# Violence, Poverty, and Ancestry **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 8, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554 "2015-03-08T21:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/1 "2015-03-08T21:17:19Z")
I am not a racist, and I am here only to ask a question not make a statement, and that question is- , are some ancestries of humans more likely to have genetic traits that lead toward certain behaviors? In subsaharan Africa violent crimes such as murder and rape happen at a much higher rate than most of the world. You can check he graph at [www.gapminder.org](http://www.gapminder.org) Here is an example link [Gapminder Tools](http://www.gapminder.org/world/#%24majorMode=chart%24is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t%24wst;tts=C%24ts;sp=5.59290322580644;ti=2013%24zpv;v=0%24inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind%24inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=tZgPgT_sx3VdAuyDxEzenYA;by=ind%24inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind%24inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp%24map_x;scale=log;dataMin=194;dataMax=96846%24map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=0;dataMax=131%24map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65%24cd;bd=0%24inds=) Some countries with high murder rate are Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire. Although these countries are poor, other countries that are just as poor, or poorer have a far less murder rate, such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Soloman Islands, Bosnia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. South Africa’s murder rate is very high for it’s GDP. It is a odd outlier in the graph. It is not wealthy, but the murder rate is far higher compared to other countries with similar GDP. Other countries with a high murder rate are Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico (territory) , and Jamaica. These countries have an unusually high murder rate compared to other countries with similar GDP. Here in the United States some cities with a very high murder rate are Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, Oakland and Memphis. Those cities also have a higher percent of African Americans than most other cities in the U.S. African Americans have a higher homicide rate than any other ethnic group in this country. Both as victims and as murderers. [FBI — Expanded Homicide Data Table 3](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_3_murder_offenders_by_age_sex_and_race_2013.xls) ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/2 "2015-03-08T21:54:27Z")
I just checked the wikipedia entry on murder rates, and the list of the countries with the highest murder rates is as follow : 1)Honduras 2)Venezuela 3)Belize 4)El salvador 5)Guatemala 6)Jamaica 7)Lesotho 8)Swaziland 9) Saint Kitts and Nevis 10)South Africa So, your premice seems to be false. Highest murder rates are to be found in Latin America and within South Africa (Lesotho and Swaziland being inside it), not in Africa in general. So, there’s no need to use ancestry as an explanation for a non-existent fact. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/3 "2015-03-08T22:21:35Z")
The English have generally been avaricious and unscrupulous. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/4 "2015-03-08T22:29:51Z")
If you look at the charts here, you’ll see that, off and on, in the past, Europe has had homicide rates as high as the highest of any nation today: [https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FManuel\_Eisner%2Fpublication%2F249284795\_Modernization\_Self-Control\_and\_Lethal\_Violence.\_The\_Long-term\_Dynamics\_of\_European\_Homicide\_Rates\_in\_Theoretical\_Perspective%2Flinks%2F00b7d52cbfa9aec78c000000.pdf&ei=Cc38VJWkLbPisASkp4CoAg&usg=AFQjCNGeePGiARTRSyVpb8ZO\_u2QyBLP7A&sig2=fcfHs4H-V7uF-xhLEH8kQg](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FManuel_Eisner%2Fpublication%2F249284795_Modernization_Self-Control_and_Lethal_Violence._The_Long-term_Dynamics_of_European_Homicide_Rates_in_Theoretical_Perspective%2Flinks%2F00b7d52cbfa9aec78c000000.pdf&ei=Cc38VJWkLbPisASkp4CoAg&usg=AFQjCNGeePGiARTRSyVpb8ZO_u2QyBLP7A&sig2=fcfHs4H-V7uF-xhLEH8kQg) ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/5 "2015-03-08T22:31:51Z")
The US states with the highest rape rates have almost no black people. > **[Alaska's 'rape problem' is an Alaska men problem](https://www.adn.com/commentary/article/alaska-s-rape-problem-alaska-men-problem/2014/11/23/)** > > OPINION: Alaska's men need to step up and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with women to break the tight grip that rape and sexual assault have on our communities. > **[Why Rape Is Much More Common In Alaska](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-does-alaska-have-such-a-high-rate-rape-2013-9)** > > For years, Alaska has had a higher rate of reported rapes than many other states. Here's why. > [@](#): > > Alaska has nearly 80 rapes per 100,000 residents, and South Dakota is a close second at about 70 rape reports per 100,000, according to the FBI’s 2012 crime report White Southerners commit murder at a much higher rate that white Americans do in states like Minnesota. What’s the genetics behind that? > **[ViolenceAndUSRegionalCulture.pdf](https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/92174/ViolenceAndUSRegionalCulture.pdf?sequence=1)** > > 2.23 MB > **[Ideas & Trends: Southern Curse; Why America's Murder Rate Is So High...](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/ideas-trends-southern-curse-why-america-s-murder-rate-is-so-high.html)** > > High Southern murder rate remains key factor behind America's disproportionately high homicide rate compared with other democratic, industrialized nations; former slaveholding states of Confederacy all rank in top 20 states for murder, led by... > [@](#): > > ‘The whole American scandalously high homicide rates are Southern in origin,’’ says Roger Lane, a professor of history at Haverford College and author of ‘‘Murder in America: A History’’ (Ohio State University Press, 1997). Until the 1960’s, Professor Lane said, America’s big cities actually had murder rates lower than the national average, since the national rate had been skewed upward by Southern homicides. > > The question of why murder is so prevalent in the South has fascinated observers as far back as Alexis de Tocqueville, who in the early 1830’s recorded a remark by a young lawyer he encountered in Alabama. ‘‘There is no one here but carries arms under his clothes,’’ the lawyer said. ‘‘At the slightest quarrel, knife or pistol comes to hand. These things happen continually; it is a semi-barbarous state of society.’’ > > A study of 19th century judicial records completed in 1980 by Michael Hindus, a lawyer, found that from 1800 to 1860 the murder rate in South Carolina, an overwhelmingly rural, agrarian area, was four times higher than that of Massachusetts, then the most urban, industrial state. More than a century later, the difference persists in almost the same magnitude. In 1996, the murder rate in South Carolina was 9 per 100,000 people, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation; in Massachusetts it was 2.6 per 100,000 people. > > High Southern homicide rates challenge a central theory of criminology, which predicts more murder in densely populated urban areas where crowding and poverty break down traditional social ties and values. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/6 "2015-03-08T22:36:45Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If you look at the charts here, you’ll see that, off and on, in the past, Europe has had homicide rates as high as the highest of any nation today: > > [http://www.researchgate.net/...Modernization\_Self-Control\_and\_Lethal\_Violence](http://www.researchgate.net/...Modernization_Self-Control_and_Lethal_Violence)… /00b7d52cbfa9aec78c000000.pdf It’s interesting to see how often these attempts at genetic explanations collapse in the face of actual facts. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/7 "2015-03-08T22:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Other countries with a high murder rate are Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico (territory) , and Jamaica. These countries have an unusually high murder rate compared to other countries with similar GDP. The population of Puerto Rico is just as European as it is African. The nation of Barbados is more African in ancestry than Puerto Rico, but it has much a lower murder rate. No black people in Greenland. The murder rate there is higher than in 30 sub Saharan African countries. So, again, no. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/8 "2015-03-08T22:58:25Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > The English have generally been avaricious and unscrupulous. Not to mention so goddamned aggressive they make the Mongolians look like a bunch of Norwegian girl scout librarians. [Here’s a map showing - in white - the extremely few countries the Brits have _not_ been at war with.](http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9e5ff377c18f3847f47517fdb4c5afb1?convert_to_webp=true) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/9 "2015-03-08T23:10:36Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > I am not a racist, and I am here only to ask a question not make a statement, and that question is- > > , are some ancestries of humans more likely to have genetic traits that lead toward certain behaviors? > {…} > African Americans have a higher homicide rate than any other ethnic group in this country. Both as victims and as murderers. [FBI — Expanded Homicide Data Table 3](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_3_murder_offenders_by_age_sex_and_race_2013.xls) Yes, why are some ancestries of humans more likely to have genetic traits that lead toward being murdered? :smack: Faulty premises lead to faulty conclusions. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/10 "2015-03-08T23:43:29Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > I am not a racist, and I am here only to ask a question not make a statement, and that question is- > > , are some ancestries of humans more likely to have genetic traits that lead toward certain behaviors? That’s good. Not here to make a statement. > [@](#): > > In subsaharan Africa violent crimes such as murder and rape happen at a much higher rate than most of the world. > You can check he graph at [www.gapminder.org](http://www.gapminder.org) > Here is an example link [Gapminder Tools](http://www.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=5.59290322580644;ti=2013$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=tZgPgT_sx3VdAuyDxEzenYA;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=log;dataMin=194;dataMax=96846$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=0;dataMax=131$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=) > Some countries with high murder rate are Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire. > Although these countries are poor, other countries that are just as poor, or poorer have a far less murder rate, such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Soloman Islands, Bosnia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. > > South Africa’s murder rate is very high for it’s GDP. It is a odd outlier in the graph. It is not wealthy, but the murder rate is far higher compared to other countries with similar GDP. > > Other countries with a high murder rate are Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico (territory) , and Jamaica. These countries have an unusually high murder rate compared to other countries with similar GDP. > > Here in the United States some cities with a very high murder rate are Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, Oakland and Memphis. Those cities also have a higher percent of African Americans than most other cities in the U.S. > > African Americans have a higher homicide rate than any other ethnic group in this country. Both as victims and as murderers. [FBI — Expanded Homicide Data Table 3](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_3_murder_offenders_by_age_sex_and_race_2013.xls) I lost count of how many statements you made in that part of your OP. I guess you were correct in that you didn’t make a statement-- you made many statements. ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/11 "2015-03-08T23:48:43Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > The US states with the highest rape rates have almost no black people. > > [Alaska's 'rape problem' is an Alaska men problem - Anchorage Daily News](http://www.adn.com/article/20141122/alaska-s-rape-problem-alaska-men-problem) > > [Why Does Alaska Have Such a High Rate Rape - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-does-alaska-have-such-a-high-rate-rape-2013-9) > > White Southerners commit murder at a much higher rate that white Americans do in states like Minnesota. What’s the genetics behind that? > [http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/92174/ViolenceAndUSRegionalCulture.pdf?sequence=1](http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/92174/ViolenceAndUSRegionalCulture.pdf?sequence=1) > > [http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/ideas-trends-southern-curse-why-america-s-murder-rate-is-so-high.html](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/ideas-trends-southern-curse-why-america-s-murder-rate-is-so-high.html) I can’t quote stats, but in my experience in Michigan, Detroit included, was that most criminals were southern in origin or ancestry. There are even jokes about it - "it’s a southern thing " . A 3rd or 4th generation Michigan person or a immigrant, is much less likely to be a asshole. In part, the folks that came north were folks that were no longer welcome “back home”. I’ve known several guys from Kentucky, Tennessee, W Virginia, that had left home under duress - the locals basically ran them out. White or black didn’t seem to matter. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/12 "2015-03-08T23:50:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I lost count of how many statements you made in that part of your OP. I guess you were correct in that you didn’t make a statement-- you made many statements. Well no, they may _look_ like statements but he’s really just asking questions, only without question marks. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/13 "2015-03-09T00:27:08Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > I am not a racist, and I am here only to ask a question not make a statement, and that question is- Here we go again…just once I’d like one of these uhm, not racists, to own up to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/14 "2015-03-09T00:27:24Z")
So an OP that started with both “I’m not a racist” and “I’m just asking a question”. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/15 "2015-03-09T01:10:04Z")
Although it may appear to just be a southern thing, even in the South, the rate of **committing** homicide is even higher among black people. Such as these crime statistics in Alabama ( page 25) [http://dps.alabama.gov/Documents/Documents/CrimeInAlabama-2013.pdf](http://dps.alabama.gov/Documents/Documents/CrimeInAlabama-2013.pdf) Around the U.S. blacks are 13% of the population, [but 48.7% of murder charges.](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/table-43/10tbl43a.xls) ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/16 "2015-03-09T01:32:14Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Although it may appear to just be a southern thing, even in the South, the rate of **committing** homicide is even higher among black people. > > Such as these crime statistics in Alabama ( page 25) > [http://dps.alabama.gov/Documents/Documents/CrimeInAlabama-2013.pdf](http://dps.alabama.gov/Documents/Documents/CrimeInAlabama-2013.pdf) > > Around the U.S. blacks are 13% of the population, [but 48.7% of murder charges.](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/table-43/10tbl43a.xls) How does genetics explain the murder rate of white Southerners persistently being 3 to 4 times the rate of white Northerners in the upper Midwest? Essentially the same genetics, but wildly different rates. I know, you want to focus on demonizing black Americans, but the data just doesn’t support a genetic hypothesis. ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/17 "2015-03-09T02:26:50Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > How does genetics explain the murder rate of white Southerners persistently being 3 to 4 times the rate of white Northerners in the upper Midwest? Essentially the same genetics, but wildly different rates. > > I know, you want to focus on demonizing black Americans, but the data just doesn’t support a genetic hypothesis. My experience was that the southern whites are almost tribal, everything is about their “daddy”. I got really tired of hearing how their “daddy” did this or that, and how no other method would work. Also, they fall back to the bible thing, the eye for a eye thing. Not to worry though, Jesus loves them, no matter how screwed up they are. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/18 "2015-03-09T02:47:39Z")
> [@bubba001](#): > > My experience was that the southern whites are almost tribal, everything is about their “daddy”. I got really tired of hearing how their “daddy” did this or that, and how no other method would work. Also, they fall back to the bible thing, the eye for a eye thing. Not to worry though, Jesus loves them, no matter how screwed up they are. Murder violates one of the ten commandments though. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/19 "2015-03-09T02:55:19Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > How does genetics explain the murder rate of white Southerners persistently being 3 to 4 times the rate of white Northerners in the upper Midwest? Essentially the same genetics, but wildly different rates. > > I know, you want to focus on demonizing black Americans, but the data just doesn’t support a genetic hypothesis. > [@](#): > > How does genetics explain the murder rate of white Southerners persistently being 3 to 4 times the rate of white Northerners in the upper Midwest? Essentially the same genetics, but wildly different rates. > > I know, you want to focus on demonizing black Americans, but the data just doesn’t support a genetic hypothesis. Well, genetics do not explain the southern thing because the South has some kind of an honor system. You see, southeners are known for being more polite despite having a higher murder rate. When someone disrespects a southerner, they take it more offensively so they are more likely to react violently. This is a cultural aspect. Unfortunately, black people are more likely to commit violent crime in both northern and southern states as well as in different countries. So the Southern Culture wouldn’t explain that issue. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554/20 "2015-03-09T03:09:30Z")
It’s not genetics, it’s [epigenetics](https://medium.com/matter/the-new-theory-that-could-explain-crime-and-violence-in-america-945462826399). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/violence-poverty-and-ancestry/714554.md?page=2)