Black lives do matter but take a look at crime stats
Protests in the United States and Australia not only push a false narrative of victimhood, they also make a mockery of the idea that the limits on our lives are at all scientific, writes Alan Jones.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Discredited social distancing rules hamper economic recovery
- Coronavirus: Nothing to fear but fear itself
Tens of thousands of Australians joined in protests last Saturday, apparently to proclaim that black lives matter.
These protests have taken place in an intellectual vacuum.
There has been no attempt by any leader to offer an alternative view to the kind of alarmism and hysteria that has been generated worldwide following the death of George Floyd.
Of course black lives matter.
All lives matter.
As the metaphysical poet John Donne has written, “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind”.
MORE NEWS
Coronavirus alarmism has put us in a big, black hole
Abbott tried to warn us of Chinese pandemic threat
Jobs lost, opportunities destroyed and no herd immunity
The death of George Floyd not only diminishes mankind but dehumanises it because of the nature of the death.
However, those responsible are being dealt with.
Yet, while thousands marched and protested, millions of Australians are bewildered at the failure of political leadership on this issue.
In July 2017, also in Minneapolis, Mohamed Noor, a black police officer, fatally shot the Australian Justine Damond Ruszczyk through the side of his police car.
All the 40 year-old white Australian woman was trying to do was to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her Minneapolis home.
At the time, the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, “How can a woman out in the street, in her pyjamas, seeking assistance from the police, be shot like that? It is a shocking killing”.
White lives also matter.
But there was no universal protest. Nor should there have been.
Authorities dealt with the matter.
If you look at the latest American Department of Justice figures on crime in the United States, the total number of white victims of murder in one year was 3,499.
In 2,854 instances the offender was white.
The number of black or African-American victims was 2,870.
But in only 243 cases was the offender white.
In 2,570 cases, the offender was black or African-American.
A research paper from the Harvard Kennedy School Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management has pointed out, “What most Americans know about crime and justice comes from popular media’s portrayal of these subjects.
“Unfortunately, media outlets have an interest in presenting crime and justice issues in a way that captivates audiences and stimulates passions … even though crime has steadily decreased over the last two decades.”
Indeed the concern seems to be not that the protests completely ignore the truth about police violence and black victimhood, but rather about whether or not people were social distancing.
Why can’t our political leaders do some homework and provide the appropriate perspective?
In 89.5% of the murders of black or African-Americans, the offender was black or African-American.
This does not justify any death or any inappropriate action, the like of which we saw in the Floyd death.
But, the perception that white police are violent, in numbers, towards black Americans, is inconsistent with the facts.
The other misconception is that black-on-black homicide problems are symptomatic of persistent, lawless behaviour by black people, a wrongheaded idea which leads to an implicit assumption among the public that a high proportion of black residents are involved in crime and disorder.
That is a nonsense.
Which brings us back to political leadership.
A real concern about these protests is the fact that no political leader has been prepared to enter the ring and offer an alternative perspective to that being persistently reinforced by placards and sloganeering.
And because of this, governments lose credibility.
In this coronavirus environment, politicians have been merely followers.
Every utterance of a “Chief Medical Officer” has been slavishly endorsed when, in fact, it should be regarded as advice.
Is Dr Kerry Chant the Premier of NSW?
Is Dr Jeanette Young the Premier of Queensland?
They speak and, almost ventriloquially, the Premiers endorse.
Who, on Saturday, was speaking for the majority of Australians, or have we entered the political world in which minorities rule?
In NSW, since the beginning of March this year, the Premier has provided daily coronavirus briefings full of restrictions and rules.
Anyone who breached this “Public Health Order” would be issued with a $1,000 fine.
How can law-abiding citizens take government seriously after Saturday’s protests, which fly in the face of everything the Government has been lecturing us to do?
As Jeff Kennett, the former Victorian Premier said, “Don’t tell me after thousands of people attended the rally, we couldn’t have thousands of people at the footy at the weekend, social distancing. We need to open up the borders. We need to start moving”.
Or do we cave in to the inner-city ABC Ultimo types, as the Baird/Berejiklian governments did on greyhounds and council amalgamations?
There was a point, last Friday, when the Premier had no problem with the protests.
She changed tack.
Political capital can be easily burnt.
Once the perception exists that a government jumps when minorities speak, government loses credibility.
23,000 people can spill into the streets during a so-called health pandemic.
But if you dare have 11 guests at your house, fines follow.
Can someone explain why the rights of protesters are more important than the rights of cafe and restaurant owners who can’t open their businesses; mourners who can’t attend the funeral of loved ones; couples who can’t have guests at their wedding; artists who have no right to perform; schoolchildren who can’t play weekend sport?
It seems as if you want the Government’s blessing, draw up a placard, bung on a protest, and our political leaders will look the other way.
The whole episode makes a mockery of the last four months.
But above all, it makes a mockery of the truth.
Black lives do matter. But so do all lives. The world barely spared a moment to protest the death of Justine Damond.
But the appropriate authorities dealt with the matter.
There is a double standard at work here. As a result the law is defied.
And we know where that behaviour takes us.