Headline-Destruction in black America is self-inflicted. Question- Are articles like this compounding the..?

Question

problem, or a step in solving the problem?

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/05/destruction_in_black_america_is_self_inflicted/

Answer 1

the person writing this article falls prey to a common misconception stated in different terms: the greatest thing that the devil did is to convince the world he doesn't exist. the same can be said for racism. once you start with that premise, then logically everything that the article states does follow.

the first concept, the one of the death sentence, ignores the fact that it is most often whites that sentence blacks to death (whatever race the black person is convicted of killing). that can open the door to the possibility of racism. the supreme court itself examined death penalty rates in florida, conceded the fact that blacks were sentenced to death at a disproportionate rate when compared to whites, but then did nothing about that admission.

racism, however undercover, does exist in america today. but some whites don't choose to grasp that concept or call isolated incidents anectdotal (reagan used the word "anectdotal" to describe homelessness in the 80s).

using reagan as an example of this spurious argument that racism no longer exists in america, in the debate with jimmy carter, reagan himself stated, when asked about his abysmal record on civil rights (by a black reporter, i believe, max robinson), stated that he wished to return to a time in america when he was growing up, when there was no racism in america.

there were (are?) a number of people that believe that racism only reared its ugly head during the 60s, when blacks started to fight for their rights. before then, we lived in an idyllic world.

reagan ascribed to this theory on national television, and was elected (and overwhelmingly re-elected). basically, he told white america that is was okay to be white, and that racism as we knew it was over.

the author of this article takes that false argument and runs with it. and unfortunately, many people would prefer to believe this rather than feel uncomfortable about the state of covert racism in america today.

this is not a popular argument, and it is one that, i fear, blacks themselves do not use because they have been taught that to admit that racism exists and that there are social consequences as a result is "defeatist" in thinking, and therefore not to be used. and so blacks are cowed into not admitting the truth, that however covert, racism does still exist.

Answer 2

It shouldn't do either. It's merely an exposition of the truth regarding black on black crime versus white on black crime. How these truths are digested is another matter. I suspect that there will be a mass pointing of the finger of blame against the story by those who really profit from the continuation of this situation.