Bad Boys II

[Belsnickel]

(06-10-2020, 11:56 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: That's a very reasonable assumption.  However, the black family unit did not begin disintegrating until the early 70's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_family_structure


There are several theories for this disintegration.  Some blame the war on drugs, which is certainly a possibility.  Others blame the welfare state, for which I personally tend to lend more credence.  The "war on drugs" certainly contributed, I would not deny this.  But I think the degradation of self esteem inherent in being reliant on others to live coupled with the financial incentive to have more children is a more likely culprit.  I fully realize that this position puts more "blame" for the problem on the left than the right, as opposed to blaming the war on drugs.  It's very likely they both had a negative impact.  The problem is both sides refuse to acknowledge the damage their political positions did.  Help is not always helpful and punishment is not always character building or otherwise constructive.  Acknowledging the damage caused by both positions would go a long way towards fixing the current problem.  Of course, neither side would dare to recognize their role in this.

I would argue that it is the war on drugs that has left black communities without male role models. The data shows that they aren't there in the neighborhoods. If it was the welfare state then they would be around even if not in the household.

That being said, our shitty welfare system is in part to blame for the violence. The strongest correlation to non-state/criminal violence around the world is income inequality. Considering we, here in the US, have inequality on par more with developing nations rather than our WEIRD nation cohorts, I'd say that plays a strong role.