Macswain

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

How Does This Thought Even Get In Your Head? Bill Bennett Version

Bill Bennett:

But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.


You can see the quote in its full context here.

Just one more piece of evidence as to how so many on the Right just don't get race.

posted by Macswain at 1:54 PM

6 Comments:

  • The right does get race--you remember the Willie Horton ads, right? They use race all the time, but just use code words--welfare recipients, affirmative action, single-parent families, and criminals (especially the term rapists). The right is just subtle enough that they have been able to deny that they were actually using race when they address these issues and a lot of people have bought it.

    This slip is revealing, because it reveals what Bill Bennett really thinks. When he talks about poor, single-parent families, he means black families. And when he thinks of criminals, he thinks of black people.

    Not surprising, just revealing. And disgusting.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:45 AM  

  • Macswain: One question you ignored is this: Is it true or not? If it is true, does your "political correctness" force us to remain silent? "Truth" is a hard thing to stifle in this country. George and Karl are doing their best. Are you in league with them? Rolly

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:17 PM  

  • Rolly,

    I have tried to not respond to you, but I am truly speechless on this (yes, you have sucked me in). What if Hitler claimed that the crime rate in Germany would drop once he killed all the Jews? Would you have wanted to debate whether or not it was true? Or, would you say that the idea of killing an entire race of people is so shockingly awful that it's not even worth discussing what effect it may have on the crime rate?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:52 PM  

  • J:

    You state, "It is not true that certain races are biologically predisposed towards committing crimes". You know, J., I tend agree with this statement, but how do you know this fact? Is it based upon empirical data or how you want the world to be? I think that if you look at the U.S., the facts don't bear out your wishful thinking. There may be other explanations: Poverty, lack of opportunity, etc., but then what causes the poverty? Your response will be, because the whites have put the African-Americans in this situation, but then again, how is it that you know this is the reason, or at least the sole reason? Some may argue, that they are poverty stricken, in part, because they don't have the brainpower to compete against whites and/or Asians. Not a very attractive position, but my initial point was, just because you don't like a view, doesn't mean it shouldn't be open to debate.

    The second point, abort all the blacks to find out if it is true you state, how silly from a logically point of view. It is already proven that blacks commit a higher percentage of crimes. Yes, if you aborted all blacks you would have a lower crime rate. You don't have to do that to prove the point. Rolly

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:06 PM  

  • Nathan, Take a deep breath, nobody is talking about killing anybody. Go back and look at the original post. And yes, all issues, rather you like then or not, should be on the table for debate. That is how we work over here. Rolly

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:07 PM  

  • Rolly,

    1. Here's part of the original post:

    "...if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country..."

    Sounds to me like Bill Bennett is talking about killing black babies. (Whether or not you call it murder, depends on your view of abortion and we could argue about Bennett's use of the term baby vs fetus, but that's semantic hair-splitting.)

    2. I agree that Bill Bennett has the right to discuss this under the constitution (just like I agree that the KKK has the right to express their opinions). I just think the things Bennett said show he's a racist slimebag.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:15 PM  

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