IN LIFE, IT HELPS TO PLAY THE ODDS TO AVOID BEING BLINDSIDED
The world is a dangerous place.
Our five senses constantly feed information to our brain to process so that we can survive.
If we are alert, reasonably well informed and modestly intelligent, our brains can play the odds.
This means we can weigh the probability of something being more likely than not to occur given all the circumstances, and based on the rough statistical knowledge and facts that have been given to our brains.
This leads us, as you probably guessed, into a discussion of increasing your odds of not being a crime victim.
Know right away that you have to guard against being lulled into a false sense of security by lefty newspapers that leave out relevant information in crime stories for PC reasons. (We'll give you some hard, cold statistics on crime below.)
For example, if you read in a story in a local newspaper that a "man was shot in the 2200 block of Harbor Blvd. by a man who then escaped," how would this help you protect yourself and your family, i.e. how would this help you increase the odds so that you or your kids wouldn't be shot?
It wouldn't. There's not enough information given. And, if a local newspaper doesn't give you information to protect yourself and your family, who needs it?
Who the hell needs a local newspaper that withholds facts that, if you knew them, might help you protect your family? Shouldn't a community newspaper serve the community?
Do you see what is missing from that crime report above that, if given, might help you protect your family?
First, most people have no idea of the location of 2200 Harbor Blvd. and won't bother to find out where it is. But, what if you were told that's the K-Mart Shopping Center at the corner of Harbor and Wilson? Now you immediately know where the crime took place.
Second, there are hundreds of men who are often in that area. Will you suspect all men? Probably not. A broad non-description--"a man"--often has the opposite effect of serving as a danger signal. This helps the shooter remain invisible and hide in plain sight.
And, by the way, the shooting actually happened at the front of the center near the Game Stop business. This is within an easy sight line from the donut store in the Center where day workers constantly congregate. Could the shooter be one of them?
No doubt the shooter, who is still on the streets, is probably joyous about the fact that the local newspaper only describes him as "a man." He now knows that his own odds of walking up to and shooting someone else--maybe you or one of your family members--are higher than if a better description had been given of him.
Below are some of the cold statistics we promised. These are from the Department of Justice and they've been compiled into a free book (shown above) that you can download here.
Remember, these are actual statistics and they're from the unbiased Department of Justice.
Crime Rates
Blacks are seven times more likely than people of other races to commit murder, and eight times more likely to commit robbery.
When blacks commit crimes of violence, they are nearly three times more likely than non-blacks to use a gun, and more than twice as likely to use a knife.
Hispanics commit violent crimes at roughly three times the white rate, and Asians commit violent crimes at about one quarter the white rate.
The single best indicator of violent crime levels in an area is the percentage of the population that is black and Hispanic.
Interracial Crime
Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.
Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Forty-five percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic.
When whites commit violent crime, only three percent of their victims are black.
Blacks are an estimated 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against a white than vice versa, and 136 times more likely to commit robbery.
Blacks are 2.25 times more likely to commit officially-designated hate crimes against whites than vice versa.
Gangs
Only 10 percent of youth gang members are white.
Hispanics are 19 times more likely than whites to be members of youth gangs.
Blacks are 15 times more likely, and Asians are nine times more likely.
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ANOTHER COLUMN ABOUT THE UNION PROBLEMS AT COSTA MESA CITY HALL
Barbara Venezia over at the O C Register is the latest columnist to point out the mess Cosa Mesa is in because of the employee unions in a column appearing today. LINK
If you're a regular reader of the CM PRESS you're ahead of Venezia, because you read the details here starting back in February in CM PRESS # 609,#614,#615 and #616.
Yup. There's a real problem in the budget, and the unions apparently don't want to play ball with the City Council. Hey, would you want to give up $60,000 just in overtime in a year? Would you want to actually have to contribute to your own pension? And, would you want to have to actually be polite to citizens who pay you so well? (Don't get us wrong. The City has many very good employees--perhaps the majority--but there are a few bad eggs.)
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Those are our opinions as we continue to do the job that newspapers used to do.
