Maybe Larry Krasner is the racist

District Attorney Larry Krasner, my least favorite elected official, piggybacking on Juneteenth, issued a report saying that Philadelphia’s justice system has a disproportionate impact on Black people, and that impact is negative.

The report, “Racial Injustice Report: Disparities in Philadelphia’s Courts from 2015 to 2022,” studied more than 290,000 cases over the last eight years.

Since the report is 68 pages, I will instead deconstruct the story on the report carried by the Inquirer.

I have provided the link, but since many of you can’t open it, I will use the text written by reporter Beatrice Forman.

But, first, a few quick points.

Right now, Republicans are complaining about a double standard justice system in the United States, as if this was sprung on them like AI chatboxes. They are complaining that Hunter Biden probably won’t get jail time, while some Republicans have. (So have some Democrats, for the record.)

Generally speaking, we all know rich people fare better in the courts because they can hire better lawyers. But it’s not black and white, and money alone can’t keep you out of jail. Ask Harvey Weinstein, Tom Sizemore, Bernie Madoff, Suge Knight, Michael Milken, Michael Vick, Chaka Fattah, Michael Avenatti, Lori Loughlin, Phil Spector, Wesley Snipes. All were rich, all were jailed.

But the truth is, money helps.

Another truth is this: The percentage of Black people sentenced to jail is higher than the percentage of white people sent to the Graybar Hotel.

But that isolated stat does not prove racism, any more than this one: 73% of NBA players are Black. Very disproportionate.

But, some would say, they earned their way into the NBA.

Yes, and the same would be true of most Black people in jail.

Disproportionately Black, too, is the majority of Philadelphia murder victims — 85% — and perpetrators. Sad, shocking, and true.

Any fair-minded person would admit the justice system is not completely fair, and race is unquestionably a factor. But the only factor?

Not in my book. 

The Krasner report studied the injustice between 2015 and 2022. He assumed office in 2018, so for most of the years reviewed, he was the person charging defendants. He was in charge in 2018. He was in charge in 2019. He was in charge in 2020. He was in charge in 2021. He was in charge in 2022. Doesn’t this poor fool realize he has indicted himself?

If the justice system is racist, how is he not to blame?

Finally, look at the chart, showing stops, arrests, convictions, etc. Black percentages are much higher than whites. If that alone proves bias, why are Hispanics lower than whites and Asians are rock bottom? There’s no anti-Hispanic and anti-Asian sentiment? We know that’s not true.

I would like to see a study explaining why Asians are so rarely involved in crime, and so often superior in school. There’s a lot we can learn from them.

OK, on to Ms. Forman’s reporting.

The D.A.’s office has “concluded that the vestiges of slavery, redlining, and the war on drugs . . . Disproportionately impact Black communities.”

Juneteenth reminds us slavery ended 158 years ago, eight generations ago.

Is that a primary cause of Black inequality?

Or might it have more to do with the lagging educational achievement of Black people? 

According to Statista, 35.2% of white people finish college, contrasted to only 25.2% of Blacks. And — get this — 56.9% of Asians.

 You don’t need a college degree to understand the higher your educational attainment, generally speaking, the higher your salary and the better your life. (Not always true as anyone with a master’s in Black lesbian poetry can tell you.)

I acknowledge that schools in “bad” neighborhoods are not as good as schools in “nice” neighbors, but that’s because “bad” neighborhoods tend to be poor and have problems wealthy neighborhoods don’t have. That is more a function of class than race.

The Inquirer reported that at Krasner’s event, City Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier also spoke, and complained that “the government never atoned from its original sin of slavery . . . [and] lawmakers have enacted and encouraged policies that subjugated Black residents to second-class citizenship.” 

In reality, in 2008 the House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing for slavery. Is that not atoning, or does Gauthier have her hand out for reparations?

As to the policies she mentions, does she think this is Reconstruction? She references long-ago policies and makes them seem like current events. Welcome to the Grievance Corner.

During the campaign, Rebecca Rhynhart mentioned “‘built-in racism in the city system.” I would have asked her — and I tried — to show me exactly where the “built-in racism” was and why the two Black mayors who endorsed her — Michael Nutter and John Street — didn’t get rid of it.

We have gotten so used to sloppy charges of “systemic racism” that many use it without thought, or proof. It’s in their Woke DNA.

To be clear, “systemic” means part of the system, while my belief is the “system” are our laws that prohibit discrimination, and when bias exists, and it does, it is outside the system. I don’t think I am splitting hairs. I believe this is a country with racism in it, but I do not believe it is a racist country.

I am not trying to minimize racism, but I can’t maximize it, either. I am surrounded by way too many successful Black people. They are not a fluke. They could not achieve in a truly racist society.

The Inquirer says “the report outlines how the foundations of the legal system started as a means of enforcing slavery.”

Krasner probably believes that, but I don’t. I am willing to tell Krasner — and the 1619 Project — that our earliest laws were drawn from British common law, which developed after the Norman conquest of 1066. It didn’t have a damn thing to do with slavery.

Krasner speaking now: “My predecessors — certainly every single one I observed, perpetuated racism.”

Is he blind? Did he not observe Seth Williams, who is Black? So Krasner has accused a Black man of being a racist. You see how detached from reality this gets? 

Blacks and whites are almost equal in Philly — 38% to 34% — yet Black people are 1.5 times more likely to be stopped by an officer, the report says. Did the report say most of the stops are in poor neighborhoods, which often are high crime? In Philly, most poor neighborhoods are Black, or brown.

Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker, who is Black, said she will continue to use stop-and-frisk as a crime deterrent. Is she also a racist?

Stop-and-frisk is used, the Inquirer said, mostly in neighborhoods of color. It did not accurately describe these neighborhoods as high crime, which they are, unfortunately.

More than half the Black people who entered the criminal justice system were charged with felonies, the Inquirer reported, compared with a quarter of whites. 

I see no mention of how many of these people had prior arrests, which could figure into how they are charged. 

In any event, as I mentioned, Krasner was D.A. for the majority of the years studied. If Blacks were disproportionately charged, he’s the racist.

The report wants to city to acknowledge structural racism exists, then improve the neighborhoods through the greening of vacant lots, revitalizIng blighted properties, and curbing illegal dumping — “all interventions demonstrated to reduce violent crime.”

You know what else reduces violent crime?

Curbing illegal behavior.

Can we convince our racist D.A. to take a shot at that?