I hesitated to dive into this threat. I don't think you are racist @Josh, I think you are condemning the ignorance that you see, mostly on X, that I imagine (beyond Substack) is your main social media feed.

Most of what you are talking about, beyond that perpetuated by a few trap rappers (because it sells, mostly to so-called "white" kids who consume most of the trap music that is streamed/sold), who happen to be millionaires, is related to poverty (mental and financial), not race.

Race is a fiction. Call it "white" "black" "Asian" "Jew," race is not real nor biologically relevant (maybe a bit with Jews, but the fact that we are 99.9% the same remains). And, whenever it is made central to any dialogue, racism follows quickly behind.

I've been racialized as "black" for a while now. What you describe from the images digested on the internet is far from any "black" culture that I have been a part of. When I see wildin' out on cruise ships, on the streets, etc., it's always been through videos that went viral, not any experience I've directly observed.

I understand the loose correlation and believe a discussion should be open and honest about where the significant breakdowns of social norms are occurring and what if can be done to address them without splitting into factions based on the fiction (race that is, 'swimming pools, movie stars'. . .;-).

From what I have gathered from other articles I have read from you, you are far from what I frame as ignorant. You are a provocateur. And this provocation about people letting young, mostly broke, broken, poor, and/or ignorant and not having or having very little hope or vision for the future (who happen to be racialized as black) get a pass because history, fear of being called racist, or fear in general, is a worthwhile one to bring forward.

I also believe articles like this from someone with your influence can foster more ignorance and reinforce false notions of race, especially those racialized as "black", of a small few who hold contemptible ideas about people because of the color of their skin. Some are looking for confirmation of a single hypothesis.

The article's title obviously drew some folks in, including me. And, as you associate with some writers on this platform who I really admire (Holly in particular), I concluded that the provocation was not a reflection of how you see people.

I think it is also essential for your audience to note that there are plenty of so-called "black" people, including the gentleman who moved to Eastern Europe, who hold the behavior you shared from incidents captured and posted online as abhorrent and are clear that these have nothing to do with their particular racialization, upbringing, or culture. The comments seem to reflect that many do and quite a few who do not.

As you can see, I am moving philosophically toward race abolitionism, thus my language of "racialized as" and using "[racial categories]" when describing a racialization.

Since statistics are racialized, I will cite that "blacks" perpetrate more interracial violent offenses than "whites", reinforcing your argument. If the analysis is controlled for poverty, educational levels, marriage, etc. we see very different numbers.

I know this as my early career in epidemiology focused first (before an infectious diseases focus) on violence as a public health issue and the data, while showing that the numbers have gone down a bit (around 20% over a couple of decades), are still much higher for "black" offenders toward "white" victims. The problem cannot be wished away by affective cries of systemic racism or other deflections by well-meaning, but poorly informed or ideologically captured folks.

I live in Switzerland and there have been situations here where poor, undereducated, young people who have, within one (occasionally two) generation(s) immigrated from Eastern urope and Northern Africa act in ways that perpetuate stereotypes about "their kind". One political party in the country would have most of the "Black Sheep" (fabric.so/i/5J16HmWBwSv…) unable to enter the country.

A small few of those folks (mostly young, between 9-15 years old) exhibit behavior significantly different from what the Swiss expect, to say the least. It has led to experiences like visiting (the very clean and well-kept) public swimming pools being unpleasant, even to the point that in one Canton, people coming from across the border from France are no longer admitted.

Other parts of the country wouldn't do this, even when similar dynamics have occasionally occurred, due to concerns about the impact on the kids and families who come and follow the rules, despite a few individuals with similar backgrounds not doing so, which creates havoc for everyone.

I appreciate both positions and respect the courage of Canton, which tightened its belt. They didn't racialize it. Decisions were made based on behavior and they unfortunately impacted everyone from across the French border, including those who would come and behave as expected.

Behavior and race have no correlates. One, because what we call "race" is not real, and two, because context is way more complex than what appears on social media platforms. To conclude differently is to shower (or swim) in logical fallacies.