Eric Holder’s Disparate Impact Obsession

[UncleBeer 244]

AG Holder working assiduously to remove Lady Justice's blindfold. It's all to help "his people".

Attorney General Eric Holder purports to believe the Trayvon Martin case — in which a Hispanic man shot a young African-American man — illustrates a need to reduce police interactions with African-Americans. Citing Martin’s case, Holder announced on Monday that the Department of Justice will dole out millions of taxpayer dollars to collect and analyze data on police stops, searches and arrests. His goal? Tackling the “problem” of “overrepresentation of young men of color in our criminal justice system.” This is just another example of Holder’s quest to brand anything with a “disparate impact” on African-Americans as discriminatory.

The problem with Holder’s disparate impact obsession is that for multiple reasons having nothing to do with discrimination, the races do not engage in all behaviors at the same statistical rate. In the context of the criminal justice system, for example, African-Americans are undoubtedly stopped, searched and arrested at higher rates than whites, Hispanics or Asians. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), 28 percent of those arrested for violent crime are black, despite the fact that blacks comprise only thirteen percent of the population.

Does this suggest that blacks are being arrested disproportionately to the crimes they have committed? No. According to DOJ’s own National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the victims of violent crime perceived their attackers as black 25 percent of the time. Importantly, this NCVS data does not include data for homicide, which the UCR indicates is committed by blacks in 52 percent of cases where the killer’s race is known.

Holder’s latest foray into the intellectual tar pit of disparate impact is an incredible waste of limited time and resources. So why does he bother? Because disparate impact is the cause du jour of the political left, which isn’t interested in achieving racial harmony but racial balancing. That’s why the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Schuette v. BAMN has provoked the left’s ire. In Schuette, Michiganians enacted a state constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from considering race in university admissions, hiring, or contracts. The amendment was an expression of colorblindness, and an overt rejection of race-conscious affirmative action policies. The Court upheld Michigan’s colorblind amendment, but its decision has sparked indignation by the political left, which believes that perpetual racial preferences are necessary to achieve a desired racial balance.

Spending millions to collect data about racial disparities in police encounters will further various leftist political goals, including challenges to police stop-and-frisk practices. Indeed, data showing differences between whites and blacks — in virtually any situation — can provide valuable ammunition for intimidation. Under Holder’s tenure, DOJ now spends an inordinate amount of time and effort attempting to identify practices for which racial statistical differences can be obtained. DOJ then alleges racial discrimination, using the statistics as a cudgel to beat private parties and states into behaving the way the Obama administration wants. It’s Chicago Way extortion, applied nationwide.

Holder’s DOJ has used disparate impact in a mind-boggling array of situations. It has filed lawsuits — and garnered settlements — against virtually every major bank in the nation, alleging that because banks lend money to a higher percentage of white than minority applicants, they are engaging in racial discrimination. It has sued private employers for using credit and background checks, claiming that because a higher percentage of blacks than whites have poor credit or criminal records, the checks are racially discriminatory.

It has challenged competency tests for workers such as firefighters and police officers, claiming that because more whites than blacks pass, the tests are discriminatory. It has sued states that provide private school vouchers, perversely asserting that because more black children use the vouchers to escape failing public schools, the state must be trying to make public schools “more white.” It has suggested that because laws limiting felons’ voting rights impact more blacks than whites, they are racially discriminatory. It has issued threatening “guidance” to public schools, asserting that because more black than white students are disciplined by school administrators, “racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem.”

http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/01/eric-holders-disparate-impact-obsession/#ixzz30V98n6nu

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Being that people lie on blacks the most, because it is easier, I think it is important that the data is analyzed. He is not trying to help "his people" but correct disproportionately wrong doings. Unlike people of other races, the justice system thoroughly investigate their cases a little closer than what they do when black people are involved. Black people are guilty first, then if someone feels like it, they will check to be sure they are guilty or not. This is why black people have the highest number of inmates on death row that were exonerated from the crime, because they are guilty first. I give the ultimate praise to families and attorneys who worked hard and looked beyond what the court and the police department said to be sure these people did or did not commit the crime.

For example,

Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith (born September 26, 1971) is an American child murderer who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering her children. Born in Union, South Carolina, and a former student of the University of South Carolina Union, she was convicted on July 22, 1995 for murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10, 1991, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, born August 5, 1993.^[2] The case gained worldwide attention shortly after it developed, due to her claim that a black man carjacked her and kidnapped her sons. Her defense attorneys presented expert testimony that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes.

[Ontarkie 14,218]

~~Inappropriate posts removed for TOS Violations~~

[UncleBeer 244]

Being that people lie on blacks the most, because it is easier, I think it is important that the data is analyzed.

I agree it's important to analyze the 'police stop' data to make sure they're not being done on a racial basis, but that's not Holder's stated goal. It's to stop “overrepresentation of young men of color in our criminal justice system.” He's pushing not for equality, but for equality of outcome. It's not unlike Holder's effort to have schools consider race when punishing students:

The Department of Justice wants schools to directly consider race when disciplining students, taking care to ensure that some races are not punished more often than others, even if students of certain races misbehave more often.

Eric Holder’s DOJ co-wrote the letter with the Department of Education, and sent it to public schools across the country yesterday. First among its decrees: Schools should not strive to treat all races the same; rather, they should treat the races differently, levying weaker punishments when necessary, in order to effect equal outcomes among students of all races.

The problem? Not all races are equally likely to misbehave at school. Boys, for instance, get into trouble much more frequently than girls. And black, Hispanic and Native American children — who are far more likely to grow up in single-parent households — have higher misbehavior rates than white and Asian students, according to Roger Clegg of National Review.

But the DOJ’s recent guidelines instruct schools to discipline racial groups equally. In practice, this would mean either punishing certain kids more harshly because they fall into a better-behaved racial category, or opting not to punish students who happen to be black, Hispanic or Native American.

This philosophy, known as “disparate impact,” will harm well-behaved students, according to Clegg.

“If schools are pressured to ‘get their numbers’ right in this area, they will either start disciplining students who shouldn’t be or, more likely, will not discipline some students who ought to be,” he wrote. “If unruly students are not disciplined, the kids who will lose out the most will be well-behaved students in classes with undisciplined classmates, and those well-behaved students are themselves likely to be poor black or Latino kids. Somehow the Left always forgets about them in its eagerness to show compassion.”

What Dr. King said makes perfect sense: about striving for a world where everyone can be judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin. Why is the current administration making a mockery of this common-sense goal? Justice is meant to be blind; meted out in a color-blind fashioned, and not reverse-engineered in a partisan manner to benefit only Holder's "people".

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Holder is not entirely accurate. American society has been brainwashed into thinking that every black child is bad, their parents are on welfare, the daddy is in jail and the mother has 20 baby daddys therefore being less tolerate of black kids. It is unfortunate but we know it is human nature to dislike first because so and so says it is true. I will use my situation as an example.

I am called into a meeting 9 weeks after school starts, principal, all of her teachers and counselor, to discuss my daughter's poor behavior and her poor academic performance.

From the counselor to the English teacher, tell me about $$$$'s academic performance. Well, as of right now, she has an 88 in my class. And the previous 6 weeks an 89. Ok, how about her behavior. Well... she shakes her legs and rocks them back and forward. And how is this a problem. I feel she could do better if she will sit still. Okay, what level does she read on. She reads on a 7th grade level. Heres the problem, she was in the 4th grade. How is this poor academic performance? The counselor frowned but didn't say anything.

Okay Math teacher, lets start with behavior. What kind of problems are you having. Well, she sits on her foot in class. And how is this a problem. Well, the kids behind her can't see. Did you think about moving her? No I didn't. So, we are going to put in her file, special accommodation to allow her to sit on her foot. #######? How is she academically? Right now she has a 97 and the previous 6 weeks she had an 89. The counselor puts her ink pin down and says how is this poor academic performance? Well right now the math is easy. Again, how is this poor academic performance? Even if it is so called easy she would be doing bad.

So all of the teachers did this. She had a C in one class.

Then the homeroom teacher complained she eats breakfast to slow in the morning. I said I will feed her at home from now on. NEXT!

Then they said she can't work in a group well. I said why not, because she wants to tell the other students what to do. hmmmmmmmm They are mad because she wanted to be a leader not a follower? In any other child they would have worked hard to develop these leadership skills in but because she was a black child this is seen as aggressiveness, not wanting to be a leader instead of a follower.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Holder is not entirely accurate. American society has been brainwashed into thinking that every black child is bad, their parents are on welfare, the daddy is in jail and the mother has 20 baby daddys therefore being less tolerate of black kids. It is unfortunate but we know it is human nature to dislike first because so and so says it is true. I will use my situation as an example.

I am called into a meeting 9 weeks after school starts, principal, all of her teachers and counselor, to discuss my daughter's poor behavior and her poor academic performance.

From the counselor to the English teacher, tell me about $$$$'s academic performance. Well, as of right now, she has an 88 in my class. And the previous 6 weeks an 89. Ok, how about her behavior. Well... she shakes her legs and rocks them back and forward. And how is this a problem. I feel she could do better if she will sit still. Okay, what level does she read on. She reads on a 7th grade level. Heres the problem, she was in the 4th grade. How is this poor academic performance? The counselor frowned but didn't say anything.

Okay Math teacher, lets start with behavior. What kind of problems are you having. Well, she sits on her foot in class. And how is this a problem. Well, the kids behind her can't see. Did you think about moving her? No I didn't. So, we are going to put in her file, special accommodation to allow her to sit on her foot. #######? How is she academically? Right now she has a 97 and the previous 6 weeks she had an 89. The counselor puts her ink pin down and says how is this poor academic performance? Well right now the math is easy. Again, how is this poor academic performance? Even if it is so called easy she would be doing bad.

So all of the teachers did this. She had a C in one class.

Then the homeroom teacher complained she eats breakfast to slow in the morning. I said I will feed her at home from now on. NEXT!

Then they said she can't work in a group well. I said why not, because she wants to tell the other students what to do. hmmmmmmmm They are mad because she wanted to be a leader not a follower? In any other child they would have worked hard to develop these leadership skills in but because she was a black child this is seen as aggressiveness, not wanting to be a leader instead of a follower.

You should change her school.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

You should change her school.

That school is over now. But this is what I had to go through. My baby is now still an A and B student, first chair orchestra.

[Jacque67 7,328]

That school is over now. But this is what I had to go through. My baby is now still an A and B student, first chair orchestra.

Good for her!

I think Holder is doing a good job btw.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Good for her!

I think Holder is doing a good job btw.

He is but he still needs to look more into issues of other races as well. Or maybe he is but the media only wants to show what they deem he is doing for AA only to make it look as if AAs are the only group he cares about.

Sigh.... sometimes it is hard to believe the media.

[UncleBeer 244]

he still needs to look more into issues of other races as well.

Of course; because the Justice Dept. is who should be dealing out affirmative action.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Of course; because the Justice Dept. is who should be dealing out affirmative action.

He should be looking at if people are being treated Justly.

[UncleBeer 244]

He should be looking at if people are being treated Justly.

You mean ALL people, right? Because from his words & actions it seems as if Holder's only interested in helping "his people".

[Janelle2002 3,865]

You mean ALL people, right? Because from his words & actions it seems as if Holder's only interested in helping "his people".

Being that there are plenty of people like you that think black people don't need help and that we should be constantly vilified.......

[UncleBeer 244]

Being that there are plenty of people like you that think black people don't need help and that we should be constantly vilified.......

Please don't start off demonizing (as you do so often). Surely you can provide a civil answer without stereotyping ("plenty of people like you"). Isn't that the root of prejudice? You're against prejudice, right?

What I'd like to know is: What's wrong with treating everyone equally?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Please don't start off demonizing (as you do so often). Surely you can provide a civil answer without stereotyping ("plenty of people like you"). Isn't that the root of prejudice? You're against prejudice, right?

What I'd like to know is: What's wrong with treating everyone equally?

What is wrong with looking into it when everyone is not being treated equally?