OPINION:
Each year, as we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month, the topic of racial discrimination seems to attract greater attention. According to liberal media and polls, racism remains an enormous problem. Have they got a case? I’d argue no, considering that polls require forthright answers. If, for example, a minority reports being targeted in a recent racially motivated incident when in fact his white neighbors called police because the individual was throwing a raucous 2 a.m. weeknight party, does that count? It will when the subject isn’t asked to elaborate on the matter. Here and elsewhere the qualifications bar is never set.
As for lethal White-on-Black actions serving as indicators, a lone law officer cracking under the immense pressure his trade encounters today says nothing about his coworkers’ social views. It may not even say anything about his own views. Nor does an isolated gunman with mental health issues represent 200 million other Caucasians.
An objective analyst, therefore, couldn’t hope to prove that rampant discrimination is much more than media hype. We waste time on witch hunts and ignore demographic indices showing genuine racial disparities. Here are three in the health, education and welfare categories (the current percentages are for Asian, White, Hispanic and Black groups, respectively):
Obesity: 17%, 42%, 45%, 50%
College graduates: 57%, 35%, 18%, 25%
Single-parent households: 15%, 24%, 41%, 65%
There’s a load of enabling commitment apparent, with Asians excelling. If we prod everyone to emulate, we might someday look from one group to another and see far narrower statistical differences.
TOM GREGG
Niles, Illinois
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