The Facts on Race, Crime, and Policing in America

[DDTSGM]

This article may surprise some of you, it reinforced what I already knew:

[O]fficer race, sex, or experience did not predict the race of a person fatally shot beyond relationships explained by county demographics. On the other hand, race-specific violent crime strongly predicted the race of a civilian fatally shot by police, explaining over 40% of the variance in civilian race. These results bolster claims to take into account violent crime rates when examining fatal police shootings.

https://lawliberty.org/the-facts-on-race-crime-and-policing-in-america/

Some folks don't consider, or maybe don't believe in the socio-economic forces at work, but this is a good summary:

This situation will change significantly when black violent crime rates decline significantly. That won’t occur any time soon, but it will happen. It happened to Irish-Americans who committed crime at exceptionally high rates in the 19th century, and to Italian-Americans who did likewise in the early 20th century. As the United States continues to reduce obstacles to black social advancement, and as African Americans take advantage of the opportunities that this country affords them, their crime too will become a distant memory.

[nalesq]

This article by John McWhorter also discusses the link between poverty and crime, and dismisses the fallacy of black men being killed in disproportionate numbers by police. However, there are still some issues he describes that may require more study. For example:

“Contrary to his expectations, Harvard economist Roland Fryer has found that while white men are actually more likely to be killed by cops, black people are more likely to be handcuffed, pushed against the wall, and treated with weapons drawn. Blacks are still somewhat more likely than whites to suffer physical and verbal abuse from the cops even when the behavior of the suspect is taken into account. Findings like these contribute to a general sense that cops treat black people as an enemy.”

Full article here:

https://quillette.com/2020/06/11/racist-police-violence-reconsidered/



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[HCM]

Facts won’t save us.

We live in an age when stories are truer than the truth.

[willie]

States evaluate schools on student performance data. These include math and reading skills. Two other criterion among several are attendance, discipline actions, and graduation rate. Black students perform abysmally low in reading and math. In my district they show poor attendance and generate a high number of disciplinary actions. The district has employed all the tricks to correct this issue including hiring tons of staff and training and training and training.

If literacy is essential for advancement, then I am discouraged. Believe me when I say that we have dumbed down the curriculum. Parents are content when their kids make high grades. Grade inflation assures their happiness.

[Joe in PNG]

States evaluate schools on student performance data. These include math and reading skills. Two other criterion among several are attendance, discipline actions, and graduation rate. Black students perform abysmally low in reading and math. In my district they show poor attendance and generate a high number of disciplinary actions. The district has employed all the tricks to correct this issue including hiring tons of staff and training and training and training.

If literacy is essential for advancement, then I am discouraged. Believe me when I say that we have dumbed down the curriculum. Parents are content when their kids make high grades. Grade inflation assures their happiness.

One problem is that public education seems to be more about discouraging interest in subjects they're supposed to be teaching. History is made boring and unpalatable. Literature is endless analysis of boring books, or, for minorities, the recommendation of boring books that woke white people think minorities will find significant. Even math has turned into an unworkable mess of useless supposed shortcuts.
It's as if the system was deliberately designed to not work, so the people doing it can continue to ask for more money. And of course the minorities are the hardest hit.

[willie]

There is some truth in what you say. I want to point out that in the districts with high minority populations, white people have fled. The people asking for more money in many cases are minority leaders. The kids are from neighborhoods whose people have high incidences of addiction and crime. Their families are fragmented. Ex offenders are high in number. And so in. Money has not solved these problems. Risk factors abound in families.

[Joe in PNG]

There is some truth in what you say. I want to point out that in the districts with high minority populations, white people have fled. The people asking for more money in many cases are minority leaders. The kids are from neighborhoods whose people have high incidences of addiction and crime. Their families are fragmented. Ex offenders are high in number. And so in. Money has not solved these problems. Risk factors abound in families.

If you can get money & votes to fix a problem, there's no real incentive to fix the problem. In fact, one may even have a perverse incentive to sabotage any effective solutions to keep the money coming. Why break your rice bowl?

[trailrunner]

One problem is that public education seems to be more about discouraging interest in subjects they're supposed to be teaching. History is made boring and unpalatable. Literature is endless analysis of boring books, or, for minorities, the recommendation of boring books that woke white people think minorities will find significant. Even math has turned into an unworkable mess of useless supposed shortcuts.


Maybe. In the district where my wife teachers they often change the teaching techniques. That's both good and bad. It demonstrates a commitment for constant improvement, and supposedly incorporates the latest research on teaching effectiveness. On the other hand, there are only so many ways to teach things.




It's as if the system was deliberately designed to not work, so the people doing it can continue to ask for more money. And of course the minorities are the hardest hit.

I disagree that "the system was deliberately designed to not work." Again, I can only base my conclusion on my wife's school district, but they are constantly trying to make it work. Nobody is trying to make it fail just so they can get more funding.

It's easy to say that our education system is broken, but I don't agree. My kids were more well rounded than I was, and learned a lot of things I didn't learn. When I took the A and B AP calculus exams back in the late 70s, that was noteworthy, but now it's much more common.

Yes, our school district asks for more and more funding every year, and warns that the sky will fall if their bloated budget request isn't approved. But that's more of a result of bloat that you'll find in almost every government agency.

As far as minorities being hit the hardest: again, I disagree. There is a constant review of curricula to ensure that it is appropriate for a diverse audience. My wife teaches at the greatest minority school in the district (e.g., in almost 15 years there, she has had less than 5 white students, and it may only be 2). The resources committed to that school are probably 50 percent more than the resources provided at a typical white suburban school. Again, my observation is based on a single school district, but it is large and one of the leading school districts in the nation.

[willie]

These districts have an extremely high employee turnover from top to bottom. My opinion is that where I worked incompetence inhibited success. This applies to all groups. When a high percentage of students come from the same neighborhoods and their families have lived there for generations, one wonders whether or not a sub culture of failure now exists. Note I said wonder.

[Joe in PNG]

Didn't someone once say something to the effect that it is difficult to distinguish active malice from utter incompetence? It may not be deliberately designed to have a negative effect, but the end result tends to be the same anyway for a lot of schools.

That your district is successful is interesting- what are they doing differently that the unsuccessful districts aren't? It might be something like more parental involvement, or general public attitudes toward education, or other factors that you can't every buy no matter how high the education budget.

[ralph]

If you can get money & votes to fix a problem, there's no real incentive to fix the problem. In fact, one may even have a perverse incentive to sabotage any effective solutions to keep the money coming. Why break your rice bowl?

You hit the nail on the head...There’s no money in solving problems....

[ranger]

Facts won’t save us.

We live in an age when stories are truer than the truth.

Agreed. Facts vs emotions.

[blues]

People can learn in one room school shacks or through Peace Corps instructors or myriad other methodologies.

It requires someone willing to teach and someone willing to learn. More books, computers and other resources are great...but it still boils down to some essentials.

There are a million and one excuses for why this or that program didn't work, from money for the school, poverty in the community, one parent homes etc etc. And while any number of factors can play a role, it doesn't change the fact that you needed asses in the seats paying attention to the instructors for learning to occur.

And how about learning outside of the classroom, via self motivation?

I can't even fathom what would happen if the federal gov't ever brought back the PACE test to screen applicants for civil service positions.

I agree with trailrunner. I have several educators in the family...including my wife who taught at Montessori in FL, and nephew teaching in the NYC high school system.

Excuses are rampant. What is needed is effort. Being poor doesn't stop one from learning. Nor does race. And yes, it does help if you have family that encourages one, and teachers that care if you succeed. The rest is effort...not excuses.

[Oldherkpilot]

People can learn in one room school shacks or through Peace Corps instructors or myriad other methodologies.

It requires someone willing to teach and someone willing to learn. More books, computers and other resources are great...but it still boils down to some essentials.

There are a million and one excuses for why this or that program didn't work, from money for the school, poverty in the community, one parent homes etc etc. And while any number of factors can play a role, it doesn't change the fact that you needed asses in the seats paying attention to the instructors for learning to occur.

And how about learning outside of the classroom, via self motivation?

I can't even fathom what would happen if the federal gov't ever brought back the PACE test to screen applicants for civil service positions.

I agree with trailrunner. I have several educators in the family...including my wife who taught at Montessori in FL, and nephew teaching in the NYC high school system.

Excuses are rampant. What is needed is effort. Being poor doesn't stop one from learning. Nor does race. And yes, it does help if you have family that encourages one, and teachers that care if you succeed. The rest is effort...not excuses.

Reminds me of an old saying: "Simple solutions to complex problems will not be tolerated."

[beenalongtime]

You hit the nail on the head...There’s no money in solving problems....


There is lots of money in solving problems.
Searching for the cure comes to mind.

Now if the cure was actually ever found, would it be available or would they just keep marketing treatments, would be my question.

[Borderland]

People can learn in one room school shacks or through Peace Corps instructors or myriad other methodologies.

It requires someone willing to teach and someone willing to learn. More books, computers and other resources are great...but it still boils down to some essentials.

There are a million and one excuses for why this or that program didn't work, from money for the school, poverty in the community, one parent homes etc etc. And while any number of factors can play a role, it doesn't change the fact that you needed asses in the seats paying attention to the instructors for learning to occur.

And how about learning outside of the classroom, via self motivation?

I can't even fathom what would happen if the federal gov't ever brought back the PACE test to screen applicants for civil service positions.

I agree with trailrunner. I have several educators in the family...including my wife who taught at Montessori in FL, and nephew teaching in the NYC high school system.

Excuses are rampant. What is needed is effort. Being poor doesn't stop one from learning. Nor does race. And yes, it does help if you have family that encourages one, and teachers that care if you succeed. The rest is effort...not excuses.

I'm thinking the same thing.

Could be the way that kids are raised by their parents or parent. Expected to fail and they probably fail. The educational system can't replace positive encouragement from a parent. I'm not sure why so many people feel that the tax payer should be on the hook for a student who fails to achieve. The opportunity is there if one would like to take advantage of it.

I didn't have an ideal childhood, nobody does. My parents divorced when I was 10. I wasn't really interested in getting good grades in HS but I did the work and graduated. After a stint in the military I figured out that I needed to go to college but I didn't start until I was 27. With a degree, work experience and veteran status I was able to land a decent job. Some people figure it out and some never do. I certainly wouldn't blame the educational system on the fact that I was a poor student in HS.

[ralph]

There is lots of money in solving problems.
Searching for the cure comes to mind.

Now if the cure was actually ever found, would it be available or would they just keep marketing treatments, would be my question.

My post was aimed at government...not the private sector, A good example of that for me is here locally, The school board decided that they wanted to build new “super schools “ having elementary, middle, and high schools all in one giant complex about $106 million dollars worth, putting us taxpayers on the hook for the next 40-50 years. They decided that a local golf course that was up for sale was a good location..problem was, said golf course is located in a flood zone and is well known for flooding.. They were so cock sure that their levy would pass that they made a deal with the golf courses owner, that they would pay him to keep the property off the market.. They agreed to pay him $25,000 down with monthly payments of $13,500 thereafter, until November of this year.. only there’s one problem, the levy didn’t pass, 1800 people voted for it, and almost 5000 voted against it, there’s not enough time for them to try a special election, (I suspect they know it’ll get turned down again, but only worse) but due to the coronavirus the state is pulling its share of the funding in October, in the meantime, they’re still paying the owner of the golf course, now, they’re trying to weasel out of the contract, but I don’t think they can..they’ll end up paying over $100,000 of the taxpayers money for nothing.. Washington does the same thing but on a larger scale blowing billions, and trillions of dollars on dumb shit.. That, in a nutshell was my point..

[fixer]

Many different studies done in recent years showing that there are cultural issues that are far, far, far more close to a root cause than structural or institutional issues. Not to mention "privileges" by different groups.

[RoyGBiv]

Excuses are rampant. What is needed is effort. Being poor doesn't stop one from learning. Nor does race. And yes, it does help if you have family that encourages one, and teachers that care if you succeed. The rest is effort...not excuses.

Exactly this.

I graduated from a >95% minority (I'm white), poor, inner city high school that was shuttered years ago for poor performance. I have a masters degree from a prestigious, world renowned university. I grew up hating my station but realized early that education was the way out. I knew only a handful of other people who didn't do drugs. I love my parents, but they didn't do much beyond food and shelter to help me get to college. "Can I have a copy of your tax return Dad?", "Why?," So I can apply for money for school. "

Everyone I went to HS with had access to the same classes as me. Only 65% graduated. Choices.

[UNK]

My kids were in a Magnet program. Probably the top rated magnet program of its type in the country. It was placed in the worst performing school in the county I assumed to help that schools abysmal scores. Regardless of race any group that glorifies violence, drugs sex and lawlessness is doomed.
Not everyone succumbs to peer pressure. My son didnt and he graduated with honors. My daughter did and had to be moved to a different school where she now thrives.
The problem as I see it is cultural.

[BaiHu]

The problem with education is the same problem we see with the police--attitude.

If you are influenced by an attitude of intellectual nihilism and seemingly arbitrary mental gymnastics (white suburban kids mainly) and the familial nihilism as a fatherless child that look at authority (read genuine men) with disdain, and as someone who has left you in their time of need, then you get failed schools and failed civility.

The police and educators have come to the same 2 solutions: lower the standards/accountability while inflating the "grades" of unacceptable behavior and poor grades. They're the same thing.

I wrote a large piece on FB regarding standards and accountability, but I won't rehash it here. However, I'll give a snippet that will give you the "color" of my thought process.


Part of this problem comes from a lack of accountability. When we, as a society, don't nip the above issues in the bud, they become the norm, whence the reduction in standards and civility.

Part of the reaction to the above is a sense that too many people are not being held accountable. Instead of starting with holding ourselves and our circle accountable, we abdicate accountability to someone else. Typically a faceless and unaccountable bureaucracy. One that typically knows nothing about us.

When we abdicate our personal responsibility to police ourselves and our immediate circle, we lose ourselves in the whirlwind of someone else's idea of who we are. Despite the lack of connection to said entity. Ergo the two types of nihilism I mentioned above. If you've got nothing to live for and no purpose, then...

[EPF]

People can learn in one room school shacks or through Peace Corps instructors or myriad other methodologies.

It requires someone willing to teach and someone willing to learn. More books, computers and other resources are great...but it still boils down to some essentials.

There are a million and one excuses for why this or that program didn't work, from money for the school, poverty in the community, one parent homes etc etc. And while any number of factors can play a role, it doesn't change the fact that you needed asses in the seats paying attention to the instructors for learning to occur.


My former Team Sergeant and close friend now teaches History in a junior high with 75% African Americans feeding from a large housing project. To me he is more of a hero today than he was while saving my dumb ass, although he would be upset if he heard me suggest that. He just tries to be a good teacher and doesn’t get involved in the politics and racial stuff. I honestly don’t know how he gets up the motivation to face the utter desperation and despair he faces every day. What he sees and deals with is unbelievably horrific and I feel so sorry for those kids.

For example, the housing project has a YouTube channel where they publish videos of the “mom fights” from each weekend. There are many other videos of middle school girls put up to fighting each other while crowds of moms and little kids cheer them on. It’s horrifying.

I have no idea what a solution to this is. But I don’t think there is a financial or programmatic way out of it. It’s so sad.

[andre3k]

Thomas Sowell was explaining this stuff 40 years ago and people didn't want to hear it then.

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[blues]

Thomas Sowell was explaining this stuff 40 years ago and people didn't want to hear it then.

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He and my father were probably at Stuyvesant High School at the same time.

As fate would have it, instead of dropping out and joining the Marines as Mr. Sowell did, my father finished up at James Monroe H.S. in the Bronx, graduated and reunited his two brothers and sister with their mother, all of whom, including himself, had been in separate foster homes until he did so. Then, as he became their sole support, the Army told him he could not go to Korea as they had no other means of support.

Mr. Sowell is certainly a great inspiration for all he has accomplished, imho.

[RoyGBiv]

Thomas Sowell was explaining this stuff 40 years ago and people didn't want to hear it then.

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Jefferson was a few years ahead of Sowell ;)

“I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but rather leading or driving them out of it.” —Benjamin Franklin

[blues]

Jefferson was a few years ahead of Sowell ;)

Wait, so you quote Franklin and credit Jefferson? Is this a classic bait and switch? ;)

[RoyGBiv]

Wait, so you quote Franklin and credit Jefferson? Is this a classic bait and switch? ;)

Busted. :o

I blame it on this diet orange Sunkist. It's deliciously distracting.

[DDTSGM]

I think that we are all aware of the impact that family and socioeconomic status play in school achievement and overall dropout rates.

I always appreciate the anecdotal stories of success. I notice that some degree of family involvement, a parent, grandparent or other mentor, is usually present. As an example, someone reported that their parents divorced, that doesn't necessarily mean both parents stepped out of the picture.

Sometime ago I read that the indicators of youths escaping poverty were: 1) two parent family; 2) graduate high school: 3) no teenage pregnancy/family.

Here are some data on those factors:

Dropout Reduction: Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery

Family/Home Factors:

Low socioeconomic status
Numerous family responsibilities
No parental involvement in school
Low parental expectations
Non-English speaking home
Child abuse or neglect
Domestic violence
High mobility
Homelessness
Little opportunity for learning outside of school
Low educational attainment of parent(s)

http://www.doe.mass.edu/dropout/overview.html?section=riskfactors

A core American ideal is that all children should have a clear pathway to thrive and prosper as adults. Yet, children in poverty—particularly children who are persistently poor—face steep obstacles on their path to economic success. More than 1 in 10 US children grow up in persistently poor families—spending at least half their childhood living in poverty. These children are significantly less likely to succeed economically as adults than their non-poor and less-poor counterparts. And the economic effects go beyond those borne by these children; child poverty costs the United States billions of dollars a year in lost productivity and expenses related to poor health and crime.

This report examines the paths persistently poor children take into adulthood and highlights characteristics of those who are “most successful” as young adults—defined as consistently connected to work or school and not poor. We answer the following research questions:

1) What paths do persistently poor children take in early adulthood (ages 19–30)?
» What are their patterns of employment and school attendance?
» What are their patterns of poverty?
2) What characteristics differentiate persistently poor children who are more and less economically successful as young adults?

These findings are consistent with earlier research showing that people who experience poverty as children are more likely to experience poverty as adults, are less likely to graduate high school and go on to college, and are less likely to be consistently employed as young adults. Even though we observe large racial disparities in the likelihood of being persistently poor, white and black persistently poor children have similar young adult outcomes.

Among young adults who were persistently poor as children, those in the most successful group are significantly more likely to enter their 20s with no teen birth and attain higher levels of education than those in the two less successful groups.

More than two-thirds (69 percent) of young women in the most successful group avoid having a child as a teenager, compared with only 38 percent of those in the middle group and 23 percent of those in the least successful group. Among all females in the PSID born during these same years (1968–85), 80 percent avoid having a teen birth.

Eighty-five percent of young adults in the most successful group complete high school by age 20, compared with only 57 percent of those in the middle group and 44 percent of those in the least successful group.

The differences are starker for postsecondary education. Young adults in the most successful group are three times more likely to enroll in college by age 25 than those in the middle group (57 percent versus 19 percent) and six times more likely than those in the least successful group (57 percent versus 9 percent). Further, while nearly one in five (18 percent) young adults in the most successful group completes four years of college by age 25, 0–1 percent of the other two groups do.

The most successful persistently poor children have high school completion and college enrollment rates similar to the national average for all children in the PSID. The completion of a four-year college degree, however, falls below the national average (see figure 7).

A large majority—87 percent—of young adults in the most successful group set up their own household by age 25, compared with 72 percent and 57 percent of those in the middle and least successful groups (not shown). We look at this element of young adults’ lives to rule out the possibility that those in the most successful group are more likely to rely on their parents or other adults for support than less successful groups. The data, however, show that people in the most successful group are more independent.

Parents’ Characteristics and Family Circumstances during Childhood

Parents’ characteristics at the child’s birth: Persistently poor children are generally born to parents with low education levels. Even among young adults in the most successful group, only 58 percent are born to parents who have completed high school. This share is low relative to the 86 percent of all children in the PSID born in the same period.19 Parents’ educational attainment is lower for the middle and the least successful groups (45 to 47 percent), although only the difference between the most successful and middle groups is statistically significant. Although the difference between groups is modest, the pattern is consistent with the literature showing that children of less educated parents have lower academic achievement.

Those in the most successful group are more likely to be born to married parents. In addition, they are—unexpectedly—more likely to be born to a teenage mother. This analysis measures the mother’s age at the child’s birth, not whether the mother ever had a teenage birth, which complicates the interpretation. If having an older mother is an indicator of more children in the family, for example, then these families may face greater economic hardship, which would help to explain the pattern.

Family characteristics from birth to age 17: Among young adults who were persistently poor as children, those in the most successful group spend a larger share of their childhood living above the poverty level and in families strongly connected to employment (family head or spouse works at least 1,000 hours a year—that is, half-time). They also spend less of their childhoods in a family with a disabled head or spouse.

Young adults in the most successful group spend, on average, half (52 percent) of their childhood in a family with a strong connection to employment. The share of years with a strong connection to employment is lower for those in the middle and least successful groups: 44 percent and 35 percent, respectively. This relationship holds true at all three stages of childhood (birth to age 5, ages 6–11, and ages 12–17): greater connection of parents (or other family heads) to employment among the most successful young adults.

Overall, persistently poor children fare better when they spend more years living above the poverty level, when they are not poor early in life (birth to age 2), and when the family head or spouse is strongly connected to work. Another notable difference is for children who grow up with a family head or spouse who has a disability, especially during adolescence. These children are particularly vulnerable to future poverty and disconnectedness.

Escaping Poverty - Urban Institute www.urban.org › sites › default › files › publication › e...

I think we need to remember this rather profound description:

When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes
an escape.... In the same way, the human stuggles ...
with the hooks that catch him. Sometime he masters his
difficulties; sometimes they are too much for him. The
struggles are all that the world sees, and it usually
misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to
understand what is happening to a hooked one.

Karl A. Menninger (b.1893)
"The Human Mind"

Although Meninger was not speaking of poverty, the lesson is that all people don't experience the same things, and if they do, they don't interpret them the same way.

Poverty doesn't excuse criminality, but I think it is important that we understand the role poverty plays in criminality. As a nation we need to address poverty in a many that is fair and equitable to all, not by handouts, but hand ups.

That's all I got.

[GyroF-16]

There’s some profound stuff in there.
Thanks for posting, Dan Lehr!

[Tod-13]

I disagree that "the system was deliberately designed to not work."

Then you haven't been paying attention. Read The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling by John Taylor Gatto, and give us an update. In particular, pay attention to the historical parts about how the design of the US education system was decided and the model chosen.

https://archive.org/details/JohnTaylorGattoTheUndergroundHistoryOfAmericanEduc ationBook

[rob_s]

One problem is that public education seems to be more about discouraging interest in subjects they're supposed to be teaching. History is made boring and unpalatable. Literature is endless analysis of boring books, or, for minorities, the recommendation of boring books that woke white people think minorities will find significant. Even math has turned into an unworkable mess of useless supposed shortcuts.
It's as if the system was deliberately designed to not work, so the people doing it can continue to ask for more money. And of course the minorities are the hardest hit.

It’s all economics (freakonomics style). The government (aka “public”) school system is a socialist endeavor to begin with, led and populated almost entirely by “those who can’t” where advancement to leadership is straight out of Animal Farm, and all of which operates 24/7 by the credo “first, do not get us sued” (can anyone translate that to Latin?).

[RoyGBiv]

How a Conservative Commentator Turned the Left's Cancel Culture Campaign Against Itself (https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/06/22/how-a-conservative-commentator-turned-the-lefts-cancel-culture-campaign-against-n2571015)


Conservative commentator Jesse Kelly has decided to bring the war home for these clowns, compiling a list of institutions that should be canceled due to the Left’s new rules on this matter. If you’re a member of the liberal elite, you should be ashamed. The entire Ivy League was built on racism. Granted, some of you knew this already. New York City was named after James, the Duke of York, and eventual King of England (James II), who, along with his brother, King Charles II, created a global monopoly on the slave trade. William M. Rice, who founded Rice University, wanted the institution to be “whites only.” Elihu Yale, who founded Yale University, was a slave trader as well. Oh, and you bet some liberals were not happy with Kelly making fun of them.

ETA. Much more here if my link works.
1275404462417477632

[OlongJohnson]

Didn't someone once say something to the effect that it is difficult to distinguish active malice from utter incompetence? It may not be deliberately designed to have a negative effect, but the end result tends to be the same anyway for a lot of schools.

I've said for many years that ignorance, stupidity and laziness are functionally interchangeable with evil.