What If The Answer Isn't What People Think?

The consensus of commenters on the story about a coming race war was that it's really here now.  As Francis Porretto puts it, "It's On".   You should read it.  A commenter links to Vox Popoli and his comment on the killing of "Shorty" Belton.  There's much in both places to contemplate.

As I've said before,

This may shock some people, but I don't really believe there is such a thing as race.  I believe there are nationalities, and people from different areas of the world look different, but those differences are superficial and go away as cultures blend.

Most variation is within, not between, "races." Of the small amount of total human [DNA] variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.  No matter how different you think the Italian and Korean look from each other.

While I don't believe in race, race isn't necessary for there to be race war.  It goes without saying cultures are real and can bring real problems with them.  Cultures can be more powerful than biology; where is a poor child with African ancestry more likely to become a world-leading brain surgeon, in a house with culture expecting - demanding - achievement, or in a house that allows any behavior?  In the 1950s, the black and white illegitimacy rates were essentially the same, about 20%.  Now black children are only born to a married couple 20% of the time.  Several researchers say this is a direct result of redistribution policies that reward broken families and out of wedlock births.  The single biggest determinant of whether a child will grow up in poverty is if the parents stay married, and poverty links to all bad outcomes in life that I know of.  I wrote last December:  

One of the most stunning facts in the culture of dependency is how out of wedlock births changed over time from the world I grew up in.  Anyone remember the lyrics to "Love Child" by the Supremes?  "No child of mine will be bearing, the name of shame I've been wearing"?  It was not something to be proud of.  In today's decadent culture, it's different: by percentages, out of wedlock births account for more than half of the births in the black and Hispanic communities.  Try using the phrase "shotgun wedding" around someone under about 25, see if they know what it is. 

The thug culture that glorifies gangstas, and criminality, along with the destruction of the family by "redistribution" policies, make up the biggest problem.  The murder of in Oklahoma of  Christopher Lane is a perfect example of the thug culture, and has been linked to being a gang initiation rite.  

Indeed, a dark picture emerges as one peruses the social media sites teens like these invariably use to brag about themselves and their exploits. Before it was removed, Chauncy Luna’s Facebook page revealed he goes by the alias Baby Drake. It showed photos of him posing with friends, including Edwards, and flashing gang signs. Two pictures on James “Lilbuggy” Edwards’ Facebook page are also quite revealing. One shows a handgun, and several others show staggeringly large sums of cash. Both may be explained by another photo containing hashtags suggesting he was a member of the Crips. There is also a photo of him posing with a shotgun. ”Bitch we up them poles,” Edwards says in the clip, “F— ‘em.”

It's not purely race.  At least one of them was white, so it can't be.  It can be the rotten culture.  I know several black engineers with sterling character who would no sooner engage in that sort of crime than any of us.  Cultural problems can explain many things: why is achievement so limited in some populations?  Is it a genetically low intelligence or that the culture doesn't reward it, so intelligence is never selected for in reproduction? 

One of the big debates of the 20th century was the effects of "nature vs. nurture".  I've always believed the answer to that question was "both".  A good nurture can get the best out of any gift of nature, but a bad nurture can ruin any nature.