Do you think the aggressive, violent behavior frequently exhibited by black males has a genetic cause?

Question

With the HIGHLY disproportionate violent crime committed by blacks in America, is it at least plausible to believe that it is linked to innate genetic traits?

This is known as the nature vs. nurture debate, however, the nurture aspect of it does not seem to answer this question satisfactorily (at least not to me). You can easily attribute the impulsive, brutal violence acts to poverty, but unfortunately this isn't all too logical when observing the facts.

First of all, most blacks live in lower middle class to middle class homes. Whites in extremely poor white neighborhoods don't commit nearly as many violent crimes as blacks. West Virginia is the poorest state in the U.S. and also the whitest state statistically (95%). It is also the state with the lowest rate in violent crime.

So again, is a genetic predisposition the cause? Please be open minded when responding--no idealogical rants, only intelligent answers please.

Answer 1

no not genetic. Violence is a learned behavior

Answer 2

don't forget the black females are pretty aggressive too. There may be a direct genetic link or it may be the environment. Nature vs nurture. I'll put it in different terms though because many people consider this to be an offensive topic. So I'll use dogs instead. There are certain breeds that are deemed more aggressive. For example the pit bull. But if you treat the dog well, train it, and care for it as a dog should be cared for then the dog is as nice as any other breed. The problem is, most people that choose to own a pit bull tend to be less then model citizens. They like the idea of owning a dog that will appear mean so they can use it as an extension of their own personalities. That sways the answer towards nurture. A good number of blacks were brought up in homes with less than attentive parents, less education, less stability, less money. It's not meant to be racist or stereotypical just based on statistics. US jails are over 80% black while the US population of blacks is around 25%. That is disproportionate and should be considered. And going back to the dog analogy, did you know that cocker spaniels are the dogs with the highest number of bites reported?

Answer 3

First of all S-T-O-P stereotyping black males man makes his own fate we as people have the power of free will and will do what we dammed well please therefore look at the music artist known as Jay-z I heard he grew up in New York considering it was a bad place to grow up when he was young. He made it out of the area he and his mom and siblings and i believe no father, lived in a apt.building where there was gangs and drugs and shootings every day and night. He didn't turn to crime by participating in killing people he's successful and rich and there are other artist who made it big from poverty stricken lives read black books like Ebony and Jet magazine and occasionally Forbes magazine.My husband has a degree in business and we are living well......before moving to Florida I was still living well in Ia. I had a good job and now things are better here where I relocated.........I know a man that lives in Virginia who is a teacher and he didn't have a poor child hood his mom and dad were both college professors.So not every poor black male has a poverty stricken life w/violence and crime.

Answer 4

Here is a scientific approach that may offend some. If we all came from Africa and evolved then they are the less evolved version of ourselves. I believe it is a mix of nature and nurture. They are more instinctual in nature like that of an animal and the way in which they were raised and the environment they grew up in either reinforced this behavior making it more extreme, or it made the behavior much more mild. Here is another idea. If you grew up in black skin and was typecast and discriminated against on a daily basis and had extra obsticles to overcome in your life just because of your skin wouldn't it make you angry? Especially when you had to turn to the streets to make a living and find the comrodary from males you never had at home. The streets are naturally violent no matter what skin color you are. It is completely nurture. The nature argument is offensive and far fetched, but you take your pick. Try living a day in their shoes for once and maybe you will understand why.

Answer 5

Where on earth did you find your statistics??? Crimes have nothing to do with colour. Genetic predispositions are a cause of violence, indeed. It has been proved that people who commit crimes show violent tendencies in early age. But no studies have ever showed that the colour of the skin has something to do with it. One gene is responsible for my skin colour. Would the same gene be responsible for violence and crimes? I don't believe so. If anything, it's a cultural and social question. You should be looking more into that direction.

Answer 6

Heredity is just a basis with which you start in life. It is on this basis that character begins to form and there are certain hereditary features that one can develop during one's lifetime. For example, if there's a child who is born and lives in a community of pickpockets, chances are he/she will become a pickpocket. Some may argue he/she was born with the ability to do that better than others, which of course is a ridiculous idea--but that wouldn't stop many people from voicing it. It is very obvios for anyone with a certain degree of education and an ability to reason for him/herself that pickpocketting is just a learned behavior.
There may be hereditary traits that predispose a person to violent behavior, like a higher degree of testosterone, but these traits can be kept in check when a person is offered the right kind of education--by education I mean moral, scientifical, emotional values that a person is subjected to throughtout their whole life. In this case you mentioned, the problem is the environment--the fact that these people who exhibit violent behavior have learned that it is the only possible response to a certain situation in their life. I consider the comparison of human beings with dogs or other animals unfortunate, because there simply is no comparison to be made: from a psychological standpoint, people have a psyche and intelligence, while animals do not have intelligence. They do not have the ability to take into account all factors and make a choice. That is why a human being can escape the web of violence(and there have been many cases of people who came from a poor and violent environment and succeeded in life), while animals cannot. People can choose.
I think if you are really interested in an answer on this matter(and not only a superficial one), you can only find it by reading many psychology and psychiatry books that deal with the problem. What I have told you is just a short introduction to psychology. I wish you luck in your quest for the truth!

Answer 7

Very good question. I would say that it could be possible. Most behavior is learned, however if you consider some animals or reptiles, like certain dogs or alligators, then you might reconsider. I think people are just born this way sometimes. A lot of it is a power complex or just plain greed. Very few in the black community strive to better what they come from and find it easier to kill or steal to get what they want. Why go out and get an education or good job when you can let other people work hard for it and just go and take it? After all their ancestors were slaves and they should get everything for free now. Sorry just a little sarcasm. The statistics do speak for themselves though. It has become their way of life and as long as the government allows them to play the prejudice card then I fear it may just get worse.

Answer 8

Aggression and violence is a mental illness and rage is just as addictive as crack.

This kind of mental illness is half a learned response, and half hereditary. It has been shown in the genes in recent studies and in DNA as a learned response that has, over time and over generations, become something that can be considered genetically predisposed. The body can not only learn but can over time, pass aggression down in the genes just as easily as one can pass schizophrenia...

There is a new study that shows how violent stimuli actually creates a groove in the brain and can rewire the entire central nervous system changing the physical make0up of a person... causing them to depend on that reaction to feel good... The serotonin and dopamine levels in a rageholic change and adjust to learn to depend on acting out to release feelings of well being. It is no more or less the truth in a person of color as it is a Caucasian.

One doesn't have to be black or white to be a rageholic... In my younger days... I could have frightened the biggest black man around!

Seriously...

I can't really tell from this if you are just asking for curiosity sake, or generalizing with intent to prove some point? So I wont jump on you or call you a racist... I'm just saying Rage itself is addictive, learned and hereditary all in equal parts... From a white girl to a black man... It is all the same.

As we learn more and more about Quantium Physics... we will learn more and more about what the human body is capable of.

Answer 9

Personality is half genetic and half society. So the same thing happens with violence. There is a tendency for types of personalities to be violent but it is still learned by the society or groups that you spend most of the time with. (family, work, friends, entertainment, education,etc...)

Answer 10

What you are saying is offensive, but there is no point to offending you back.

No, I don't think it is genetic. It is entirely nurture (poverty, poor role models, etc).

If you don't believe me, look at Africans (not African-Americans) who have emigrated to the USA. These black males are on average richer/have a higher employment rate than African Americans, and amazingly do not feel the need to rob people/kill people since they already have a plan to get what they want and need. They are on their way up, and don't want anything to mess up what they are working toward.

While parts of Africa have a high rate of violent crime, again it's the poverty and deeply entrenched macho culture. Take someone out of that environment and put him where he feels like he has hope (here), and he wants nothing to do with criminals. He doesn't have anything to prove, either, since he didn't grow up in the community.

As for West Virginia, I'd say it's population density (or lack thereof). They are not in a cramped neighborhood with a legacy of violence as a way of solving problems. There is also less of a cultural emphasis on machismo. Additionally, most Appalachians are of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and everyone knows this group has a genetic predisposition to being drunk off their asses and unable to get out of bed most days; it's difficult to go out and rob/kill people when you're sleeping off a bender.

Answer 11

No ... Personally I do not think that it is genetic....I think with many black males they have been stereo-typed, and because of this they think that well this is what they think I am and so I am going to be it. IN some not all!!!! We all whether we are black or white...we all learn by example....we learn what we see....so if you see alot of violence and grow up around alot of violence....then this behavior is "normal" for you. We all need to expect more from ourselves no matter what our race is. If you are black and do not want to be stereo-typed for this type of behavior.....you have the ability to change it......but you have to want to change. You have to want better for yourself and your family. You need to respect yourself and everyone around you.....you need to stand taking a stand......blacks do not have have these high statics about violent crimes, YOU CAN CHANGE IT.....but it has to be a choice, and then you have to help and inspire other black youth to change it.