William Bennett – former education secretary under President Reagan, author of the Book of Virtues and avid gambler – made news recently for his suggestion that “you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”
Though it is true that crime is higher among the African-American population, its root causes are not found in race. Poverty and other inequalities that result from a centuries-old system of slavery and segregation which ended only four decades ago have yet to be erased.
In all fairness, Bennett was speaking hypothetically in response to a similar point from the other side of the political spectrum – that crime is down in general because abortion is up. Bennett used a hypothetical statement to point out that abortion is not necessarily justified as a means to an end.
But in the course of trying to make a valid point, Bennett entered into a minefield involving two of the most controversial subjects of our day – abortion and race. These two subjects are the same sparks that have set off heated debate surrounding the last two protests on our campus in as many weeks. In a brief moment of carelessness, Bennett managed to roll both into one.