Cognitive Dissonance and Crime in Large Cities

"In any case, many people talk to their pets and feel better in the process, so why not talk to a psychologist."

Heh. THE VIOLENCE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME

I consider most of the social sciences, psychology included, to be no more than pseudo-sciences, in envy of the real sciences where measurement and precision are possible. In psychology we had the fantasies of Freud, with his compellingly well-balanced complexes of Oedipus for boys and Electra for girls; then we had the “science” of Behaviorism that borrowed a few concepts from the theory of systems in Electrical Engineering, treating the human psyche as a closed system; nowadays we have things that seem to make more sense, like the Stoic-reminiscent method of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, but what do I know.

Cognitive dissonance is a different case, and really does seem to exist.

As a foreigner without the legacy of being indoctrinated in an American high school, the reality of black criminality is completely obvious to me. I look at the numbers and there it is, like the Mona Lisa emerging from a set of pigments on a canvas. Yet mention this to Americans, especially members of the professional class such as my fellow management consultants, and you get giggles, wrath, shrieks, embarrassment, and general idiocy. Meaning, you witness a cognitive dissonance.

Cite the FBI Uniform Crime Report (now called "Crime in America" or something) and you will be called RACIST. (Does that mean the FBI is racist?) Well, first they will challenge you with "Where did you get that data?" Anything that challenges their preconceptions MUST come from a Trump website, or something.

The carnage in Chicago is unbelievable. We finished 2020 with 769 homicides, almost all black-on-black, or about 20 cases per 100,000 residents. This is about the murder rate of Mexico. This is much higher than the rate of death from war, terrorism, and homicide combined in Israel in a given year (about 1.5 per 100,000 residents. Think about it next time you wonder if it’s safe to visit). Yet here is the New York Times telling us it’s really not that bad! What’s a little slice of the Third-World by the Great Lakes. The gender-studies majors of the NYT editorial board assure us this is just a mathematical misperception.

Anyway, click thru for more.

[Note to self: Don't trust spelling ability in the middle of the night.]