The More Things Change....

[AvantGuardHoya]

Aug 10, 2009 21:54:16 GMT -5 GIGAFAN99 said:

Wait a minute, rosslyn's point isn't political, it's one based on math and logic. If a city has more murders per capita, they'll likely have more murder arrests per capita.

But if you start with the murder arrests per capita and say the number is high, you can't back into them being false arrests. Murder rates do vary by city. Crime rates vary by city for many different crimes. If you said Seattle has twice as many burglary arrests as Washington, it wouldn't be because police are more likely to arrest Seattlites for burglary. Seattle does have a higher incident of that crime. You could say the reverse about DC and aggravated assault compared to Seattle.

So I agree with rosslyn here. There's nothing controversial about his statement. The hypothesis might be true, but his evidence doesn't necessarily support it.

Hold up -- rosslynhoya said: It's certainly plausible that Districtians are significantly more ill-behaved in public than New Yorkers, Bostonites, Phillyians, et al. I don't see the murder rate in the nation's capital as necessarily having a bearing on what he states. Further, while DC has had a comparatively high murder rate at certain points in the relatively recent past, there are other major cities that have traditionally had elevated murder rates which equalled or exceeded the District. Those include Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis and Baltimore. Newark, NJ, too.

As an aside, including DC, I've lived in all of those cities, save St. Louis. No, I'm not a murderer; but chances are you might not want me to move to your town.

[GIGAFAN99]

Guys, it doesn't matter if you can come up with reasons or not. That's a different discussion. The issue is that the number of arrests divided by population doesn't prove anything on its own.

Rosslyn said it is plausible that a crime has a higher incidence in one city than another and that could lead to more arrests. In this case DC with public disturbance. That's true.

It's also completely plausible that the arrests are false arrests and it's because of the MO of the police officers. That is also true.

We just don't know from that stat.

[Boz]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I sense a new buddy-detective comedy coming to the USA Network in Summer 2010:

wbztv.com/local/gates.crowley.cambridge.2.1277701.html

He's a street-smart but insensitive white cop. He's a fire-breathin' black Harvard professor with a genius-level IQ. Together, they're taking the fight to a new wave of international jewel thieves terrorizing New England.

The criminals don't stand a chance....if they can just avoid killing each other.

James Crowley is...The Sarge.
Henry Louis Gates is....The Doc.

Together...they are Cracker & The Black Man in America!

Also starring Kathy Griffin as Professor Gates' dog.

Special guest star: Joe Biden as The Sheriff.

[jerseyhoya34]

Here is a feel good story that I came across on Huffington Post - www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2009/02/05/apology_john_lewis_beating.html

I am one of many who has been able to listen first hand to Congressman Lewis's recollections of the civil rights movement and his experience. Many on the left regard this as a must-do for any Congressional intern or summer volunteer, at least. I can't say that I disagree. That being said, in this particular instance, the gentleman who came forward is admirable/courageous both to identify himself as having made a serious, racist error in judgment and to ask for forgiveness/reconciliation. An unbelievable story that is a credit to them both...