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Bill Bennett's final solution: aborting all black babies could reduce crime

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Oski2005, Sep 30, 2005.

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  1. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Contributing Member

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    Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions

    By Brian Faler
    Special to The Washington Post
    Friday, September 30, 2005; Page A05

    Democratic lawmakers and civil rights leaders denounced conservative commentator William J. Bennett yesterday for suggesting on his syndicated radio show that aborting black children would reduce the U.S. crime rate.

    The former U.S. education secretary-turned-talk show host said Wednesday that "if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Bennett quickly added that such an idea would be "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do." But, he said, "your crime rate would go down."

    Bennett's comments, flagged by the liberal news media watchdog group Media Matters for America, were quickly condemned by Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who issued a statement demanding that Bennett apologize. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) circulated a letter, signed by 10 of his colleagues, demanding that the Salem Radio Network suspend Bennett's show.

    Wade Henderson, the executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, demanded that the show be canceled.

    "Bennett's statement is outrageous. As a former secretary of education, he should know better," Henderson said. "His program should be pulled from the air."

    A spokeswoman for Salem Radio Network did not return three calls requesting comment.

    Bennett, education secretary under then-President Ronald Reagan and director of drug policy during George H.W. Bush's administration has written a number of books stressing the importance of traditional values, including the 1993 bestseller "The Book of Virtues."

    In 2003, he admitted he was a heavy gambler after news reports that he had lost millions of dollars in casinos.

    Bennett's comments came Wednesday, during a discussion on his talk show "Morning in America." A caller had suggested that Social Security would be better funded if abortion had not been legalized in 1973 because the nation would have more workers paying into the system.

    Bennett said "maybe," before referring to a book he said argued that the legalization of abortion is one of the reasons the crime rate has declined in recent decades. Bennett said he did not agree with that thesis.

    "But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," Bennett said, according to an audio clip posted on Media Matters for America's Web site. "That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, you know, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092902126.html


    http://mediamatters.org/items/200509280006
    You can hear it yourself at Media Matters. Don't let Rush fool you, they have the "context" starting with the call that was made to the show that started this thing and the part afterwards were he says the actual act would be "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do..." Notice how he says "impossible" first. I guess to him, that's the most important reason as to why it can't be done. He's also convinced that it would work regardless of reprehensible it would be.

    Here's a defense of his claim from Tech Central Station, http://www.techcentralstation.com/093005NS.html were the writer is also convinced it would work. Somebody ought to clue these 2 and anybody else who agrees that the one thing violent criminals have in common is that they are poor and grew up poor.
     
    #1 Oski2005, Sep 30, 2005
  2. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    i don't have words to describe how horrible and how stupid this is.
     
    #2 MadMax, Sep 30, 2005
  3. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    looks like bill agrees with you. remember the context, they were discussing the proposition put forth in Freakonomics that the explosion of abortion after Roe v. Wade depleted the number of potential criminals and thus helped reduce the crime rate. Bennett rejected the arguments:

     
    #3 basso, Sep 30, 2005
  4. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    After hearing his comments from a 'live' recording ~ the way he emphasized his words in particular - i'm just in shock how someone (at one time a major national figure) could be so disgusting.
     
    #4 KingCheetah, Sep 30, 2005
  5. gwayneco

    gwayneco Contributing Member

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    Which part of it is disgusting?
     
    #5 gwayneco, Sep 30, 2005
  6. MartianMan

    MartianMan Contributing Member

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    Statistically, it's correct. But maybe this is just an example of how statistics, in the wrong hands, can be used improperly to justify anything.
     
    #6 MartianMan, Sep 30, 2005
  7. Dubious

    Dubious Contributing Member

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    If you really want to bring the crime rate way way down, you could abort every baby. Soon you would just have the poor old geezers with no one to pay their Social Security support robbing the rich old geezers. So there would still be some crime but the criminals would be really easy to catch, and in prison they wouldn't need social security. And you wouldn't need captital punishement because it wouldn't be that expensive if someone got a life sentence.

    All plusses I'd say.
     
    #7 Dubious, Sep 30, 2005
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2005
  8. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    his statement is factual. and he rejects the premise.

    here's Matthew Yglesias, who could never be desribed as conservative:

    http://yglesias.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/29/16450/9195

     
    #8 basso, Sep 30, 2005
  9. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    no words. . . .
    I guesss he, peta and the founder of planned parenthood all beleive the same thing

    Rocket River
    OH YEA . . .Racism is just in the minds fo Black Folx. . it ain't REAL :rolleyes: :eek: :rolleyes: :( :( :( :(
     
    #9 Rocket River, Sep 30, 2005
  10. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    exactly which part was racist? he said the very idea was morally reprehensible. is posing a hypothesis, and rejecting on moral grounds, racist?
     
    #10 basso, Sep 30, 2005
  11. halfbreed

    halfbreed Contributing Member

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    You forget, to most of these guys, context does not matter. It's crazy.
     
    #11 halfbreed, Sep 30, 2005
  12. giddyup

    giddyup Contributing Member

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    I hear the siren of the PC Police screaming...

    This outrage is too hilarious!

    I've been waiting all day for this to show up.
     
    #12 giddyup, Sep 30, 2005
  13. giddyup

    giddyup Contributing Member

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    Thank you for your editorializing on what Bennet thinks is imporant. The math works... everytime.

    Damnit, the headline on the Media Matters website only includes the first (shocking) part of his comment. Oh yeah, that's really fair and accurate. Call out Fox News!
     
    #13 giddyup, Sep 30, 2005
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2005
  14. MartianMan

    MartianMan Contributing Member

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    you need to get out more. :p
     
    #14 MartianMan, Sep 30, 2005
  15. giddyup

    giddyup Contributing Member

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    Every Friday I'm home with the kids from Noon forward. You wanna come and babysit so I can play some golf? A friend of mine just called with tickets for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic this weekend AND I CAN'T GO... :eek:
     
    #15 giddyup, Sep 30, 2005
  16. MartianMan

    MartianMan Contributing Member

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    I'm not a very good babysitter. On the other hand, I do enjoy golf. and yes, I am available. :D
     
    #16 MartianMan, Sep 30, 2005
  17. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    "The president believes the comments were not appropriate"
    _______

    link
     
    #17 KingCheetah, Sep 30, 2005
  18. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    The part where he singled out black babies. If you abort all white babies the crime rate will go down to. While he said it was morally reprehensible, why did he single out black babies as the ones to be aborted? His statements make it obvious that in his minds blacks will commit crimes so he used it.

    I think once again people are forgetting what racism really is. They are still looking for lynching and those types of examples. That isn't what this is about. In the context of Bill Bennet's words he said it would be stupid and morally rephensible to abort all black children. He wasn't advocating aborting all black children.

    The racism comes into play in the mere fact that he associates blacks with crime, and that he singled out that race in relation to crime.
     
    #18 FranchiseBlade, Sep 30, 2005
  19. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    i'm not sure your hypothesis is correct, but in any case he said the idea is morally reprehensible. not sure how you can leave that part out.
     
    #19 basso, Sep 30, 2005
  20. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    where do you get that from what he said? how can it be considered invidious to point out that blacks, or black men at any rate, have a higher crime rate than nonblacks?
     
    #20 basso, Sep 30, 2005
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