In the arrogantly titled Highbrow Magazine, Edward Wyckoff Williams attempts to portray black-on-black crime as a myth. He believes that conservatives are using the "myth" of black-on-black crime to "deflect from the racism and racial profiling that precipitated his [Trayvon Martin] untimely death by referencing the broader social malaise of supposed "black-on-black violence." Williams supports his claims by referencing a recent comment made by George Will of the Washington Post, which was despite the Trayvon Martin tragedy, "150 black men are killed every week in this country," and "about 94 percent of them by other black men." Williams targeted Bill O'Reilly, who defended Wall Street Journal contributor Shelby Steele, who wrote in "The Exploitation of Trayvon Martin" that "black teenagers are afraid of other black teenagers, not whites."Where is all the talk about white on white crime?
Williams further asserts that white people are actually the ones committing most of the crimes, yet there is no call to end "white on white" violence. Williams states "The term 'black on black' crime is a destructive, racialized colloquialism that perpetuates an idea that blacks are somehow more prone to violence."
Williams sums up his argument with the following statement, "The myth of black-on-black violence has become a stain on the sociopolitical consciousness and indelibly imbues mindsets as well as public policy. At the heart of an increasingly violent society is not a subculture among blacks but the violence and criminality of many Americans, and whites in particular."
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.