The truth about the “desperate poverty and squalor” that putatively caused the murder of two young Englishmen in Florida

In the entry, “NYT to the rescue, lessens significance of murder of Englishmen in Sarasota,” Dean Ericson quoted a story in the Daily Mail that blames black violence on the terrible poverty and other deprivations suffered by blacks in America as a result of the selfishness or cruelty of the white majority. Below, James P. points out how the Mail hilariously undercuts its own claim.

James P. writes:

The Daily Mail says:

Away from the all the luxury and glamour of the attractions and hotels, a gun-toting, drug-fuelled menace awaits where people live in abject deprivation on a scale unimaginable in Britain, with our ge. Nerous welfare state and infrastructure of public services. This desperate poverty and squalor has served as the breeding ground for serious, often lethal crime from young men who feel they have nothing to lose, in a society which has given them nothing. And it is precisely this sense of desperation which makes these neighbourhoods so dangerous for those outsiders unfortunate or foolish enough to enter them.

This quote is quite hilarious in view of the picture the Mail posted of the street where the Englishmen were murdered:

Murder Site: The rundown area in Sarasota where the
two Britons were found, on opposite sides of the road

In this “rundown area,” I see a Jeep Grand Cherokee—looks like the 1999-2004 version, which probably cost over $20,000 new, and still costs $9,000 or $10,000 used. As it happens, this is the type of car car my wife drives. In the foreground is what looks like a Chevy Tahoe, which is nearly $40,000 new and $20,000 used. That’s some “abject deprivation” they’re suffering there! Notable by their absence are the unpaved roads, heaps of garbage, raw sewage, corpses, or wandering livestock one might see in a truly “desperately poor and squalid” Third World country. This street has clean water, power, and trash collection—hardly an example of a society that “gives them nothing.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 21, 2011 10:46 AM | Send