patrick.net

https://jpfo.org/articles-2023/murder-zones.htm

New research from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) shows, once again, what most of us have known all along: When it comes to murder in America, the country’s millions of lawful gun owners are not the problem.

The research paper by John Lott, founder and president of the CPRC, titled “Murders in U.S. Are Very Concentrated, and They Are Becoming Even More So,” revealed that 2% of American counties experienced 56% of murders in 2020, showing that increasing murder rates are very localized in identifiable hotspots.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/no-sheetz-tuesday-april-23-2024-c

Literally one day after Biden stopped at the Pittsburgh Sheetz convenience store last week, the Department of Justice filed a federal complaint alleging that same family-owned chain discriminates against black folks because it requires a criminal background check in its hiring process.

These days, the EEOC refers to ex-convicts and felons as “justice-involved individuals.” I wish it were, but that is not a joke.

Public reaction has been mixed. First of all, most people do not resonate with the EEOC’s logic. According to the DOJ’s EEOC, since black folks are proportionately more likely than white people to have felony records, the background check requirement is de facto racism, even if Sheetz’s motives are pure, and even if their only goal is to hire better employees. They call this kind of thing “disparate impact.”

EEOC attorney Debra M. Lawrence explained to the Associated Press why Sheetz’s actual motives don’t matter: “Federal law mandates that employment practices causing a disparate impact because of race or other protected classifications must be shown by the employer to be necessary to ensure the safe and efficient performance of the particular jobs at issue," she said.

That’s not all. Even if Sheetz can prove it needs to put non-criminal employees in charge of handling cash, the 600-store chain will still not be out of the federal persecution woods. "Even when such necessity is proven, the practice remains unlawful if there is an alternative practice available that is comparably effective in achieving the employer’s goals but causes less discriminatory effect," DOJ Debra added.

Second, social media was already exploding over the Sheetz story, thanks to a few viral videos suggesting that Biden did not receive a very warm welcome when he stopped there for a milkshake. Maybe if Sheetz had hired more convicts, Biden’s reception would have been a more heartwarming experience. You never know.

So the timing of the EEOC’s lawsuit seemed suspect, like it was payback by the Biden Campaign for Sheetz’s unenthusiasm, and perhaps a dark warning to other small businesses and convenience store chains, to clap harder whenever Biden stumbles along.

It reminds us of like those old Soviet stories about movie theater attendees standing and clapping for hours after the ending of a Stalin propaganda video, in sheer terror of being seen as the first one to stop.

According to the Fox article, Sheetz has been wrangling with the EEOC over this issue for eight years:

"Diversity and inclusion are essential parts of who we are. We take these allegations seriously," Sheetz spokesperson Nick Ruffner said, as reported by The Associated Press. "We have attempted to work with the EEOC for nearly eight years to find common ground and resolve this dispute."
The EEOC disparate impact trick isn’t new, and it hasn’t worked particularly well, not that previous failures are stopping them. According to an article in the New York Post, in 1989, the EEOC sued a Florida trucking company for refusing to hire a Hispanic applicant with multiple arrests and a prison term for larceny. But the federal judge (himself hispanic) scoffed, holding that “EEOC’s position that minorities should be held to lower standards is an insult to millions of honest Hispanics. Obviously a rule refusing honest employment to convicted applicants is going to have a disparate impact upon thieves.”

Perhaps the most ironic and hilarious part of this Sheetzy story is that the federal government — including the EEOC which is suing Sheetz for using criminal background checks in hiring — itself requires applicants to undergo criminal background checks...

Patrick says

Perhaps the most ironic and hilarious part of this Sheetzy story is that the federal government — including the EEOC which is suing Sheetz for using criminal background checks in hiring — itself requires applicants to undergo criminal background checks...

Everything government does would be (is) a crime in the private sector.

richwicks says

Consider this, do you think that black areas are given less policing, and poorer education? I know you are aware of East Palo Alto. They are underpoliced, and I think intentionally.

I don't know the specific area you're talking about in CA personally. We have no active duty cops from 12-7am every day of the week in my town. No break in's. No car theft or robbery. No murder. Education is average.

Policing has nothing to do with it. It's culture and how police are allowed to react to crimes. When you grow up with songs like fuck the police, what's that? You think your kid is going to respect police? I have no interest to interact with police. So I don't do anything to have that interaction with them. Easy. Again, it's culture.

Until blacks want to get out of their dumpster fire, they're doomed. They need to stop blaming whites. Just fucking adult at some point and raise kids with a mom and dad. Doing it now myself. My wife is not his mom obviously, but my nephew is my son. His baby daddy is in prison. I'm not perfect but I manned up and took on another child. So sick (not you) of people making excuses for blacks. Maybe my nephew is the "token" negro, but he's absolutely loved in a white hill billy town. Comes down to parenting and leadership at the end of the day. Blacks don't do that. Ultimately that's on the men.

I will say blacks were given a losing hand when manufacturing moved out of country. But the men didn't adapt to the new culture. So the sons born in the 80's went scorched earth because dad couldn't provide and blamed the police because they didn't have a job. The 80's were a huge turning point.