Bi-Weekly "Metapolitics" Discussion - The Deep Cultures of Violence

Details

We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, not too far from our summer meeting spot in Washington Square Park. The cafe is near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.

Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside. If you're hungry enough to eat a meal, they have more substantial fare such as salads, soups & sandwiches which are pretty good and their prices are reasonable.

The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 1 block west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east. For those who are driving, parking in the neighborhood can be tough to find. If you can't find a spot on the street, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.

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THE DEEP CULTURE OF AMERICA, PART 2 - THE DEEP CULTURES OF VIOLENCE

Following up on our last discussion of "deep culture", this discussion will address various theories about the way that "deep culture" influences American patterns of violence as well as our views of honor, respect, machismo & resentment. I've chosen to address 4 recent debates about the "deep cultural" aspects of violence in America.

I hesitated to address this since it's all highly polarizing, highly inflammatory stuff, but after a lot of thought I've decided that it's simply too important to skip over it. In order to keep the "heat" of the discussion turned down, I've included as much empirical data as I could find, and I'm going to ask that all discussion participants direct their comments to the data and argue about the correlations we see & the inferences we can logically make, and refrain from wild speculations or generalizations about huge groups of people that aren't based on data. Similarly, I will allow no personal attacks on other discussion participants. I'm proud to say our group members have typically kept their emotions under control even when discussing very controversial topics, and I expect this will continue.

Please keep in mind that in order to try to determine the effect of "deep culture" on a group's behavior, we need to try to adjust for non-cultural factors like per capita differences, age, gender, socio-economic status, and location. Yes, people from large ethnic groups will commit tend to commit more violence in absolute terms than people from tiny ethnic minorities. Yes, the young, the poor, and men are typically more likely to commit violence than the elderly, the wealthy, and women. It appears that urban dwellers may be more likely to commit violent crimes than the rural populations so we should account for that as well. It may even be the case that people in warmer climates commit more violence than those in colder climates. We want to try to rule out these confounding factors and try to assess the extent to which two people who are very similar in all ways except their culture behave differently. There may be "cultures of poverty" which involve behavior patterns that make it difficult to escape long-term poverty and in turn produce violent criminals as a secondary effect. But for this discussion, we want to try to focus on "cultures of violence" that produce violent crime out or proportion to socio-economic status.

The videos you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of the scholarly debates surrounding these issues. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just read my notes & watch the videos linked first under each topic, which should take about 56 minutes total to get through. I know that's a lot, and if you can't watch all of the videos, just watch as much as you can. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the 4 topics in the order presented here. I figure we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section. I've listed 4 questions under each section which we'll do our best to address.

I. RICHARD NESBITT ON THE "SOUTHERN CULTURE OF HONOR" & J.D. VANCE ON THE POOR RURAL WHITES OF APPALACHIA:

(1) DOES THE CULTURAL LEGACY OF SCOTS-IRISH BORDERERS STILL MAKE THE MODERN SOUTH MORE VIOLENT?

(2) COULD OTHER FACTORS LIKE CLIMATE OR POVERTY RATES POSSIBLY BE DRIVING THE HIGHER VIOLENT CRIME RATE IN SOUTHERN STATES?

(3) IS LOWER POPULATION DENSITY THE MAJOR REASON THAT POOR RURAL WHITE COMMUNITIES APPEAR LESS VIOLENT THAN POOR URBAN COMMUNITIES?

(4) HOW DO THE (FATAL & NONFATAL) VIOLENT CRIME RATES OF POOR URBAN WHITES & BLACKS COMPARE?

1a) Harald Eia w/ Richard Nisbett, "Aggression and Culture: A Brilliant Experiment" [excerpt from the Norwegian documentary Hjernevask - a.k.a. "Brainwash"] (video - 7:31 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-4G-2HbNqg

1b) J.D. Vance, "On Concentrated Poverty" (video - 2:13 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BSKEqJkqy8

Whet Moser, "American Violence and Southern Culture" (short article)
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/July-2012/American-Violence-and-Southern-Culture/
Nigel Barber, "Is Southern violence due to a culture of honor? Did Scots-Irish settlers transmit violent tendencies to South?" (short article)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/200904/is-southern-violence-due-culture-honor

Drake Baer, "Do hot climates make people more violent?" (short article)

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/06/warm-climates-violence.html

Audacious Epigone, "White Homicide Rates by State"

http://anepigone.blogspot.com/2013/01/white-murder-rates-by-state.html

Yahoo Answers, "If "poverty" causes crime, then why does rural Appalachia, one of the poorest areas in the country, also have the lowest crime rate?" (blog post)

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20150812181209AA2P8Fw

BJS, "Household Poverty and Nonfatal Violent Victimization, 2008-2012" (research summary - compares nonfatal violent crime rates of poor urban whites, black & Hispanics)

https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5137

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White Poverty Rate by County (compare with concentration of poverty above)

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II. THOMAS SOWELL'S "BLACK REDNECK" THEORY VS. ELIJAH ANDERSON'S "STREET CODE" VS. MICHELLE ALEXANDER'S "NEW JIM CROW" THEORY:

(1) IS THE VIOLENCE IN POOR BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS IN AMERICA'S INNER CITIES THE RESULT OF A "CULTURE OF HONOR" THAT TRACES BACK TO THE JIM CROW SOUTH?

(2) IS THERE A VIOLENT "STREET CODE" THAT DEVELOPED MORE RECENTLY (POST-1970) IN RESPONSE TO BLACK FAMILY BREAKDOWN, GANGS & STRUGGLES FOR STATUS? HOW DOES THIS CONNECT WITH GEOFFREY CANADA'S THEORY THAT GUN FIGHTS BEGAN TO REPLACE FIST FIGHTS IN THE 1970s ?

(3) TO WHAT EXTENT IS VIOLENCE IN BLACK COMMUNITIES A REACTION TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM OF THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY & JIM CROW, AND HOW MUCH IS DUE TO MORE RECENT TRENDS IN THE WAR ON DRUGS & MASS INCARCERATION (I.E. THE "NEW JIM CROW")?

(4) TO WHAT EXTENT IS RACISM A MANIFESTATION OF THE FEAR OF CRIME? DOES THE MEDIA STOKE THIS FEAR BY OVER-REPORTING VIOLENT CRIMES WITH BLACK SUSPECTS?

2a) Peter Robinson w/ Thomas Sowell, "Black Redneck Culture" (video - 13:26 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6YhdUi1rTw

2b) Elijah Anderson, "Street Codes" (video - 6:25 min.)

https://youtu.be/nTZovf0DuQE?t=17

2c) Ta-Nehisi Coates, "The Enduring Myth of Black Criminality" (video - 3:15 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQo-yYhExw0

German Lopez, "Confronting the myth [in Barry Latzer's The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America] that “black culture” is responsible for violent crime in America" (short article)
https://www.vox.com/2016/9/1/11805346/violent-crime-america-barry-latzer-book-review
Max Ehrenfreund, "Poor white kids are less likely to go to prison than rich black kids" (short article)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/23/poor-white-kids-are-less-likely-to-go-to-prison-than-rich-black-kids/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.541dcaa8b94b

Kim Farbota, "Black Crime Rates: What Happens When Numbers Aren't Neutral" (short article)

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8078586

Ron Unz, "Race and Crime in America" (long article)

http://www.ronunz.org/2013/07/20/race-and-crime-in-america/

Robert Cherry, "Race and Rising Crime Rates" (long article)

http://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2017/02/16/race_and_rising_violent_crime.html

Audacious Epigone, "Black homicide rates by state" (short article)

http://anepigone.blogspot.com/2013/01/black-homicide-rates-by-state.htm

German Lopez, "Why you can’t blame mass incarceration on the war on drugs" (short article, review of John Pfaff's book "Locked In")

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/30/15591700/mass-incarceration-john-pfaff-locked-in

Lisa Wade, "Racial Bias and Media Coverage of Violent Crime" (short article)

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/04/09/racial-bias-and-media-coverage-of-violent-crime/

Michel Martin, "Fear of The Black Man: How Racial Bias Could Affect Crime, Labor Rates" (short article)

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/396405061/fear-of-the-black-man-how-racial-bias-could-affect-crime-labor-rates

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III. THE "MACHISMO" DEBATE AND RON UNZ VS. JASON RICHWINE ON HISPANIC CRIME:

(1) IS "MACHISMO" A MYTH, OR DO LATIN AMERICAN MALES TEND TO HAVE A SENSE OF MASCULINITY COMPARABLE TO THE "CULTURE OF HONOR" AMONG WHITE MALE SOUTHERNERS?

(2) IF SO, IS IT RESPONSIBLE FOR HISPANIC MALES' HIGHER LEVEL OF VIOLENT CRIME, OR IS IT MORE DUE TO POVERTY OR RACISM?

(3) SINCE THE CRIME RATE OF MANY LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS ARE HIGHER THAN THE U.S., DOES THAT MEAN HISPANIC IMMIGRANTS WILL RAISE THE CRIME RATE IN THE U.S.?

(4) ARE THE DIFFERENT CRIME RATES WE SEE AMONG MEXICANS, CUBANS & PUERTO RICANS IN THE U.S. CULTURAL OR ECONOMIC IN ORIGIN?

3a) Alasdair Baverstock, "Mexico Femicide: Machismo Culture Is Causing Women to Be Killed" (video - 3:10 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mNuGKyl5PE

3b) Ron Unz, "The Myth of Immigrant Crime" (video - 14:30 min, start at 2:30)

https://youtu.be/TFw5fQZJlU8?t=151

Science News, "Caring Men Are Happier Than Traditional 'Macho' Men, Study Suggests" (short article)

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429084317.htm

The Economist, "A Lethal Culture - Drugs and Machismo Are A Dangerous Mix" (short article)

https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21636052-drugs-and-machismo-are-dangerous-mix-lethal-culture

Ron Unz, "The Myth of Hispanic Crime" (long article)

http://www.unz.com/runz/the-myth-of-hispanic-crime/

Jason Richwine, "Model minority?" (long article, rebuttal to Ron Unz)

http://www.aei.org/publication/model-minority/

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IV. WHITE PRIVILEGE & MASS MURDERERS:

(1) ARE WHITE MALES MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT MASS SHOOTINGS?

(2) IF SO, IS THERE EVIDENCE IT'S DUE TO AN ASSUMPTION THAT SOCIETY OWES THEM SUCCESS AND WHEN THEY DON'T GET IT THEY SNAP & LASH OUT?

(3) DOES A RACIAL DOUBLE STANDARD LEAD THE MEDIA TO LABEL WHITE MASS MURDERERS AS "MENTALLY DISTURBED" & "LONE WOLVES" INSTEAD OF LABELING THEM AS "TERRORISTS"?

(4) IS THERE A MORAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDEOLOGICAL & NON-IDEOLOGICAL VIOLENCE?

4a) David Sirota, "Why Are Most Mass Shootings Perpetrated By White Men?" (video - 3:53 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phot_KGMJF4

4b) Adrian Ghobrial, "Why white mass shooters aren't considered terrorists" (video - 2:47 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eWIMA51WHk

Josiah Hesse, "Why are so many mass shootings committed by young white men?" (short article)

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mvxv9y/why-are-so-many-mass-shootings-committed-by-young-white-men-623

Nick Haslam, "Are mass shootings a white man’s problem?" (short article)
https://theconversation.com/are-mass-shootings-a-white-mans-problem-85286
N.R. Kleinfeld, "Mass Murderers Fit Profile, as Do Many Others Who Don’t Kill" (short article)

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/us/mass-murderers-fit-profile-as-do-many-others-who-dont-kill.html

Masha Gesson, "Why We Should Resist Calling the Las Vegas Shooting 'Terrorism'" (short article)

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-we-should-resist-calling-the-las-vegas-shooting-terrorism

Nathan Hurst, "Media Portrayal of Public Shooters Can Perpetuate Stereotypes. Study highlights need for journalists to examine implicit bias when reporting on shootings" (short article)

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2017/0426-media-portrayal-of-public-shooters-can-perpetuate-stereotypes/