Comments on: Bank robber gets PROSECUTOR sympathy…gets sentence reduced

By: credo

credo — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:09:06 +0000

“I think that given the economic hardship that white middle and upper-income Michiganders are facing, that it is ABOUT to be a pattern.”

Race and class. Interesting. But even a poor raced white will get a listen to than a well spoken middle class raced African-American. Matter of fact, his class may place him in a special category as a suspect.

Like, what is someone who looks like you driving this expense car where that question would probably not be thought if it was a raced white man beyond the vehicle.

race and class..degree of separation..I can’t buy..you can fake class but you can’t fake the color of your skin.

I am not talking about those who fair skin enough to not look black.

By: The New Poor : Dr. Lester K. Spence

The New Poor : Dr. Lester K. Spence — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:33:27 +0000

[...] I guess “the new poor” is better than “the underclass”. But just as no one who is considered a member of “the underclass” would actually claim the moniker, I’m not sure how many people would claim being part of “the new poor” either. Unfortunately though, unlike “the underclass”–whose defining traits slip and slide from scholar to scholar–the makeup of the new poor is remarkably clear. Last week I wrote about the bank robber who got off light? [...]

By: Lester Spence

Lester Spence — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:44:48 +0000

I think that given the economic hardship that white middle and upper-income Michiganders are facing, that it is ABOUT to be a pattern. They aren’t going to take the change in their status lying down, particularly as the various bill-collectors will not show as much sympathy towards them as the prosecutor in this case.

And I think what happens is that we “naturalize” difference. Our ideas about what is similar and dissimilar here don’t come naturally, but rather are produced by various social and political forces.

By: albatross

albatross — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:37:04 +0000

Is there really a pattern of white bank robbers getting off with only a year in jail? Iâ€™ve never heard of something like this before.

By: Submariner

Submariner — Thu, 03 May 2007 02:13:59 +0000

Dr. Spence,the unfortunate truth is that we are more likely to empathize with those who are most similar to us or ones we know and love. Race and class do have a major role but I think the human psyche is just hard wired in this fashion. I can recall some years ago a couple of young white boys shot up a school in the heartland; a sheriff responding to the scene approached one boy who had his gun drawn and was reluctant to shoot because the kid reminded him of his son. I’m sure if it was a black kid he would have been objective and shot the suspect as the sitaution justified. This is a high profile case but I’m sure that this happens on the lower fequencies with blacks as well. What I was surprised to learn is that some conservatives, notably Senator Brownback, are calling for prison reform that would greatly emphasize rehabilitation over punishment. How do you think they have come to this point?

By: tootsie

tootsie — Wed, 02 May 2007 20:18:02 +0000

Doc”But somethings tells me there else going on here”I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg,the economic decline have not fully hit in Mich.when it does criminality will across 8 mile equally,and Amerika is not capable of locking up in any significant numbers white or black citizens.

By: Lester Spence

Lester Spence — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:09:42 +0000

well, if he’s white and poor this doesn’t happen. he’s black and middle class this likely doesn’t happen. class and race privilege wrapped up into one.

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 02 May 2007 13:40:26 +0000

Hey Lester.

That’s a pretty remarkable story – but less so in metro Detroit. I’m sure you know already that this area is the most racially segregated in the nation. Race is everything out here, and everything is race. So to see a white man getting leniency from the court for robbing a bank because times are hard???

This hasn’t got a thing to do with acknowledging the reality of overflowing prisons although, like you, I sincerely wish it did.

By: BronzeTrinity

BronzeTrinity — Wed, 02 May 2007 02:23:58 +0000

Okay. I saw the photo of the guy and he isn’t Black. I agree with Credo, they would not have been as easy on the guy if he was Black. They would have sentenced him to life or maybe 7 years like Shaquanda Cotton at least. I don’t think this type of thing would happen to a person of colour.

By: Lester Spence

Lester Spence — Wed, 02 May 2007 01:31:55 +0000

he’s male. “homeboy” for me is a universal male pronoun.