In the course of his Morning in America radio show on Wednesday, Bennett engaged a caller who sought to view the complexities of Social Security solvency through the narrow lens of abortion, an explosive but only tangentially relevant issue. Specifically, the caller contended that if there had not been so many abortions since 1973, there would be millions more living people paying into the Social Security System, and perhaps the system would be solvent.
Bennett responded by saying that the utilitarian argument against abortion was fraught with danger. It was in this context that Bennett remarked: “I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could — if that were your sole purpose — you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do.”
So what we have Bennett saying is the following:
- Blacks commit a proportionally greater number of crimes than their percentage of the population, and,
- Aborting blacks for that reason is morally reprehensible, and
- He opposes abortion.
This, naturally, has the Left in a uproar. The usual suspects are accusing Bennett of not just racism but of wishing to exterminate blacks. It is equally obvious a manufactured uproar since Bill Bennett specifically disavowed any intention of aborting anyone. He is opposed to abortion for any reason and his enemies know it.
That included the editors of the Virginian Pilot who begin their editorial by stating that aborting every future radio talk show host in America would increase the nation’s IQ; without disavowing of their support of abortion. So the Virginian Pilot could be deemed to be closer to supporting abortion eugenics that Bill Bennett.
The Pilot uses the specious argument that Bennett “allowed the underlying implication that blacks and crime are somehow synonymous.” For members of the party of nuance, this statement is simply … crap.
The Editors admit that blacks are “disproportionately represented in the criminal population but far more whites are arrested than blacks.” This statement may be true, but it’s a close call since the white and black prison population is roughly equal while blacks make up only 12% of the population.
From this it can be assumed, in the absence of further evidence that far more whites are NOT arrested than blacks. And if 12% of the population accounts for half the criminals, we have a disproportionate criminal problem with that part of our population.
The Pilot editors piously claim that “the nation could use plenty of honest discussion about the social forces – poverty, single parenthood, inadequate education – that drive a disproportionate number of young black people into criminal pursuits.” But then does its best to stifle that discussion by pronouncing some parts of that discussion out of bounds.
And note the formulation: black people are “driven” into a life of crime. This is known as the soft bigotry of low expectations. I call it by its rightful name: racism; Liberal racism which excuses people who are independent and free moral agents when they do wrong.
It dehumanizes the black man or woman by making them morally vacant. It makes the black person who does not pursue a life of crime the moral equal of the one who does. It belittles, in a not so subtle way, the black man; making him the moral equal of children or pets. After all we do not blame the baby who soils his diaper or the puppy that makes messes on the floor. That is their nature. And it is – according to the soft racists at the Virginian Pilot – the nature of people when they are poor, born to single parents and condemned to a louse state supported school system – to commit crimes way out of proportion to their numbers.
Right.
The Virginian Pilot from time to time calls for an honest discussion on race, but it really isn’t interested in one. A honest discussion on race would cover the spectrum from Leftist race baiters like Louis Farrakhan, John Conyers, Randall Robinson and Jesse Jackson to people like ex-Klansman Robert Byrd, David Duke and someone who represents the Aryan Nation, plus of course the 90% who are in between.
But the Pilot’s idea of an honest discussion is that which takes place in its editorial meetings where opinions seem to range from the tweedle dee Liberal to the tweedle dum Liberal. That’s not an honest discussion, that’s a group grope.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Ward Connerly, a black man, says about the controversy. In my book he has more credibility than the (all-white) editorial board of the Virginian Pilot.
I know Bill Bennett. Bill Bennett is a friend of mine. There are few individuals who have such moral clarity about race as Bill Bennett. To his credit--and it is one of the things that I admire about him--Bill is honest and forthright. To say, in essence, that the overall crime rate is substantially influenced by the level of crime among blacks is not news. Look at the demographics of our prisons to affirm this fact. It is only when such a fact is said in such a blunt manner, and coupled with the factor of abortion, that it takes on such a harsh and "controversial" tone. In our society, there are some things that one cannot say without engendering the wrath of one's opponents and other timid souls. Discussing race and abortion is a form of double jeopardy. But, was Bill Bennett wrong in terms of his facts or the point that he was making? No! Would I have made such a statement in that manner, even with the qualification that Bill made following his comment about the reprehensibility of the point that he was making? No! And, the reason I would not do such a thing is because I have learned that race is such a treacherous topic that one must pick his spots very carefully in discussing the matter. However, Bill's comment does not warrant the condemnation that he is receiving. President Bush remarked that Bill's comment was "inappropriate." Yes, Mr. President, but was it accurate? And, is Bill's comment a reminder that the crime rate among blacks needs to be reduced so that blacks are not committing crimes at any rate that is higher than the rate among other "groups" of people? I am certain that there are a lot of black people in predominantly black neighborhoods who would second that motion
No comments:
Post a Comment