Raw Numbers Don’t Lie

I have been accused of not having any facts or figures for my writings so I decided to do a little research to see if my theories hold any water or not. I was given a link to an article that included the graph above which is actually from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In this graph, per one hundred thousand people in the year 2005, blacks were the offenders about twenty five times while whites were the offenders only about three times. Okay, but I would like to know what the overall numbers were. Statistics are funny because you can cut numbers a variety of way to make a pig in lipstick look good. The way these numbers look, at least on the surface of this graph, blacks are several times over the homicidal maniacs as whites. But, what are the real numbers?

It turns out that the Bureau of Justice Statistics has all the information at the ready. In 2005, the last year that the complete set of data is available, there were a total of 8,350 homicides committed by white people, 10,285 homicides by black people, and 492 homicides committed by people from other races. The disparity is disappointing for sure but nothing like the 25 homicides by blacks to the 3 homicides by whites according to the rates on the chart.

But when looking at the raw numbers from 2005 (click here and go to the bottom of this page), of the 5,720 homicides committed on white people 4,755 were committed by white people, 934 were committed by black people and 31 were committed by someone who was neither black nor white. Based on these statistics, a white person is 5 times more likely to be killed by another white person than they are likely to be killed by a black person. Statistically speaking, the white woman who sees the black man and runs to other white people is actually taking a greater risk with her life. Of the 4,838 homicides against black people 4,497 are committed by another black person, 337 were committed by a white person, and another 4 homicides were committed by someone neither black nor white. A black person is well over 13 times more likely to be the victim of another black person than they are by white people.

But look at the overall numbers. White on white homicides are 4,755 while black on black homicides are 4,497. Therefore, if one can spread the propaganda that black on black crime is running rampant and out of control then it would only be a logical conclusion, based on facts and figures from our trusted Bureau of Justice and Statistics which shows in black and white that white on white crime happened 257 more times than its black on black counterpart, that based on raw numbers the white on white crime phenomenon is running even more rampant and is even more deserving of our collective attention. The numbers are a lot closer than anyone would have thought judging by our completely unbalanced and biased focus on the black on black crime phenomenon.

Murder is murder and these numbers are not any cause for celebration one way or the other. But the fact of the matter is that it has been drilled into our heads that black on black crime is outstanding. However, it appears to be a cruel play on numbers. By focusing on nothing but rates this propaganda leads people to believe that our black population is bent on committing murder on anyone who stands in the way of what we want them to show. But percentages and rates can be manipulated a variety of ways to show whatever we want them to. The bottom line is that that there are black people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone just like there are members of the white community that are hell bent on murder as well.

It has always been said that black people killing their own kind is perverse and plain wrong. But it turns out that white people are the biggest murderers of their own kind as well. In fact, other races have been identified as the biggest killer of other races as well. I would guess that this is a matter of convenience. Many people prey on the people in the area they live or the areas that they are familiar with.

Black people suffer from being at the bottom of most social comparisons such as unemployment, lack of wealth lack of good education, medical care, lack of opportunities and such. It would not be a stretch to conclude that maybe if we had more opportunities for employment less blacks would choose the entrepreneurship of crime to get what they want or need. If there were more opportunities for the black community then there would be less need for blacks to prey on other blacks who are conveniently available as neighbors to the criminals. This is just a general theory. There are exceptions. Please remember it’s already been stated that there are people who are hell bent on committing crime regardless of race.

If we accept these numbers to be true and we can untangle the statistical propaganda to show how we may have been duped into believing black people are hell bent criminals maybe there are other negative aspects of the black community that have been blown out of proportion as well. Maybe black people are just as intelligent as white people and deserve a shot at an education of the same quality as their white peers. Maybe black people can be just as industrious as white people if given the proper development, equal resources, and their fair share of opportunities.

It would not surprise me to find that all of the negative prejudices against black people were based on someone’s unfavorable, or favorable depending on one’s point of view, interpretation of statistics. But one thing is for sure, we will all benefit from an honest evaluation of the facts if given the chance to learn the real deal. We can’t turn the black community around if we continue to buy into the propaganda. We will regain control once we learn to stop the overwhelmingly negative misinformation pounding away on our conscious and subconscious almost every waking moment and start learning the truth. Black on black crime is a problem that needs to be addressed. But the propaganda that somehow black people are just different and bent on committing crimes needs to be checked.