So I asked a question

on another blog, where there was a discussion about black people being shot at a higher rate than whites by police…Even by other black officers. (the rates of black officer shootings of black suspects are equal to white officers shooting black suspects, which pretty much rules out racism by the white cops….)

I suggested that black people behave differently than whites when confronted by police, and this leads to them having a better chance to be shot….Which led to cries of “Racist” when it was pointed out (Blacks tend to run more than whites, which leads to chases, which leads to more shootings…. Same with simply giving up rather than fighting).
Now, I know a lot of cops, and they all, black and white and hispanic,  say that this is true. One has a better chance of being shot if one runs, and black suspects tend, as a group, to run more often.

I postulated that it is genetics, which at least in part, leads to behavioral traits (Like running and fighting more often that other groups separated out by race) .Certain groups of people, when grouped by race, show similar behavioral patterns. Culture may matter as well, but genetics moreso. I pointed out that folks of Irish and Polish descent still drink a lot despite amalagamation into our greater “melting pot”…..that folks of German descent still tend to be more stubborn…that folks of latin descent tend to be quicker to anger….All of which are true, at least in part, at least in my observations.

Further, I pointed out that we expect certain behavioral traits from certain breeds of animals, (Aggressive dog breeds, ferinstance) so why should we expect humans to be any different??, even before we add in culture…

This led, of course, to anger and cries of racism….yet no one seemed to be able or willing to refute the theory….except they didn’t like the idea at all….But they are, mostly, liberals, so there is that.

What say you? Am I wrong? Are humans terribly different than animals, at the base level? Are behavioral traits entirely non genetic in their origin? Is it only culture that drives our behavior? Learned behavior rather than base level programming that makes us act certain ways under stress and shapes our behavioral traits as a group or race? Or are there other factors which I am not considering that make it appear to be genetic groupings?

3 thoughts on “So I asked a question

  1. Look where "The West" is.

    Now, look where Africa is.

    Same Earth. Same span of time. Heck; scientifically, Africa had a head start!

    I rest my case…

  2. Makes sense to me.

    Warmer climates allow people to freak out and run around like idiots without dying of exposure. Burn your village down? Ah, heck, there's more grass and wood to make a new one. Gee, might even sleep under the stars…

    While up north way… You have to listen to Uncle Sven Rat-Nose, or Gustav, or.. tell the same damned stupid story that you've heard for the last 30 years and you have to take it because the snow and ice are 10' deep and nothing is moving outside except the frost giants.

    Seriously. People from up north tend to be, um, less expressive overall than those from down south. Excessive Expressiveness is deadly in bad weather. Excessive Expressiveness is deadly in areas of limited resources. Sure, momentary bouts of excessive expressiveness are okay, remember the time you screwed up and your father suddenly turned into an evil incarnation of a drill instructor, for 5 minutes, then all was quiet, maybe not cool, but expressivity is okay, in moderation.

    Big floppy Italian or Spanish hand motions? Those suckers will get frostbit up north. Walk outside without 3-5 layers of thick clothing (that restricts movement) and you die.

    Glaring is an art form amongst northern people. And the occasional flying across the dinner table to choke the living crap out of someone. Sure, an Italian glare can be dangerous, but have you ever seen a Finn with ice-fire burning in their eyes, only their eyes, as their fingers slightly twitch towards their pukka? That will strike fear in the hearts of even the most sturdy man.

    Genetic, because that's what the environment selected for. Now that the Diaspora has occurred, learned behavior, but the basis is still genetic.

  3. You can always tell a German, but you can't tell him much!

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