Maggie's Farm

Special Counsel Jack Smith's team admitted on Friday that key evidence in Trump's classified documents case was altered or manipulated

Blacks may want exactly what whites want, but they differ in how they rank these choices and what they are willing to pay for them. These differences are what culture is all about; humans broadly want the same things, but there are sharp differences in how to pursue the things they want. This does not appear in answers to simple poll questions, such as “What do you want?”

A black resident of Selma might love to shop at Walmart because of its low prices and broad selection but only if Walmart does not prosecute shoplifters. His white neighbor, by contrast, sees no personal cost to Walmart’s strict shoplifting policy. Similarly, black parents might want a first-rate education for their children but not if this means strict discipline and coercion. Policy preferences are not stand-alone entities. Life is about trade-offs.

Different hierarchies are particularly evident in combatting crime. While everyone, regardless of race, is anti-crime, many blacks are anti-crime only if eliminating crime does not involve being stopped and frisked by the police, being pulled over for minor automobile infractions, having to undergo criminal-record checks for employment, and similar hassles that reduce crime. Whites do not enjoy police encounters, but accept them as necessary for public safety. In short, blacks often want the benefits of anti-crime measures at impossibly low costs.

In addition, blacks undoubtedly feel that government efforts to “cure” their alleged pathologies are less about kindness than disrespect for their habits.