The shooting death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery is still shrouded in mystery. The only facts available to anyone are that he was black and that two white men killed him. Everything else is buried under a mountain of questions and general uncertainty. Was he jogging that Sunday afternoon? Did the two white men “hunt” him down for no reason? Was there a reason? Did he break into a home? Was he wearing unlaced work boots? Did he have on jean shorts? Cargo shorts? Basketball shorts? So many questions, so few answers.
Sometimes, people fill in the blanks when there are questions that do not have definitive, factual answers. Especially in a case like Ahmaud Arbery. One that tugs at the heartstrings of black Americans. And Americans in general, regardless of race. Anger and sadness become the primary go-to emotions. Sensibility has a hard time co-existing. The phrases “I don’t know” and “let’s wait for more information” become unacceptable.
Emotionalism Won’t Hold Up In Court
To place emotion above fact is a classic set-up for failure. If the objective is to find Arbery’s killers guilty, or at least to have them get charged and tried appropriately, a cold heart is needed. Everyone cannot be a bleeding heart and wear it on their sleeves. Although the crime the killers are accused of is heinous and will result in an extensive amount of jail time if they are convicted, they are still innocent until proven guilty. They have a right to a trial just like any other American.
If the only reason a person gets arrested is because of an emotional outcry from the general public, then they have a much easier chance of beating the case. Law has no emotion. The law is cut and dry with very little wiggle-room. If the townspeople beat the drums and burn their torches to demand second-degree murder when the law only calls for manslaughter at best – justice will not be served. The person beats the case and the townspeople are left emotionally spent.
Using energy in an aforementioned way simply does not make any sense. If black Americans want to fight against injustice for black people then the energy must be focused in the proper place. Black on black crime.
Any “other races do it to” argument against the scourge of black on black crime existing simply ignores facts. It ignores data. It ignores the reality of black communities across the nation. Numbers matter and it’s time to break them out.
Numbers Matter
In the United States, black Americans account for about 13% of the population. That number should be much higher, but since abortion has killed over 22 million black babies since 1973 Roe V. Wade, it’s not. But that’s a different story. Let’s stay on topic.
Black Americans – 13% of the United States population, 48% of total murders in the United States, and 52% of all murder victims in the United States. And 95% of blacks are killed by blacks. If there is a thing that’s worth expending copious amounts of energy on through marches, online protests, and boycotts, then it is black on black crime. Not the random, ambiguous, possibly racially motivated case of a white person killing a black person.
“Whites kill whites, Asians kill Asians, Hispanics kill Hispanics,” says the person trying to dodge the reality of black on black crime. While the previous statements are true, proportionality is ignored. How is it possible for blacks to account for 52% of all murderers, 48% of all murder victims, but only account for 13% of all people in the United States? It’s simple. Black on black murder is so high, it is wildly out of proportion.
The only time the murder of a black person matters to most black people is when a white person does it.
That’s a sad thing to say but it’s reality. So when someone says “now is not the time to talk about black on black crime” the question must be asked. Well, maybe a handful of questions. When is the best time to talk about it? Why can’t we talk about it? It seems like it is never the right time, so it’s never discussed. Black environments continue to fester as a result.
Most black-on-black deaths are young black men between the ages of 15-30. Some are in the streets, involved with gang activity. Some are just regular kids, regular people trying to live day to day in the community. Either way it goes, without men, a community is often left vulnerable to predatory forces. Women and children suffer in this environment. Neighborhoods decay and black life expectancy overall is diminished. If this is not important, then what is?
Black Conservative Confusion
Black conservatives have been trying to ring the alarm about black on black violence for a while now. For all of the aforementioned reasons. It is appropriate and if black Americans are serious about turning the community around, they cannot ignore it. But, of course, they are attacked. By black liberals, which is to be expected… but also by other black conservatives. “Other” black conservatives who want to separate from those who think differently than them about this issue.
One thing about black conservatives is that many of them are new. Meaning, new to the conservative movement. They grew up in politically liberal households and attended politically liberal schools. As they become adults and shed their liberal political leanings, their liberal behavior doesn’t always leave. This behavior is toxic regardless of the race that demonstrates it. When people who label themselves as conservatives with leftover old liberal habits interact with staunch through-and-through conservatives, clashes happen.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Cases like Ahmaud Arbery simply highlight division among black Americans. It shows why black-on-black crime and violence are such a taboo thing. Not only does the liberal political establishment want to silence such discussions, but black conservatives who still have liberal leanings want to as well. The liberal, mostly white, establishment simply wants votes from the black community to remain over 90% in their favor. The black liberal-hanger-oners simply have not completely let go of their ties to liberalism.
Freeing people from liberal groupthink is no simple task. It’s going to take blood, sweat, tears … and years. A thinking man observing the situation would say that it’s hopeless. Why try to save those who are happy where they are? But the black community cannot go on like this. Abortion, black-on-black crime, unhealthy lifestyles, drinking and drugging, low productivity. All of it must come to an end. Sooner than later. Uncomfortable discussions will be had and that’s OK. And there is no better time to start than now.
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