IAP Political Forum

Edwards: 'Pretty Soon We’re Not Going to Have a Young African-American Male Population in America.'

sked about what he could do about "inner-city kids partaking in violence" at the MTV/MySpace Forum yesterday, Democratic candidate John Edwards offered an apocalyptic prediction for young black males:

“We cannot build enough prisons to solve this problem. And the idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incarcerating — pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They’re all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two.”

Hyperbole much? Despite popular misperception and those who find it a convenient talking point to illustrate inescapable racism, there are more young African-American men in college than in prison. In 2005, according to the Census Bureau, there were 864,000 black men in college. According to Justice Department statistics, there were 802,000 in federal and state prisons and jails; between the ages of 18 and 24, however, black men in college outnumber those incarcerated by 4 to 1.


UPDATE: Some readers are finding the numbers above confusing. The first set of numbers (comparing 864,000 to 802,000) refers to all black men of all ages. The 4 to 1 ratio is among black men between the ages of 18 to 24. In other words, a large percentage of that 802,000 are black men above the age of 24.

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Yjk3OGY3MDI4NjcyMGZjZjhjZTY2NDhmZTlkODhkMWI=


MAN THIS GUY IS SERIOUSLY NUTS... The numbers prove him wrong so either he is dumb and really thinks most blacks are in jail or just lying to pander to the black vote...

What do you guys think?

What a douche.

BTW, what's with black dudes on Myspace? I have an account for my website, and I get all these friend requests from these porn bots, and when I click on them to make sure they aren't for real, I notice that every time the only friends they have are black dudes. Seriously, what the hell?

 I tried to find more on this Edwards quote to see what the context was. All I could find was a reposting of this exact same article.Its everywhere ver batum. On its face it sounds more like Bill Orielly than John Edwards.Until I can find the full text I withhold judgement.

watch it here

http://www.mtv.com/index.jhtml?rd=home

This is the question and answer...

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1570672&vid=178269

Wow! That may just haunt him till November.

His healthcare plan means squat when he says black people commit crimes...

Goodbye Edwards, not that he had a chance anyways. The entire statement is just ridiculous.

Can't help but wonder why everyone's coming out of the closet as a racist with a year to go until the elections?

This was pretty over the top as far as a prediction of where the young black male population is headed. But the solutions he put forth seemed he was at least willing to address the issue and come up with some constructive ideas. Have any other candidates given this issue any serious discussion time?
 I don't believe there is a racist intention here. There was an intentional hyperbole (an exaggeration of the point to emphasize the immediate need for a solution) and it seems insensitive given the volatility of the subject. But that's as far as it goes. A gaffe of degree not substance.

Sounds like a problem we should be talking about. Or are we just going to bash the politician who raised it?

I predict no backlash for this statement, other than on the far right. This is a legitimate issue, and Democrats have the standing in the African American community to raise it.

While his statement may be perceived as an over-exaggeration, it is consistent with his platform on social issues. Edwards proposes policies to increase health coverage and university attendance, which is more than Bush ever accomplished.

Well, we could try and make our laws and court system more racially balanced. Is it still true that crack cocain can get you more prison time then powdered cocain?

If so, let's start there.

If a republican or a conservative had said the same thing the black community would be up in arms to condemn them. Where is Jackson and Sharpton? Oh that's right, Edwards is a democrat so he cannot be a racist. ::) Only white conservatives are racists.


BTW, coming from a black southern family, I have more racists in my family than I have ever come across when dealing with white conservatives. Just like Sharpton and Jackson, who I believe are nothing but haters and race pot stirrers, most blacks are racists to some degree. They have this hold back from slavery where they still blame whites for something that happened over a 150 years ago. I am glad that my mother and father were smart enough to see that people are responsible for there own actions and not blame someone else for their social position in life. Too bad some of my family members are not bright enough to realize this even after many heated debates between my family and the rest of my extended family..... but I guess me having a Zebra wife and light skinned children doesnt help the way the fell the racist MF'ers who I happen to share the same blood with......

Interesting post Dog Face, thanks. What is a "Zebra" wife? Mixed race?

Yes, that is what my racist family calls her.....the one time my cousin had the balls to call her that in person was the time he sat in the emergency room with a fat lip and a couple cracked ribs.....

Excellent post.  You say stuff like this, and I find myself agreeing with you.  Applaud for you.

I once worked with a man who was the most racist POS I had ever known.  When I called him on it once he told me 'I can't be racist, I'm black!'  Totally blew me away, I wasn't even sure what to say to a delusion like that...

[/quote] Just curious Dogface, did you change your cousins perception and opinion of your wife by sending him to the hospital or did it make him more angry and racist?

Edwards was not being racist, but rather presenting his view on the social status of African Americans. He then continues by stating ideas to improve this status, an initiative that a Republican would be unable to do.

HIS VIEW IS RACIST AS ITS 100% INCORRECT! He is saying most black men are behind bars and if we dont do anything soon they will ALL be dead or in jail which is 100% wrong.

Take a look at Edwards campaign staff and tell me how many are black? 

Probably not too many, considering they're all in jail...

ZING!

I don't know. How many? Do you know? Are we talking about his national staff? Or breaking it down by state?

His national staff the men and women that advise him day to day.

If this doesn't prove to everyone that basically every single candidate is so out of touch with reality, I don't know what will.

Non sequitir much?

How about Obama?

Where is the entire slice of the left who were so incensed when Bill Bennett criticised the authors of freakonmics?  He noted that their analysis was amoral by noting that if you identified AA's a disproportionately perpetrators of crime, it still would not excuse aborting all AA pregnancies,a fundamentally immoral act, but was excoriated for repeating the premise underlying the freakonomics point.


Indeed.  The wave of rationalisation above indicates that that the extraordinarily critical examination of conservative and moderate speech for traces of racism is unserious.  If ever there were evidence of the soft bigotry of low expectations, it would be complaining that prosecuting crimes would result in all black men being incarcerated.  It certainly indicates Edwards' off the cuff assessment of the content of their character.

This, among other things, makes that poiniantly clear.