Columnist/author/talk radio host Larry Elder has titled his latest piece for townhall.com “Baltimore: The Intersection of the Grievance Culture and the Welfare State”
While I do not agree with everything Mr. Elder has written to that title – very especially his apparent belief that racism is no longer a major problem in the United States – most of what he writes is spot-on.
Here\’s a sampling:
Not only will the charges (filed against the six police officers) be difficult to prove but three of those charged are black. The claim of illegal “racial profiling” argues that white racist officers possess an unwarranted fear of young black men. But what happens to that analysis when the accused officers are black? If black cops are just as likely to engage in race-based misconduct, why did Ferguson demonstrators demand a “diverse” police force?
If the Ferguson outrage and riots were about “lack of representation” or “lack of voice,” this cannot be said about Baltimore. The city council is majority black, the police department is approximately 40 percent black, the top two officials running the department are black men, the city has a black mayor, the state\’s attorney for Baltimore City — who charged the six officers — is black, the new U.S. attorney general is a black female, and of course the President of the United States is black.
The left has created a culture of anger and entitlement based upon government dependency and the false assertion that racism remains a major problem. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., for example, said that the recent police killings mean “open season on black men in America.” The Baltimore mayor\’s shameful embrace of the Rev. Al Sharpton, the race-hustling incendiary who demanded an arrest of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, did not help matters. Some actually believe this tripe about “institutional racism.” Of those, how many rioted over Freddie Gray\’s “murder,” no matter the race of the mayor?
Police “profile” because out of a relatively small percentage of the population come more than 50 percent of homicides and 40 percent of the people behind bars. Blacks are 13 percent of the population, but young blacks — the category that disproportionately commits crime — are 3 percent of the population.
Speaking of “root causes,” Baltimore has not had a Republican mayor since 1967. So why haven\’t the Democrats addressed the “root causes”?
In my opinion, with the notable exception of Mr. Elder\’s apparent belief that racism has largely receded (in my opinion it has lessened somewhat, but is still is a very real, very evident, daily fact of life), just about every word you just read rings true…
…which means it is dilligently being ignored by the people who need racial strife to boom readership/viewership so they can sell advertising space, and the sickening race hustlers whose only real accomplishment is selling themselves.
Mr. Elder raises important questions that demand real answers. Not formulaic, cliche-ridden blather and BS.
Too bad he won\’t be getting any from the current administration – not in Washington and not in Baltimore.
