The Square Root of Violent Crimes: Race or Gender?

"If I had my life to live over a thousand times, the one thing I would not change would be my race. I am proud to be a black man. There are times however, when I wish that certain people and I did not share that trait."-Leighton Levy

A few years ago, shortly after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Jamaican Star published an online editorial titled, "The Dark Side of Black People." The author, Leighton Levy, who was apparently embarrassed and appalled by the behavior of a decent number of blacks as captured by the media, wrote, "The pictures I have been seeing are of people - black people - stealing shoes, diapers, and television sets. Not food and definitely not water. Not unless the armfuls of clothing, shoes, and appliances I see people wading through the streets count as food and water." He concluded, "I am beginning to believe that black people, no matter where in the world they are, are cursed with a genetic predisposition to steal, murder, and create mayhem." Was he simply blowing off steam? Or is there a correlation between the nature of a crime and genetics?

Subsequently, while browsing one of my favorite online forums, a thread labeled, "Blacks and Violence" also caught my attention. The poster- another professed black man- who stated that he was tired of seeing all the violence among blacks... asks, " Why do some blacks like violence so much? His rationale, "Blacks don't seem to have much value for human life." As most of us who reside in the U.S could imagine and are aware of, whenever there's a racially flavored topic of discussion, tempers flare. Insinuations run rampant. Viewpoints vary. I stood on the sideline to observe what some members of that board had to say...