Crime, Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Where Are We Headed?

Since the beginning of 2023 there has been 15 mass shootings. As of April 10th, there has been 11,500 deaths due to gun violence and dozens of acts of mass violence ranging from the "takeover" of streets and intersections to the swarming and looting of local businesses.  In many cases, the police are simply outnumbered and outgunned. Meanwhile, police officers are either quitting or taking early retirement in droves, leaving cities severely shorthanded.

 As of March 7, 2023, there have been 63 police officers shot in the line of duty.That's up by 33% from 2021. Of those shot, 8 were killed by gunfire. 323 were shot in 2022. Also since the beginning of 2023, there have been 18 ambush-style attacks on police officers. Many were by individuals who had committed by a "bait" crime and waited not just for police officers to show up, but EMS or firefighters to arrive on the scene. There ambush-style attacks have resulted in 21 officers being shot, of which 3 were fatal. In 2022 there were 124 such attacks. The majority of these attacks occurred in Texas, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

According to a October 2022 Pew Research Report, 61% of registered voters said that violent crime was serious issue. 73% of Republicans said the violent crime was serious which needed to be address by Congress.  On the other side of the aisle, just 49% of Democrats saw violent crime as a serious issue. 34% of liberals in general considered violent crime was an issue which needed to be addressed by Congress. Bearing that mind, when we look at violent crime and race, we see an different picture.

According to the Pew survey, 81% of blacks, the majority of whom vote Democrat, saw violent crime as an issue which needs to be immediately addressed while 65% of Hispanics, who also tend to vote Democrat, also saw violent crime as a serious issue. Among whites, 56% also agreed. It's worth noting that just 33% of white Democrats agree with their fellow Hispanic and black Democrats.

On a related note, according to the most recent statistics regarding "hate crime" compiled by the FBI, since 2021 indicated that were 7,074 incidents of a hate crime reported. Of those, the majority---64.8%---were based on race or ethnicity. 15.6% were due to sexual orientation, and 13.3% were the result of the victim's religion.  3.6% were based on gender identity, 1.7% on disability, and 1% was solely on gender.

The report also indicted that 66.7% of the attacks were against individuals while 30% was on property and 3.3% of the attacks were generic. Just over 32% of the attacks were in or near the victim's home or place of work. 16.9% took place on a road, highway, street, sidewalk or alley. 8.1% happened at a school or on a college campus.

7% occurred in a parking lot or garage while 2.8% of the reported hate crimes were at restaurant or diner. 2.7%  took place in a park or public outdoor setting. Finally, 26.1% of the reported hate crimes happened at multiple locations.

When we look at the offenders, the FBI reported that 56.1% were white. 21.3% were black and 13.5% were unknown. When it came to the ethnicity of the offender rather than race, 7.6% were Hispanic or Latino. 8.9% were of multiple ethnicities, while the largest segment---28.1%---were simply unknown. Lastly 82.3% of the offenders were 18 years of age or older.

Using data from the 2021 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the Feds pointed out that while blacks make up just 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 33% of those arrested for non-fatal crimes which include robbery, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. For more serious non-fatal violent crimes in which violence was used, they made up 36% of those arrested.

Hispanics comprise 18% of the U.S. population and yet are 21% of those arrested for serious non-fatal violent crimes. Whites make of 60% of the overall population and represent 46% of those arrested for non-fatal violent crimes and 39% of the more serious non-fatal violent crimes.  They also are perpetrators of 52% of the violent crimes. Victims were able to identify the race of their assailant in 85% of the cases.

When it came to multiple assailants, the average number of attackers were two, in which 43% of the assailants were black, 38% were white, and 16% were Hispanic. When there was a single attacker, 59% were white compared to 22% who were black and 14% who were Hispanic. As for Asians, they consistently had the lowest percentages of any group with an average of about 5% of crimes committed, which is in proportion to their 5.7% of the U.S. population. 

As most of you already know, the United States has the dubious honor of having the highest percentage of individuals behind bars of any industrialized nation with an average of 505 individuals per 100,000. However, among countries in general, the U.S. is sixth.

El Salvador is ranked first with 605 individuals per 100,000 behind bars. This followed by Rwanda with 580 per 100,000, Turkmenistan with 576, American Samoa with 538, and Cuba with 510. After the U.S., we have Panama's 478 per 100,000. By comparison, Turkey's infamous prison system has 374 while Russia has "only" 304 and Costa Rica, with 301, is among the lowest in the world.

When we examine the latest available information (2021) regarding the prison composition of U.S. prisons, the Prison Policy Initiative reports that the largest racial segment behind bars are blacks. As stated above, blacks make up roughly 13% of the total U.S. population. However, according to the report they comprise 38% of the total number of inmates.

The arrest rate of blacks compared to whites is 6,109 to 2,795 per 100,000 while the conviction and incarceration rate is an astonishing 2,306 to 450 per 100,000. They also make up 30% of those on parole. Hispanics are 30.2% of the prison population. Whites make up the majority of the inmate population with 57.5%. Asians are 1.4% of those behind bars while Native Americans make up 2.6%.

In terms of age, the largest segment are those between ages 36 and 40 at 17.7% of all inmates. This is followed closely by those ages 31 to 35 with 16.9% and those 41 to 45 at 16.7% of the prison population. Next in line are those between 46 and 50 who make up 11.8% of those behind bars. Ages 26 through 30 comprise 11.7% of those incarcerated.

When it comes to the crime, almost half of all federal prisoners---44.7%---got busted on drug charges. Weapons, arson, and explosives charges make up 21.7%. This is followed with 12% charged for sexual offense. Next are those busted on immigration violations. They make up 5.2% of inmates.

Extortion, bribery, and fraud make up 4.3%. Murder and other non-sexual violent crimes comprise 3.2% of federal inmates. 4.8% of inmates were convicted of burglary, larceny, and property offences charges. Robbery is 2.7% of prison population. The balance is made up of those serving time for wide range of charges such as bank robbery, embezzlement, criminal enterprises, and insurance fraud.

The majority of those sentenced to federal prison are slated to do 5 to 10 years (25.5%). 22.6% are sentenced to 10 to 15 years. Those incarcerated for 15 years but less that life make up 15.1%. Those doing up to 20 years make up 12.6% of the inmates. 9.8% are doing 1 to 3 years behind bars with 2.2% doing less than 2 years. Lifers make 2.5% of prisoners.

When it comes to gender, while women are 51% of the total U.S. population, they are only 6.8% of those serving time in a federal prison. Males are by far the largest group, making up 93.2%. The federal prison system doesn't keep track of those who identify of  a gender different from their birth certificate.

So, what does all this mean? The media, as well as those on the Far Left, claim that the majority of people shot and killed by police are those of color, and therefore, call for the total disarming of everyone.  In truth, whites are more likely than any other racial group of being shot by law enforcement.

In 2022 there was 1,097 individuals killed by the police. Of those, 225 were black while 125 were Hispanic. 22 were classified as "other", meaning Asian, Native American, or mixed race. 329 of those killed were white while the race of 321 were unrecorded or undetermined.  We have similar racial numbers going back to 2017. The only number of any real significance  is that the number of those shot and killed by police have continued to increase, from 981 in 2017 to 1097 as noted above.  

Using the FBI's most recent report of crimes committed by race and ethnicity, the "2019 Crime in the United States", there were over 6.8 million crimes committed in 2019. Of those, whites committed 69.4% of all crimes. However, the report also indicates that minorities, particularly blacks, were more likely than not to be stopped and ultimately arrested for a violent crime.  Is that due to institutional racism and "profiling"?

Not according to the report. It stated that blacks were responsible for 55.9% of all murders while whites made up 41.1%. The reminder were categorized as of "unknown" race/ethnicity. In looking at the victims, the report stated that 54.7% were black. Whites made up 32.3% and the victim's race of 3.1% of was undetermined or not listed.

When it came to violent assaults, non-Hispanic whites were likely to be the victim in half of the reported cases that didn't include a weapon. Black and Hispanic victims accounted to the majority of non-fatal firearm injuries.

Concerning robberies, whites victims and black offenders were 12 times more likely than not according to a National Crime Victimization Survey conducted in 2002. When it came to carjacking, blacks were the victim 56% of the time, followed by 21% of whites. Asians and Native Americans were carjacked 16% of the time.

It's worth noting that a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center report mentioned that Hispanics accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders, while is triple their share of the population. Of this, 48% related to immigration issues, 37% for drug violations, and 15% for other crimes.

The 2019 FBI report added that while black youths made up 16% of the under 18 population, they were responsible for 52% of violent juvenile crime. Could this be a symptom of growing up in a single parent household? Perhaps. 64% of black juveniles live in a single parent household compared to 24% of white children and 15% of Asians. 40% of Hispanic kids also fell into this category.

Hispanic juveniles also made up 46.2% of all gang activity. Blacks comprised 35.3% while whites made up just 11.5%. 7% were of other or mixed racial groups. As indicated earlier, the reports stated that larger cities, suburban areas, as well as some smaller cities and towns were where the majority of these gangs were found.

The take away here is that all racial groups are affected by the rise in violent crime, but not equally. Whites are more likely than other groups to commit a crime, most being non-violent, in terms of raw numbers, but this owing to the size of the white population.  Blacks are overrepresented by percentage of population when it comes to offenders. They are also 3 times more likely to be arrested than not. However, blacks are also more likely than not to be the victim, especially if the offender is also black.

Hispanics, especially under the age of 18, are more likely than not to belong to gang. That's particularly so if they're male, come from a single parent home, and live in a urban environment. Next would be black youth (again applying the same criteria), followed by whites and Asians.

However, none of the data indicated that taking guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens would do little to reduce crime, especially violent crimes, but it would likely lead to an increase in potential victims. There's nothing criminals like better than easy pickings.

While tighter restrictions pertaining to gun ownership may slow the sale of certain types of guns, most offenders---85.8%--- acknowledged that they acquired their weapon either from a family member, friend, or the weapon had been stolen at the time it was acquired according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In addition, 95.6% of those arrested are given the recommended minimum sentence for the use of a firearm in carrying out a crime.

It should be noted that according to the DOJ, 79.1% of all weapons used in carrying out a crime were handguns. Rifles (including semiautomatics like the AR-15) comprised just 11.1%. Of those stolen, 20.5% were .38 caliber revolvers followed by .22 and .357 caliber revolvers  11.7% and 11.6% of the time respectively. 9mm semiautomatic handguns such as a Glock were next with 8%.

Instead of taking guns away from law abiding citizens, the emphasis needs to be on better gun security to reduce their access by criminals and out of the hands of children as well as mandatory firearms training to reduce accidental shootings.

Schools need to adopt better discipline standards in the classroom as well as implement additional programs for pre and after school activities. Curriculums need to include developing critical thinking skills and civics.  Adding community based volunteer programs would also help.

The Justice System needs to reevaluate how it treats juveniles arrested for crimes including shoplifting or bullying. Instead of slapping them on the wrist and letting the go, juveniles need to bear responsibility for their actions. There needs to be expanded rehabilitation programs for non-violent first offenders and tax credits for potential employers. In addition to more and better trained law enforcement,  there needs to be a regular presence in not just high crime areas, but in schools and government housing.

There needs to be an emphasis on keeping adult male parents in the household of their children. However, in the absence of a proper male role model, there needs to be more community based programs aimed at high risk children such as Big Brother/Sister programs. More job based programs also need to be introduced, including trade schools.

The approach we've been using since the 1970's obviously doesn't work anymore, if indeed it ever really worked. Only by instilling a sense of responsibility in youth of all races and ethnicity, better discipline in schools, and providing access to opportunities can we ever hope to reduce the current trend in violent crimes and produce more productive adults.  

 

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FBI 2021 Hate Crime Statistics

U.S. DOJ Statistics on Race and Ethnicity of Violent CrimePerpetrators

Countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000of the national population as of January 2023

Prison Policy Initiative: Race and Ethnicity

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Age

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Statistics

Number of people shot to death by the police in the UnitedStates from 2017 to 2023 by race

Race and crime in the United States

DOJ: Guns Used in Crimes

National Institute of Justice: Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising

 

Stars, Bars, and High Crimes

An apology should be my first order of business dear readers. You see, normally I try to write my articles on a regular basis, about twice a week, however, I'm slightly late. The reason you see, is that like many of you, I was mesmerized by the recent happenings in the news. Maybe "mesmerized" might not quite be the right word. It was more like that combination of terror and being awestruck. I guess the closest description I can give is what it must feel like for some field mouse watching a hawk swooping down on it with wings spread, talons outstretched, and having nowhere to run; its fascination and fear rolled into one.

To what I am speaking is, of course, this mass hysteria over the Confederate flag, which has now expanded to Confederate statues in state capitols, parks, and even cemeteries. There was almost an influx of air as individuals elected to represent the people rushed to remove the Southern Cross, as it's properly called, from every flag pole they could find. This was followed by retailers promising to remove anything which bore the vile image or any of the great leaders of the "Lost Cause" from their shelves. Hell, even Warner Brothers removed the Confederate flag from "The Dukes of Hazard's" bright orange "General Robert E. Lee", which, by the way, is no longer going to known as the "General Robert E. Lee". Now, there's talk about removing the remains of some of the greatest military and political leaders in American History---Nathan Bedford Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and others---simply because they defended a cause they believed in, which ended 150 years ago (and this desecration includes their wife's graves too if they are buried in the same plot together). There is even some wanting to remove street signs and names of schools which bear the name of some long dead Confederate. Meanwhile, apparently a few "white haters" have started vandalizing Confederate statues and tombstones of fallen Confederate soldiers (I won't used the politically correct phrase, "tagging" since it implies some harmless fun, which this isn't).

Why I wondered? Why would there be so "much to ado about nothing"; this "tempest in a teapot" to borrow from Bill Shakespeare. It seems it all got started when some photographs appeared online of our most recent mass murder celebrity, Mr. Roof. It seems that there are two or three pictures of Mr. Dylann Roof, alone, holding a small Confederate battle flag. One picture, as I recall, taken on a beach, shows where he had written "88" in the sand---a referenced to the Hitler and Nazis used by white hate groups. Well, ok then. If this individual wants to be identified as Neo-Nazis or whatever, that's fine. I don't think there's any doubt that this was a hate crime to begin with and should be treated accordingly.

The Confederate flag---the "Southern Cross" if you will---is a part of American and Southern heritage, whether some like it or not. Yes, it has been used by hate groups and individuals, but so has the original 13 Star American and Gadsden flags, not to mention our current national flag. Should be ban them? If not, please tell me why. The American flag has flown over many acts of hated such as they attempt by the US Government to extinguish an entire population. I am, of course, referring to Native Americans. The government in Washington spent decades coming up with schemes to deprived Native Americans of their resources, then the lands, and finally, their lives. When those failed, they put them on reservations, and systematically stripped them of their traditions, their culture, and their languages. The fact that any still exist, let alone practice their religion or speak their original language is a testament to their tenacity as a Great People. What about the conquest of the Southwest and war with Mexico? What about the imprisonment of the Japanese and Germans in concentration camps during and after World War II? Care to talk about our treatment of Pacific Islanders after the war and the use of their native islands for nuclear bombing practice? I don't care how much you try, no group will be successful in whitewashing American history no matter how hard they try. There are still too many witnesses and descendents of witnesses.

Yes, some have been successful in convincing people that the War between the States was fought solely over the issue of slavery, but

no matter how hard people try, they will never be able to bury the truth. But because of hate groups, some have come to see the Confederate flag as a symbol of black hatred, but it's not. Nevertheless, let's talk about that for a moment. The war itself was fought over several issues, of which the two most important was the right of the state over that of the federal government in determining laws and over economics, where the industrial North sought to dominate the mostly agricultural South, which had depended on slavery and manual labor to compensate for its lack of industry. Slavery, however, was only a tiny fraction of the South's actual workforce. Less than 4% of the entire Southern population owned any slaves at all. Of that, around 1% was the stereotypical "Tara" plantation. Most slave owners worked side by side with their slaves (the average of which was three), and ate the same food. Living conditions were usually not that different between slave and master. Many Northerners, especially manufacturers, supported slavery because they had a business interest in it. As an aside, did you know that Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnson, A.P. Hill, Fitzhugh Lee, and J.E.B. Stuart were not slaveholders? Or that approximately 80% of Confederate soldiers and sailors were not slave owners Or that Confederate President Davis said, after the war, that everyone knew slavery, as an institution, was doomed? Most thought it would be gone within 10 to 12 years.

Maybe you didn't know too that Lincoln originally did not oppose slavery as long as it held the Union together, or that he thought the races would never get along together and intended to propose returning freed slaves to Africa or to relocate them out West. The famous "Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln following the bloody battle of Gettysburg applied to states which had succeed from the Union and not to the slave states which remained. Why? Simple military strategy. Stalemate. Freeing the slaves meant there was no one to bring in the crops. Therefore, Southern soldiers were forced to leave to tend the fields to keep their families from starving. This improved the odds for the North of winning. So, with only 4% or less of the population owning slaves, do you really think that 96% of the, mostly poor, farmers and merchants, left everything to fight for the 4%? No, I don't either.

Speaking of symbols, in those pictures I mentioned, Mr. Roof was wearing a Gold's Gym t-shirt. Are you prepared to call Gold's Gym

"racist"? Should we ban it too? I oppose all hate groups of all types---KKK, Neo-Nazis, La Raza, Nation of Islam and the New Black Panthers. I'm offended by what they do, what say preach, and, yes, by some of the items they wear. Shall we ban their flags and symbols too? After all, some of these groups openly admit to hating one race or another. The head of the New Black Panthers reportedly said that everyone whose ancestors owned slaves should be killed, while others think descendents of former slaves should receive compensation. Personally, I find this intriguing. Since slavery was introduced in America by the Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Dutch, are these included? What about Native Americans? Some owned slaves while others became slaves. Then there are the Irish, Scots, and Germans, who were kept as slaves (not serfs mind you) by the English. Of course, there the numerous free blacks who owned slaves. Should those who fought to free slaves get some sort of credit? By the way, how would account for those blacks who were never slaves or came here later? What about those who can prove multiple slave ancestry or those for whom there are no descendents? What about people of mixed race (70% of all US blacks have some white ancestry by the way)?

Maybe we should start at the beginning and go after those African tribes who captured and sold their fellow Africans to the white slave traders? Of course, we'll need to include the Arabs (who, along some African tribes, still carry on the practices today). If we really want to be back to basics, what about the Bible and Koran? Both condone slavery, not to mention, gender discrimination, mutilation, and enslavement, as well as ethnic and religious genocide. That ought to solve the problem don't you think?

By now, I think you'll agree to the absurdity to this flag matter. The issue was the cold blooded murder of nine individuals. Not a flag. Not a statue or headstone. Not even a t-shirt. So what happened? Who would benefit from all those racial distraction? Well, Obama and a bipartisan Congress passed the mostly super secret Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which, it appears, essentially surrenders US foreign trade policy to global corporate scrutiny and would allow corporations to sue nations over trade policies in international court if those policies negatively affect corporate profits or are too restrictive. Obama was also able to issue an new executive order in make it easier for illegal immigrates to enter and remain in the US. Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, thus ensuring that it isn't going anywhere (with little resistance by the GOP). Oh yeah, and the Supreme Court made gay marriage the new land of the land (again with little reaction by the Republican Party). Hmm.

Now, you don't think this flag hubbub was actually to distract and misdirect the American People do you? Well, if you are, you'd be right. This is what Washington is good at, especially when it's trying to avoid any public outrage until after the fact and has an opportunity to prepare a cover story. Right on cue, all the Right and Left wing groups have come all out in force about how the fight was won but there's more to do, especially as the other side is trying to undo this recent victory or how the fight was lost due to unconstitutional low blows and with you on their side (along with a modest donation), the struggle can go on. How convenient. I wonder dear friends, how long the American People are going to continue to buy into these deceptions; this sleight-of-hand legislation? How much longer we will allow ourselves to pick from pre-determined "choices" handed down to us by Washington? When will realize that these divisions of the American People are both mostly artificial and intentional in order to keep us from uniting and focusing on the real "enemy"? When will we come together and make our own choices and take our own actions? I wonder.

A Shattering of Innocence in Charleston

I am having some serious difficulty wrapping my head around this latest round of violence. I am, of course, talking about the murder of nine individuals of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina, including the minister on June 17, 2015. As I'm sure everyone knows by now, a white 21 year old by the name of Dylann Storm Roof, walked in and asked to participate in a small bible study group, where we was warmly welcomed. As the bible study was wrapping, Roof, allegedly, calmly pulled out a 45 automatic pistol and gunned down these nine individuals in cold blood. Not that their ages especially matter, they ranged from early 20's to late eighty's. The reason, according to Mr. Roof, was that he saw blacks as "taking over" and it was his desire to instigate a race war. The police had no difficulty capturing Mr. Roof, who had parked by a surveillance camera in the Church parking lot and left the Church in no apparent hurry. It was after he stopped at a convenient store (and again photographed by the surveillance camera) and used a credit card, that he was stopped a few miles away and surrendered without any resistance. He makes no effort at any point to conceal his identity, Later, when being arranged, he freely admitted to the crime and declined an attorney (though the court will most like appoint one anyway).

I have to say that I've been pleased and more than a little relieved that there hasn't been the usual violence by members of the black community or any attempt by the usual race baiters to get something started...thus far. However, individuals like Obama have already started in about not just increasing gun control, but requiring individuals to turn in all firearms. Naturally, the corporate media is doing its best to push Obama's proposal, but they are trying to make much ado about nothing regarding the fact that North Carolina still flies the Southern Cross and that the fact the Mr. Roof is shown in self posed pictures with a Confederate Flag, which they are quick to jump on, not to mention its use by the KKK and Neo-Nazi's, that it should go. Perhaps they believe they can accomplish two goals at the same time.

First, to Mr. Obama--there will be no confiscating of our guns. No event---real or manufactured---or even "court ordered" is going to result in the American People surrendering their guns. The reasons have been discussed and debated ad nausem going back to at least Bill Clinton's Presidency (and I'm sure would be a part of Hillary Clinton Presidency as well). It has been the subject of fictional presidents in popular movies and TV shows such as "The American President" and "West Wing" as a way assure the People that the forfeiture of their Second Amendment will be painless. Efforts to demonize gun owners as some kind of genetic throwback or as mentally deranged potential psychopaths (especially former military personnel) isn't going fly. The American Public will reserve the right, duty, and obligation to maintain weapons to defend not just this nation from tyrants foreign and domestic, but ourselves, our family, and our possessions from all those with bad intentions as long as this nation exist, and especially after it ceases to exist when it will be needed the most.

As they say, guns don't kill, people do. And societies do. We've become desensitized to death. It's become almost as gratuitous in movies, video games and television shows as nudity and vulgarity. We used to joke about "bloodless" bullets, or phony way actors who feign being shot in the old black and white movies. Today's acts of violence leaves nothing to the imagination; the more gory the better. Video games let players "practice" killing in all it grizzly life like details to their glazed over delight; relieved from the consequences of their actions thanks to the reset button. And then parents---yes, parents---fail to take any control over what their children do, watch, and listen to---especially so-called "gangsta rap" which glorifies brutality, including rape and abuse of women, drugs, murder, and criminal lifestyle, and more to the point of this article, it reinforces a hostile attitude toward authority.

Now please don't misunderstand me. I've never been exactly known for by love of authority, but I know better than to attack, argue with, yell at, attack, or attempt to kill cops. I know it's really not in my best interests to attack other first responders, like firefighters or ambulances since the next time I'm in need of one and they don't show up. I think this goes back to a societal function where basic values are not being taught or reinforced. Threatening behavior toward the police is not likely to end well for you. Remember, the police are rolling up on a situation which they know very little about. They don't know the good guys or bad guys. They don't know the history of why someone is mad at someone else. Aggressive behavior or ignoring a cop's instructions is going to have repercussions. You don't know what scene they just came from (and you have to accept the fact that they are human and no different emotionally that you are). Mistakes can and will happen. Tensions are almost always running high. There's no two ways about it. Listening to "gangsta rap" or watching some movie about tricking a cop or outrunning them most likely put you in a mahogany box and six feet in the ground. Nothing more. Do what you're told and you can be on your way. Don't and you may become just another white cross on the side of a road.

Parents are afraid or simply unwilling to take charge of their children. Naturally, we hear about how "busy"

they are or how "tired" they are. Well, it's called responsibility and it seems to be behavior which is becoming increasingly in short supply as we try to shift it, and any blame, on to someone else or allow the government to take charge. If something went wrong, it always someone else's fault. If we order hot coffee and we drop it in our lap, it's their fault because we didn't realize the coffee was hot; the cheese on the pizza was to hot and burnt the roof of our mouth and so on. People seem to act as if they are "entitled" to this or that or somehow has special "rights" simply because they exist (or, to hear them tell it, because of what may or may not have happened to their distant ancestors or their sexual preferences and so forth). I hate to be the one to break to you, but you're not entitled to diddly squat. All you get is an opportunity to succeed. Yes, there are a few natural rights or Constitutional rights, not many, but basically what you get out of life is what you put into it. However, we've managed to pervert laws and their original intents to get things we think are "free" when in reality, it's your fellow citizens footing the bill for you.

Remember the next time you get something without earning it and think "oh well, it's free. I got it from the government". Well Bozo, "WE" are the government (or at least were before becoming an oligarchy). The government doesn't earn a copper-filled dime. It gets its money by taking it from the people and uses some of it to pay for salaries and such. However, the bulk is redistributed to whom it thinks needs it. So, every time you get a welfare check, unemployment, subsidy, loan, grant, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or food stamps, you're getting a handout from strangers from your fellow Americans (which is another reason to lose that "you owe me" attitude. You're living off of handouts from your fellow citizens not "Uncle Sugar").

As for Mr. Roof's stated desire of wanting to start a race war, I have to ask: really? Is that what we need? Is that going to make this country or this world a better place to live in? Of course, I guess I have to give him points for being his honesty. Racism is a fact of life. We can pretend it doesn't exist, but it does and it's not solely a "white" issue. Racism comes in all shades not just white---black, brown, yellow, red. It's been around probably since the very beginning, though not necessarily involving skin color. I imagine the first form of racism was directed toward other humanoid species such as Neanderthals or Denisovans. Perhaps it's original purpose was to protect the integrity of the tribe or social clan. Later, it was directed toward different tribes with different cultures, gods, and languages. The Bible, Koran, and other so-called "religious" books are full of instances where some god ordered their faithful to go out and butcher some other group because they were perceived as different. Eventually, it came to be applied mainly to skin color because the color was an easily observable outward representation of the difference.

Perhaps this was, in reality, a good thing in the sense that racism doesn't appear to be a part of our genetic makeup; we're not born hating someone else simply because they're different. It appears that racism is a taught or acquired value, though obviously a negative one. Apparently, we learn a bias toward certain groups, in most cases, as young children and often in subtle and non-verbal ways such as observing a facial expression or physical reaction by a parent or other adult. Therefore, we can "unlearn" the same behavior. How? Well, ignoring it like it doesn't exist usually doesn't work and neither does forced behavior. Even trying to legislate out of existence isn't going to work. People will, by nature, gravitate to like individuals, be it in terms of values or skin color; we seek and find security in the familiar.

I think the only way to end racism is by excepting its existence, and by that I mean excepting that we, as a species, have

differences. Our deep ancestors evolved in different climates and developed specific survival skills and behaviors, however those are minute, even trivial. Teaching and encouraging our offspring to be different, usually culturally or linguistically, are the key precursors in developing racism. By overemphasizing differences through behavior, dress or refusal to accept general societal norms such as educational performance, language skills or other values in order to create an intentional sense of separateness of a group, I think, are the core to at least creating the breeding ground for racism. If you take two races and teach them the same societal values, there is less likelihood of racism developing compared with taking two individuals of different races and teaching them different societal values since this "difference" will be perceived as "not belonging", which in turn, will be viewed, even at the subconscious level, as a potential threat and after all, isn't that what racism is in the final analysis---a threat by one group to another group? Even if these two have differing values, as long as they understand there is no potential threat to the other, there is less likelihood of conflict to develop.

As for peripherals such as the Confederate flag, these really don't have anything to do with racism any more than they do with the real reasons individuals like Mr. Roof murder. The flag does not represent slavery or hatred, though that's what we're taught by individuals and groups with their own agendas. It had everything to do with the Founding Father's original intent on the relationship between the federal and State governments (as an aside, most of the descendents of the Founding Father's supported the Confederate State's reasoning for succession). Was slavery an issue? Absolutely, but it was not the central issue, nor was it confined solely to the South. Everyone understood that as an institution, slavery was outdated and failing; it was assumed at the time that it wouldn't have lasted another ten years. Ultimately, the flag came to symbolize the lost cause of independence. The fact that hate groups or those with mental problems have tried to co-opt it for their own purposes doesn't make it so anymore that neo-Nazi's adopting the old imperial German flags connects Nazism with the Kaiser or the use of the Gadsden flag by these groups makes it a symbol of bigotry (or for that matter, the use of the African symbol by black hates it so) or the original national flag with its 13 stars in a circle.

Now, is slavery an issue with individuals like Mr. Roof? No. Hatred is, so why is it even being brought up now except as another way to divide us and keep from focusing on those who are pulling our strings. As I've repeatedly pointed out, the 1% which controls this country and has turned our nation from a democratic republic into an oligarchy has and continues to do everything in their power to distract us, manipulate us, mislead us, divide us along racial, sexual, gender, socio-economic lines in order to keep the American People (and indeed, the peoples of the world) from coming together and focusing on those who control this nation and the rest of the world. The last thing they want is to face a united people who not blindly willing to accept the "change" they offer us, but are united in making the change we need. I think that's the lesson we need to take from all this; to allow the deaths of these nine individuals to serve as a bridge to bring us together instead of being allowed to divide us.