A reporter from the New York Daily News asked some questions:
Hi Clayton,
Thanks so much for getting back to me, I
hope your health progressively gets better!
I’ll send over a few questions if that okay
with you… I really want to capture the increased incident of
police and armed black men. Activist seem to believe there is
racism at the core of these incidents.
1.
What was your response to the
shooting of Jemel Roberson two days ago?
I confess that I missed this. The police officer clearly reacted
too quickly and wrongly.
2.
Do you believe racism is
something that is a factor in these shootings?
I think it is important to distinguish between racism and
prejudice. A racist would assume that a different race is
intrinsically different or inferior, and often that is expressed
as hatred. Many people have prejudices based on race, sex, or
other identities that may not be associated with hate. There are
times that those prejudices may have a rational basis when applied
to unknown members of that group. Let me give you an example.
Many years ago, I was walking home from college on a pedestrian
path that was pretty isolated. There was a 10 foot high concrete
wall on one side, and a chain link fence with a stream and forest
on the other. Ahead of me about 50 yards was a young woman also
walking away from campus. There was no one else around. Because
I was a bit taller than her, I was slowly gaining on her as I
walked this path. After a couple minutes, I realized that she had
increased her pace; soon, she was almost running.
My first reaction was, "Why is she afraid of me? I am a nice
person; I will not hurt her. Is it just because I'm a man?" The
answer, I am sure, was Yes. Nasty prejudice. But a rational
prejudice. She did not know me. Effectively all rapists are
men. That means that men are 2x as likely to be rapists as people
in general: unknown men are a disproportionate risk. Few men are
rapists; there were 124,000 rapes in America in 2015
(
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-1)
in a nation of 160 million men, and because rapists are usually
serial offenders, there are probably far less than 124,000 men who are
rapists.
What if she assumes the worst about a man, and he is harmless
(like me)? She gets a bit of a cardio workout from trying to get
away. What if she assumes a man is harmless and he is a rapist?
The consequences may be quite severe. So her reaction qualifies
as a rational reaction to her prejudice.
Police officers are in a similar situation. If they know that a
black man that they are approaching is a criminal (based on
previous interactions with that individual) they will respond one
way. If they know him to be harmless, they will not assume there
is a risk. But what about the unknown person? A bit more than
half of those charged with murder in the U.S. are black
(
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/expanded_homicide_data_table_3_murder_offenders_by_age_sex_and_race_2015.xls),
or about 4.5x disproportionate to the black population of the
U.S. (Victims are also disproportionately black; murder, like
rape, is almost entirely within race). Will a police officer
assume an unknown black man with a gun is a threat to him? Very
likely, and based on the same rational prejudice that a woman in
an isolated place feels when a strange man shows up in an isolated
place.
Adding to this fear is the widely perceived hatred of police from
rap music, at least as it is portrayed in popular media. Should
this officer have waited until there was a real threat? Yes, but
when you afraid, in a very rapidly moving situation, it is easy
for your fears to win the battle over your training. Bad, but
understandable.
Training methods also matter. At one time, pistol targets in
human shape were always black, for contrast. There was concern
that this might bias officers to regard a black target as a
threat. Today, most of these targets are blue, not black. This
is a positive change.
3.
What would say about the NRA’s
lack of response to shooting like this ae. Roberson, Castile
etc.
NRA is dominated by police officers and people on the side of the
police. They tend to avoid public statements on such cases, until
the data is fully available. Tactically erroneous, but
unsurprising.
4.
Is there a divide between gun
control and the 2nd amendment?
The decision DC v. Heller (2008) recognized that there are a number
of gun control laws that are consistent with the Second Amendment:
laws intended to disarm those at special risk to public safety such
as felons, domestic violence misdemeanants, those subject to
domestic violence restraining orders; the severely mentally ill.
Most of the currently popular gun control measures do not fit this
framework.
5.
Is there anything else you would
like to add that may be beneficial to this story?
The major victims of gun violence are black people, concentrated in
cities with historically restrictive gun laws (Chicago, California,
New York). I think it no coincidence that these are the places
where black people are at highest risk of gun violence. Gun control
does not cause it; nor does it prevent it very well, but gun control
is cheaper than looking at the hard problems underlying this
violence: lead poisoning (leaded gasoline, paint in older
buildings), poor educational systems, poor or non-existent male role
models.
Again, thanks so much! I’m hoping to have
this story out in the next couple of hours if time permits for
you.
