The decision of a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri not to indict police officer Daren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, a young black man, has caused quite a stir.
It has not only sparked off a vicious cycle of violence in Ferguson itself coupled with protests all over America but it has also sparked off a heated debate about race relations and racial violence. Some of the assertions that have been made are relevant and interesting. Permit me to share a couple of examples with you.
On 23 November during a heated debate on NBC with Professor Michael Dyson, Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City said ”white police officers would not be there (black communities) if you were not killing one another”.
On 25th November, during a discussion on CNN, Giuliani went further by saying ”93 per cent of blacks are shot by other blacks in America. Blacks kill blacks 7 times more than whites kill whites. 75 per cent of murders in New York City are committed by blacks”.
Are these assertions not pertinent and relevant? Does Giuliani not have a point when he expresses the view that the black community in America has far more to do when it comes to curbing crime in their own communities?
Is he not right when he says that it is perfectly justifiable for the police to put many more officers into black communities where violent crime is rife and high than in white ones where violent crime is relatively low?
Does the fact that Giuliani expresses these uncomfortable truths and bitter facts make him a racist? What do you think?