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Former Education Secretary William Bennett forgot to engage his edit button while speaking on his radio show, "Morning in America" (that's original), said in response to a "hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up":

But I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down...an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

My favorite part is the big "BUT YOUR CRIME RATE WOULD GO DOWN." My second favorite part is his use of the word "tricky." Tricky, why? Because you try to climb out of the hole you know you just dug or because you're trying to figure out how to best justify what you truly believe. "It's a 'tricky' thing this crime rate/abortion thing. How to best prove to the people that I'm right?" Refusing to apologize for his comments, claiming that they were "misunderstood" by the media, Bennett clearly believes that crime=black folks. And I'm sure that sentiment pervades much of the greater white society, those who claim the "race card" is played all too often. This "race card" has always been interesting to me. It assumes, the race card, that everyone is playing on a level deck. "Why the people of color always gotta play the race card?" (Emphasis because those three polite words most likely aren't the words used to desribe the subjects.) Hmmmm, let me see. Oh, I don't know. Could it be because not only do we have to contend with the issues of gender based on their presentation on a daily basis, but also the fact that the color of our skin precedes every step we take down the block. Bags are guarded, streets are crossed in an effort to avoid an uncomfortable situation, and voices are lowered. I see it every day, and I hear it in the words of those who wonder what it is I am. Maybe I'll just start saying, "ask the guy who raped my mom thiry-three years ago." Actually, there are no more maybes, because people will say to me and about me what it is I am. Black, spic, nigga, whatever it is. And my poor white mom didn't abort me. And I haven't committed any crimes. But growing up poor and mulatto of some shade under the radar of crime statistics doesn't prevent the Bennett's of the world from spewing hateful racist rhetoric (if it can be called rhetoric). Failing to look at the greater society as being ultimately responsible for the crime rate is the biggest crime in this situation and it's not changing. Governments all over are setting aside dollar after dollar to build more prisons rather than focusing energies on improving education so future generations have a chance to succeed. Teachers' salaries remain stagnant and classroom sizes bulge out of the seams of tolerance. That's what Bennett should have been paying attention to when deciding to comment on the crime rate in the United States. Any apology at this point would be futile anyway. But what's more frightening is the fact that there are Bennetts everywhere whose beliefs slip through and gain power, as each follower hops on the bandwagon. The White House is pissed at him, as it should be, but he's not the problem. At all. Sadly, the folks who are the real problem have no clue it rests on them.