What do these words have in common???..... Read on....Then express your OPINION!
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congressional Democrats blasted former Education Secretary William Bennett on Thursday for saying that aborting "every black baby in this country" would reduce the crime rate, and demanded their Republican counterparts do the same.
"This is precisely the kind of insensitive, hurtful and ignorant rhetoric that Americans have grown tired of," said Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Illinois.
Bennett, who held prominent posts in the administrations of former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, told a caller to his syndicated radio talk show Wednesday: "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.
"That would be an impossibly ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down," he said.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, called on President Bush to condemn the comments by Bennett, who was anti-drug chief in Bush's father's administration.
"What could possibly have possessed Secretary Bennett to say those words, especially at this time?" Pelosi asked. "What could he possibly have been thinking? This is what is so alarming about his words."
Bennett stood by his comments Thursday night.
"I was putting forward a hypothetical proposition. Put that forward. Examined it. And then said about it that it's morally reprehensible. To recommend **** of an entire group of people in order to lower your crime rate is morally reprehensible. But this is what happens when you argue that the ends can justify the means," he told CNN.
"I'm not racist, and I'll put my record up against theirs," referring to Pelosi and other critics. "I've been a champion of the real civil rights issue of our times -- equal educational opportunities for kids."
"We've got to have candor and talk about these things while we reject wild hypotheses," Bennett said.
"I don't think people have the right to be angry, if they look at the whole thing. But if they get a selective part of my comment, I can see why they would be angry. If somebody thought I was advocating that, they ought to be angry. I would be angry."
"But that's not what I advocate."
Asked if he owed people an apology, Bennett replied, "I don't think I do. I think people who misrepresented my view owe me an apology."
Bennett served as Reagan's chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1981-1985 and secretary of education from 1985-1988. From 1989-1990, he served as "drug czar" in the administration of the elder Bush.
Rush called on "my friends, the responsible Republicans" to rebuke the former Cabinet official by backing a House resolution condemning his remarks as "outrageous racism of the most bigoted and ignorant kind."
"Where is the indignation from the ****, as one of their prominent members talk about aborting an entire race of Americans as a way of ridding this country of crime?" asked Rush, a former Black Panther. "How ridiculous! How asinine! How insane can one be?"
He called instead for "aborting" Republican policies "which have hurt the disadvantaged, the poor, average Americans for the benefit of large corporations."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said he was "appalled" by Bennett's remarks.
"The Republican Party has recently taken great pains to reach out to the African-American community, and I hope that they will be swift in condemning Mr. Bennett's comments as nothing short of callous and ignorant," said Reid, D-Nevada.
And Bruce Gordon, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, demanded an apology from Bennett and the Salem Radio Network, which airs his radio program.
"In 2005, there is no place for the kind of racist statement made by Bennett," Gordon said in a written statement. "While the entire nation is trying to help survivors, black and white, to recover from the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it is unconscionable for Bennett to make such ignorant and insensitive comments."
A man who answered the phone at the network said no one would be available to comment until Friday.
Bennett's 1993 repackaging of traditional morality tales, "The Book of Virtues," became a bestseller, and Bennett became a popular lecturer on moral issues. But in 2003, stung by news reports that he had lost millions of dollars in Las Vegas and Atlantic City over the last decade, he publicly renounced gambling and vowed to stay away from the slots from then on.
He is a Fox News contributor and chairman of "Americans for Victory over ****," which his Web site calls "a project dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public opinion as the war on **** moves forward."
welp..whether or not the man was taken out of context and was trying to prove an opposite point. He set himself up. Why did he choose to use black people as an example? Do we not have enough bad publicity already? Yes, it's unethical, and he knows that he says. But obviously he feels that if it was ok to do so, mass black baby deaths would decrease crime. I haven't seen any babies wielding guns lately...has anybody else?
He couldn't single out any other race? Like, **** all white babies, or hispanic babies, or native american babies? Yes, black people have a high proportion of crime rate, but i doubt most other races are too far behind if u juss look at number of criminals. Basically, the man set himself up...so it **** to be him.
well said cutie
very well said
but there are a bunch of ignorant blacks just like there is ignorant whites that would agree with a racist white
it's very disturbing
but that's what uncle toms are
break their neck to agree with ****
allthewhole bashing blacks (their own race)
Can you explain what quantitative and qualitative have to do with this conversation? I know you've said it more than once. And bein a psych major I have a clear understanding of what these terms mean but I still don't see what they have to do with this discussion. And saying "all white people are racist, let's **** them all to get rid of racism" is not the same as saying "let's abort all black babies, so crime will be lower". One refers to a eliminating a learned attitude, but the other suggests that blacks exhibit an innate tendency to be criminals. Totally different.
jag
you gotta understand that
that pale loser comes up with the WORST of the worst comparisons and examples ever
just shows his stupidity and inferiority
nothing worse than people who THINK they're smart but nowhere there
Can you explain what quantitative and qualitative have to do with this conversation? I know you've said it more than once. And bein a psych major I have a clear understanding of what these terms mean but I still don't see what they have to do with this discussion. And saying "all white people are racist, let's **** them all to get rid of racism" is not the same as saying "let's abort all black babies, so crime will be lower". One refers to a eliminating a learned attitude, but the other suggests that blacks exhibit an innate tendency to be criminals. Totally different.
You are looking too much at the surface of the topic, as compared to the whole jist of the statement. The jist of the statement, reduce the African-American division to reduce crime. **** was the means of doing such. Illogical and unfounded as the means may be, it does not change the meanings of the conclusion.
But then again, there is no way to scientifically prove blacks DO NOT or DO have a innate appropriation for crime. Therefore, that makes his statement a fallacy. Just like mine.
I totally agree with wisdom. What you all dont seem to understand was that the man was arguing against the common belief that the ends justifies the means. He is saying that yes if you abort all black babies then it would decrease the crime rate, but that does not mean that you should do it. No babies are not the ones going around killing people but unless there is some huge turnaround in the black community, the babies that are born today will be them same boys standing on corners selling **** years from now. Maybe if people spent less time wondering how could he say something so true and more time trying to prove him wrong then we would not have this problem. I'm not saying that the man is not racist but you have to admit, his statement does make you want to make a change so that we can be viewed different as blacks. Nobody hurts us more than we hurt ourselves.
Maybe I would give more credit to his statement if there was a real reason for Bennett to bring that statement up. Read the transcript to the radio show and see how Bennett came the hell outta no where talkin about blacks and **** and crime, while the conversation was focused on social security and ****.
I totally agree with wisdom. What you all dont seem to understand was that the man was arguing against the common belief that the ends justifies the means. He is saying that yes if you abort all black babies then it would decrease the crime rate, but that does not mean that you should do it. No babies are not the ones going around killing people but unless there is some huge turnaround in the black community, the babies that are born today will be them same boys standing on corners selling **** years from now. Maybe if people spent less time wondering how could he say something so true and more time trying to prove him wrong then we would not have this problem. I'm not saying that the man is not racist but you have to admit, his statement does make you want to make a change so that we can be viewed different as blacks. Nobody hurts us more than we hurt ourselves.
One thing that I don't understand is "Why would he say such a thing at a time like this with all that has happened with New Orleans and other various places. African Americans already feel as if the GOVERNMENT has been racist towards them and for him to be nationally speaking about killing them puts the icing on the cake.
Thats my opinion.
