As far as the topic of discussion, I don't open my door to anyone going door-to-door. If I want magazines, I order them from the publisher and when I want religion, I go to church.

dell, racism cuts both ways. So in order for EVERYONE, Black, White, Brown, etc. to get beyond it, we should discuss it so that we can live up to what we celebrated 2 days ago in declaring our independance, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created equal."

At least for this example in Cleveland Park, there was no mention that the man was young. Then again, young is relative these days. To get to the crux of the matter, let's define young as 15-30. Yes, it's a wide swath, and criminals do exist outside of this range, but go with me on this. Outside of the racist and race-realist rhetoric (of which David Duke and other neo-Nazi/white supremacists subscribe to), your comments comprise the crux of it all --- People respond to what they see, not necessarily by what is rational. Okay, I get that. The "uncomfortable" sight of an African-American male along with incomplete statistics would make anyone fearful. A young Black man's own mother wouldn't even open the door for him based on that. However, it is far too easy to generalize than to look at things on an individual basis.

Not everyone has good discernment, but to make it reasonably fair and answer your question of doubt, I just assume not answer the door to anyone - White, Black, Brown, Purple, etc. than to isolate one ethnicity based solely on appearance. No, I don't usually open my doors for strangers. Gone are the days when Ed McMahon would come by with a Publisher's Clearing House Check. However, for the times that I have opened my door, usually I engage the person to a point where whatever they are peddling or spreading, they don't come back again. I'm respectful and courteous, but make sure they understand that I don't do door to door --- whether she is a hot babe or not Angry Al!

Seriously though, there is an epidemic plaguing African-American males. Some of it is self-inflicted, but by no means should it be a condemnation of an entire ethnic subgroup. Using the “1 of 3” statistic that I've heard almost 20 years ago, does anyone mention what the other 2/3rds are doing? Usually not. "Statistically speaking", countless episodes of Cops, America's Most Wanted, and evening news are dedicated to reporting and presenting the troubled 1/3 to a point where the majority of African-American males (2/3rds) are marginalized. If all of African-American males were criminals and killers, there would be no more as they would all be in jail or dead by now. Not only that, but when future generations see African-American males, what do they see portrayed in entertainment? The troubled 1/3. Every stereotype, act of buffoonery, criminal action, etc. is not just ingested by African-American culture but Pop-Culture --- A life-imitating-art death sentence.

Still the picture has been painted. Purportedly 40% of all incarcerated are African-American, which is startling. Juxtapose that to more African-American males in college than imprisoned (at least some time ago). Both statistics constitute a subset of the 15-30 year-olds, mentioned above.

I'm not here to tell you what to do in your home, especially if confronted with a *real* threat. However, consider this --- African-Americans males have further progress to make. Some of this progress is being undermined by those whom they try to help. Do you want to add to the problem by generalization? I don't. So, instead of closing the door, maybe open one, talk to or engage one of these African-American young males. That is the only way to change the systemic tide of criminality that you see. I would like to think you'd want to live in a modicum of peace without clutching your handgun for security.

Hopefully this discourse should serve to confront our beliefs, assumptions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings at the "door", and not be limited to an African-American male.

What person in his right mind would open a door to a young black man?

I doubt even you would.

You mention all these stats, but you are forgetting one key aspect. It's YOUNG black males that are responsible for most of the crime and mayhem. So of course, if you factor in all the old black men and women, and black women in general, the percentages of black crime, although high enough, are skewed downward.

If you focus ONLY on black males, isn't it like 1 out of 3 of them are or have been in jail/prison? So that' a 33% chance that the young black man on your doorstep is or will become a criminal - maybe getting his first taste of crime with you as the victim. Add in the reality that urban areas like CP have yet even higher crime than suburbs and rural areas, and that 33% could easily become 50% or more.

It's not so much that it is a black person at the doorstep, but a young black male. Were they elderly black men or young black women, the entire scenario changes.

Yes, to some people, racism/realism is a prime example of thoughtcrime. They appoint themselves Thought Police.

According to Q here, racism is an order of magnitude worse than dealing crack, stealing and general mischief.

I don't go around hating people. I just acknowledge that there are differences between the races. I'm hardly KKK material.

Maybe blacks should stop blaming whitey and blame their ancestor Ham. Go read about it in Genesis. Their problems don't come from (perceived) oppression!

Racists are much, much worse than the rapists, murderers, and thieves they bitch about.

Only in America.

The reality is, blacks are more prone to committing crime, so it's no wonder people don't trust them.

Funny how in the Appalachian range you see a lot of poverty but not a lot of crime. I wonder why that is...?