People Are Driven By Perception Not Reality...

.....especially when along with the reports about shootings, stabbings, etc. we hear that there were a large number of witnesses but no one is talking and the majority of the community are not forthcoming. Those involved in "crime" are a small % of the community but they get the media attention and they spawn organizations that turn the problem into cottage industries drawing on the public purse.

Racial bias starts close to home TheStar.com - Columnist - Racial bias starts close to home

July 24, 2008

Royson James

White Americans are more likely than black Americans to believe that the United States is ready for a black man as president, one poll revealed this year.

Americans still expect business leaders to be white, even when the Americans making the judgment are black or Hispanic, says a study in the July issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

And remember the recent study that showed black children still rejecting black dolls in favour of "nice" white dolls?

So, only a fool would blame white people for the Canadawide perception that non-whites commit most of the crime and more than their population warrants. Wrong on both counts.

Comparing actual data with an opinion survey, a week-long Toronto Star series on crime and punishment found Canadians believe 36.7 per cent of our convicted criminals are non-white. The actual number is 16.7 per cent. They also think 36 per cent of the population is non-white, when it is 20 per cent. So, 20 per cent of the people are committing 16.7 per cent of the crime.

Star analysis also shows non-whites are more likely to be detained before trial and to have special bail conditions attached to their release.

Studies and reports, here and abroad, show non-whites more likely to be suspected of a crime and to be racially profiled. The Toronto Police Association went after the Star for reporting this, even threatening a $1 billion lawsuit. The Star's analysis of Toronto statistics was bomb-proof.

All this provides scientific justification, applied with academic rigour, for claims we are biased. It gives people not predisposed to hate or blame reason to pause. To some, though, it is a red flag.

More