# William Bennett: "If you want to reduce crime...abort every black baby in America." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155 "2005-09-30T04:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/1 "2005-09-30T04:05:01Z")
Notorious moral scold and compulsive gambler, William Bennett has just said one of the [stupidest fucking things](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092902126.html) I’ve ever heard. > [@](#): > > Democratic lawmakers and civil rights leaders denounced conservative commentator William J. Bennett yesterday for suggesting on his syndicated radio show that aborting black children would reduce the U.S. crime rate. > > The former U.S. education secretary-turned-talk show host said Wednesday that “if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Bennett quickly added that such an idea would be “an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do.” But, he said, “your crime rate would go down.” I find his qualification at the end to be weaselly and beside the point. Acknowledging that it would be impossible and immoral to actually do it completely sidesteps the more offensive suggestion that black people are responsible for crime and that if there were only white people the crime rate would be less. II’m not surprised that Bennett would harbor these kinds of feelings but I am surprised that someone as publicly experienced as he is would be stupid enough to speak them out loud. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/2 "2005-09-30T04:07:37Z")
He’s Pro-Choice now. What the hell are you bitching about? ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/3 "2005-09-30T04:24:11Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > He’s Pro-Choice now. What the hell are you bitching about? Just in case your reading glasses need re-adjusting – unfortunately, I doubt there’s a procedure for your so-called ‘brain’ – try reading this bit again: > [@Bennett](#): > > if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. Hell of a thought, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/4 "2005-09-30T04:25:45Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Notorious moral scold and compulsive gambler, William Bennett has just said one of the [stupidest fucking things](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092902126.html) I’ve ever heard. > > I find his qualification at the end to be weaselly and beside the point. Acknowledging that it would be impossible and immoral to actually do it completely sidesteps the more offensive suggestion that black people are responsible for crime and that if there were only white people the crime rate would be less. > > II’m not surprised that Bennett would harbor these kinds of feelings but I am surprised that someone as publicly experienced as he is would be stupid enough to speak them out loud. What I find more interesting from your link is the call for censorship from this crowd. From Rep. Conyers, who as a member of Congress should know better: > [@](#): > > Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) circulated a letter, signed by 10 of his colleagues, demanding that the Salem Radio Network **suspend** Bennett’s show. And from a civil rights “leader”: > [@](#): > > Wade Henderson, the executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, demanded that the show be **canceled.** What are they thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/5 "2005-09-30T04:26:01Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > He’s Pro-Choice now. What the hell are you bitching about? And this year’s “COULD MISS EVERY POINT IN A PENTAGON” award goes to… ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/6 "2005-09-30T04:27:53Z")
And why just black? You _really_ wanna stop crime? Abort _every_ baby (except for the Hebrew males- throw those in the Nile for old time sake). ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/7 "2005-09-30T04:28:31Z")
This surprises you? Where were you doing Katrina? It’s almost aceptable to call us niggers again. Hyperbole aside, the events after Katrina would have opened my eyes to the fact that race relations have come no where near as far as most white people would like to believe. Luckily I didn’t need the wake up call. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/8 "2005-09-30T04:30:42Z")
Oh for Christ’s sake, people. Lighten the fuck up. Strap the knees to the chair and live a little. You do realize Bennet is a talk-show host, right? You realize he has no power to set any policy concerning this? His rhetoric is based on gaining a niche following and some cash. Same as any loony leftie. Loons are loons. If we can poke fun and chide one side, the other should be open as well. Or are you too fucking sensitive for that? ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/9 "2005-09-30T04:32:45Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Or are you too fucking sensitive for that? I’m. Too. Fucking. Sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/10 "2005-09-30T04:33:09Z")
> [@Updike](#): > > What are they thinking? That Bennett doesn’t have a right to a radio show? I find the whole process of ‘offensive’ statement\>calls for an apology\>insincere apology\>blah blah blah to be totally boring, but still, this is an usually shocking and awful thing to say. If a shock jock on the radio said this, I think he’d be suspended and then fired three days later. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/11 "2005-09-30T04:35:35Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Oh for Christ’s sake, people. Lighten the fuck up. Strap the knees to the chair and live a little. You do realize Bennet is a talk-show host, right? You realize he has no power to set any policy concerning this? His rhetoric is based on gaining a niche following and some cash. Same as any loony leftie. Loons are loons. If we can poke fun and chide one side, the other should be open as well. Or are you too fucking sensitive for that? It’s all fun and games till someone is hanging from a tree right? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/12 "2005-09-30T04:37:10Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Oh for Christ’s sake, people. Lighten the fuck up. Strap the knees to the chair and live a little. You do realize Bennet is a talk-show host, right? You realize he has no power to set any policy concerning this? His rhetoric is based on gaining a niche following and some cash. Same as any loony leftie. Loons are loons. If we can poke fun and chide one side, the other should be open as well. Or are you too fucking sensitive for that? You’re not serious, are you? The man was advocating genocide, for crying out loud! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/13 "2005-09-30T04:38:06Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > I’m. Too. Fucking. Sensitive. I can’t believe you people. Somebody says systematically aborting you all would be good for the country because you’re natural born criminals and you can’t take a joke. Sheez. Must be a black thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/14 "2005-09-30T04:41:45Z")
Had I been born black and thirty years earlier I’ve no doubt whatsoever that I’ve had been way more admiring of Malcolm X than of MLK (still am, actually) and it’s because of assholes like this. How… the… the fuck… he… Sometimes there just aren’t words. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/15 "2005-09-30T04:41:46Z")
> [@Updike](#): > > What I find more interesting from your link is the call for censorship from this crowd. From Rep. Conyers, who as a member of Congress should know better: > > And from a civil rights “leader”: > > What are they thinking? I’m not a big fan of politicians calling for people to get pulled from the air, but until they actually try to compel it with the force of law, it’s not a free speech issue. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/16 "2005-09-30T04:44:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That Bennett doesn’t have a right to a radio show? Um, why not? I believe the First Amendment protects Mr. Bennett (and the Salem Network) just as much as the next guy. If he wants to say it, and Salem wants to broadcast it, what’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/17 "2005-09-30T04:44:31Z")
Yup, busted. I’m the Anti-Christ. I sit at the right-hand of Howard Stern. I want all blacks dead. Not now, before they are born! I read the quote and just popped one off in my pants. The excitement. The fantasy! Oh, were it so!! How anyone read into that first reply that I want all minorities killed is beyond me. Says a lot about those Dopers though. At least now I know what some people think no matter what forum I’m in. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/18 "2005-09-30T04:51:14Z")
> [@Updike](#): > > Um, why not? I believe the First Amendment protects Mr. Bennett (and the Salem Network) just as much as the next guy. If he wants to say it, and Salem wants to broadcast it, what’s the problem? The first amendment prevents the government from _making any LAW_ abridging the freedom of speech. No one you quoted has proposed making _illegal_ for Bennett to remain on the air or to remove him by force. They are still free to ask his company to fire him and his company is free to tell them to fuck off. Until the government actually to directly prevent him from speaking, there is no civil rights violation. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/19 "2005-09-30T04:53:53Z")
I don’t know if it’s true, since while the aborted critters would lead to a decrease in the crimes numerator, they would also not count in the per capita denominator: Old Total Crime Rate (per 10,000 persons) = 10,000\*(Total Number of Crimes)/(Total Number of People) Hypothetical Aborted Crime Rate (per 10,000 persons) = 10,000\*(Total Number of Original Crimes - Total Number of Crimes Prevented by Total Black Abortions)/(Original Number of People - Number of Blacks Aborted) Yes, you’re getting a smaller crime count on top, but you’re also using a smaller denominator on bottom. OTCR = 10,000_OTNC/OTNP HACR = 10,000_(OTNC-TNCPTBA)/(OTNP-NBA) So, to get HACR \< OTCR, We’d need (OTNC-TNCPTBA)/(OTNP-NBA) \< OTNC/OTNP, or (OTNC-TNCPTBA)/(OTNP-NBA) - OTNC/OTNP \< 0, or (OTNP)(OTNC-TNCPTBA)/(OTNP)(OTNP-NBA) - (OTNP-NBA)OTNC/(OTNP-NBA)OTNP \< 0 or OTNP_OTNC - OTNP_TNCPTBA - OTNP_OTNC + OTNP_NBA \< 0 or - OTNP_TNCPTBA + OTNP_NBA \< 0 or OTNP_NBA \< OTNP_TNCPTBA or NBA \< TNCPTBA So the number of black abortions would need to be less than the number of crimes that would have been committed by the blacks that were aborted. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155/20 "2005-09-30T04:57:01Z")
I’m going to try and explain it for you **duffer** despite the fact that I think I’m wasting my uh fingers at the task. I dont think you’re a racist, I think you’re a dick. If you can’t understand that I find someone proposing genocide to be distictively unfunny, I can’t help you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-bennett-if-you-want-to-reduce-crime-abort-every-black-baby-in-america/324155.md?page=2)