Clearly, the United States has not healed from its social problem with race when public figures believe that the way to reduce crime is to abort every black baby, as former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett said in a recent interview. Whatever his intentions, he singled out black individuals as future criminals no matter their social class and upbringing.
Bennett wrongly used race as a qualifier and pretense for crime. Race is not a determining factor in any individual's propensity to commit a crime. That same idea holds true for gender, age and sexual orientation. People commit crimes, not just African Americans. By the way, African Americans make up only 12.3 percent of the population while white people make up 75.1 percent, according to the 2000 Census.
Even if every single African American, infants included, were committing crimes, they still would not be the majority population committing crimes in America. Contrary to what the media shows, actual crime reports reveal time and again that white people commit more crimes than any other race in America.
Consider this: Most of the United States' serial murders have been white men. Why has the press not branded all murders as being white men? The reality is that white people do not get the same negative press coverage because their story is not as sensational as having a shirtless black man being arrested.
Instead of pointing out the socio-economic and cultural issues that make certain individuals turn to crime more than others, Bennett looked only at race. Any individual of any race is capable of committing a crime. I challenge Bennett and anyone with his view to look at the evidence before criminalizing an entire race of people.
Tiffany Locus
Trinity '07
"Tyler" sandwich at Rick's is a waste
I see that Tyler Watson, a sophomore, has a sandwich named after him; that Tyler was willing to pay Rick's employees to competitively cook for his amusement; that all of the cooks refused, except one, Jermaine Brown; and that Tyler then offered $20 for the largest sandwich Mr. Brown could conceive. The resulting sandwich appears, from its picture in The Chronicle, to weigh several pounds.
As an undergraduate, the story would have made me laugh. But I graduated from Duke in May, and I'm writing this on my first return visit to campus, and when I am done enjoying the generosity of my friends' food points, I'll go back to eating canned soup, Ramen and Chef Boyardee, because I'm a schoolteacher now and can't afford much more. I am moved to ask a few questions about Tyler:
Exactly what alchemy of boredom, entitlement and drunkenness makes an adolescent throw money at service workers for his own entertainment? Whenever somebody orders a "Tyler," how much meat ends up in the garbage? And, most tellingly, where did those $20 come from? From Tyler? Or from Tyler's parents?
As few as five months ago, I would have looked at the "Tyler" and seen a meal. Now, I see profligacy, gluttony and spite. But ours is a free country, of course, and we are free to associate ourselves with whichever qualities we choose. So congratulations, Tyler. Way to make your mark.
Rob Goodman
Trinity '05
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