby is right. People who sit around and blame everybody but themselves for their failures and shortcomings ensure only more of the same.

 

I wholeheartedly agree!:thumb: