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As Americans, we have always been taught that we somehow have it better than everyone else in the world and that this will never change. This is true to a certain extent. Even the poorest of the poor in America qualify for food stamps and low-income housing. Some of the historically most dangerous ghetto neighborhoods in North America in recent decades in places like Compton and East Palo Alto look quiet, well-kept and middle class with single family homes, two car garages, large freshly cut front lawns, palm trees and long driveways.
However, although other places in the world are no doubt poorer than American ghettos, our cities have some of the highest violent crime rates in the world. Detroit and New Orleans rank in the top ten most dangerous cities in the world list. New Orleans has a murder rate of 95 per 100,000 residents. This is a higher murder rate than Baghdad which has the much smaller murder rate of 48 per 100K residents.
And it is not just the infamous ghetto American cities like New Orleans, Baltimore and Oakland either. Almost every major city in America has certain areas that are much more violent than the national average. A little known fact is that San Francisco has a higher murder rate for Blacks than the much more notorious Oakland next door. Oakland is consistently in the top ten highest homicide rate cities as well. Although Blacks collectively make up less than 10% of SF's population, they account for over 60% of SF's total homicides consistently every year.
This argument is not meant to be racist because minorities in American inner cities are no doubt disenfranchised and denied many opportunities to fully live the American dream. Why do you think American inner cities are so much more violent than most places in America and countless other poorer places in the world? I have my own thoughts on the matter and will share them later.
As Americans, we have always been taught that we somehow have it better than everyone else in the world and that this will never change. This is true to a certain extent. Even the poorest of the poor in America qualify for food stamps and low-income housing.
However, although other places in the world are no doubt poorer than American ghettos, our cities have some of the most violent crime rates in the world. Detroit and New Orleans rank in the top ten most dangerous cities in the world list. New Orleans has a murder rate of 98 per 100,000 residents. This is a higher murder rate than Baghdad which has the much smaller murder rate of 48 per 100K residents.
And it is not just the infamous ghetto American cities like New Orleans, Baltimore and Oakland either. Almost every major city in America has certain areas that are much more violent than the national average. A little known fact is that San Francisco has a higher murder rate for Blacks than the much more notorious Oakland next door. Oakland is consistently in the top ten highest homicide rate cities as well. Although Blacks collectively make up less than 10% of SF's population, they account for over 60% of SF's total homicides consistently every year.
This argument is not meant to be racist because minorities in American inner cities are no doubt disenfranchised and denied many opportunities to fully live the American dream. Why do you think American inner cities are so much more violent than most places in America and countless other poorer places in the world? I have my own thoughts on the matter and will share them later.
I'd have to say it's a "cultural thing" just as honor killings are part of the culture in Islamic societies. American inner cities have evolved their own kind of culture over many generations and it is very different from life in an affluent suburb.
Blacks account for 12.6% of our nation's population, and 50% of its homicide victims. I'd say that would indicate that violent crime is most certainly limited to certain areas with a predominantly black population.
I recall reading an article that laid out the homicide rate by race.
Asians = 1.6 per 100k
Whites = 3.3 per 100k
Blacks = 22 per 100k
Everywhere I've lived in the U.S (all California) is probably just as safe as your average European city.
Blacks account for 12.6% of our nation's population, and 50% of its homicide victims. I'd say that would indicate that violent crime is most certainly limited to certain areas with a predominantly black population.
I recall reading an article that laid out the homicide rate by race.
Asians = 1.6 per 100k
Whites = 3.3 per 100k
Blacks = 22 per 100k
Everywhere I've lived in the U.S (all California) is probably just as safe as your average European city.
I think it is partly because of the overabundance of liquor stores in American inner cities. Most of the world lives on a few dollars a day. In remote impoverished places in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, hard alcohol for a few dollars is not available at every vendor on every corner like American ghettos. Liquor stores make up most of the businesses in American ghettos from DC to Oakland. It is no secret that alcohol fuels violent crime rates. It is estimated that over 50% of all violent crimes involve alcoholic intoxication.
Cohesively, America leads the world in gun violence. Why? Maybe because there are nearly 90 guns for every 100 people in America. There is no where in America where it is easier to get a gun than in the ghetto:
All of this reminds me of that Dave Chappelle stand up skit when he said "How do you know you're in a ghetto? When all you see is liquor stores and gun stores".
Yep, I read it for a report I did in college, stuck with me... although, a few years out of date by now... I also don't remember the rate for latinos... think it was somewhere in the 6 per 100k range...
"30 percent of Black people without college education and nearly 60 percent of high school dropouts had prison records."
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