Murder Stats in Black and White

 the FBI’s homicide data for 2013 (the latest year available) shows that 2,491 black Americans were murdered. Of those, only 189 were committed by whites while 2,245 were done in by black suspects.

Comments

[Sheila C]

I am rushing to get ready for out of town so this will be brief: Black Lives Matter does not mean black deaths only matter. The horrifying imbalance in our prisons for crimes that do not put whites in prison, the segregation of people and resources, the persistent failure to commit to simply equal resources in school and the workplace all are part of life. The killings we saw this summer were horrifying but not the beginning of the concern about black lives. The concern is the dangers built into the structure of our lives.

And I don't even know where to start about the implication that because black in black murders are high it is a problem that belongs to blacks. The same thing has been said throughout history when a group or individuals meet prejudice trying to better themselves and are blamed for the conditions they are forced to live in. Poverty and hopelessness are the constant causal correlates but lets blame the victims. Inner city life is profoundly dangerous for people if color. And yet education, dress, status, titles mean little when a white person decides someone like my daughter is "one if them". Because she is a female, she is a bit less likely to be grabbed, beat up and told to "go back to your country" as happened to a US citizen last week. But as a female, she is more likely to be sexually assaulted. I feel about this implication the way that I feel about blaming Middle East refugees or Palestinians for living in squalor. I am willing to argue the politics or intent of the system and the players, but I am not willing to blame the folks squeezed into the fire. And I have no patience when comfortable safe middle class people who wouldn't survive one week get in their high horse and show disdain. Not saying that is the case here but that is the case a lot.