Thank you for this analysis, Nandini! I agree that a 2.5x disparity is troubling enough, and that exaggerating the scale of the problem makes it harder, not easier to address. I did a similar analysis of the Rutgers study last year on my blog: https://postwoke.substack.com/p/on-fear What worries me most is the feedback loop such exaggerations create. Celebrities like Chelsea Handler tweet “why would any person of color ever comply with a police officer when there is a 50/50 shot of getting ‘accidentally’ shot,” a tweet she sent on 4/13/21 that is still up. This kind of thinking INCREASES the likelihood of death at the hands of cops. Wilkerson may be right that radical empathy is needed, but it really needs to happen in both directions to improve understanding, reduce fear, build trust and improve lives.
The 2.5x is predictable considering the 2.5x disparity in poverty. It also explains the disparity in Covid deaths, and even match the out of wedlock disparity. 2.5x
It is worth noting (and I bring this up because many people who should know it do not) that even though American police kill black citizens at a higher *rate* than white ones, they kill *more* white citizens than black every year. Yes, that disparity is troubling, but it is far from the whole story.
Thank you for this analysis, Nandini! I agree that a 2.5x disparity is troubling enough, and that exaggerating the scale of the problem makes it harder, not easier to address. I did a similar analysis of the Rutgers study last year on my blog: https://postwoke.substack.com/p/on-fear What worries me most is the feedback loop such exaggerations create. Celebrities like Chelsea Handler tweet “why would any person of color ever comply with a police officer when there is a 50/50 shot of getting ‘accidentally’ shot,” a tweet she sent on 4/13/21 that is still up. This kind of thinking INCREASES the likelihood of death at the hands of cops. Wilkerson may be right that radical empathy is needed, but it really needs to happen in both directions to improve understanding, reduce fear, build trust and improve lives.
The 2.5x is predictable considering the 2.5x disparity in poverty. It also explains the disparity in Covid deaths, and even match the out of wedlock disparity. 2.5x
It is worth noting (and I bring this up because many people who should know it do not) that even though American police kill black citizens at a higher *rate* than white ones, they kill *more* white citizens than black every year. Yes, that disparity is troubling, but it is far from the whole story.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/
Great. Thank You.
I enjoyed her book The Warmth of Other Suns but was not a fan of Caste. Thanks for the analysis.
You have given me hope that your careful analysis of facts will rise from the ash heap of Babel in the current discourse. Thank you.
Excellent analysis with excellent intentions.
This is excellent work! Thank you.