Statistics are a liberal’s best friend because much like our immigration laws, they can be manipulated to achieve whatever means they choose to pursue. At the same time, there’s the old saying that some attribute to Mark Twain that may be applicable here: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
America continues to mourn the senseless deaths of 19 elementary school children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, over the Memorial Day weekend, but that didn’t seem to slow the carnage of gun violence in many American cities, chief among them Chicago.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Chicago “lived up to its violent expectations,” reporting that 48 people were shot over the long holiday weekend, with nine fatalities. A 16-year-old girl was among the wounded, yet liberal singer John Legend felt compelled to take to social media to defend the Windy City — as might be expected, he accused those who see the city as violent of being racist while suggesting it’s safer to live in Chicago than Wyoming.
Legend has been on a gun control tear since the Uvalde massacre by a now-deceased 18-year-old who exhibited many of the red flags often associated with psychopaths.
“A lot of ‘what about Chicago?’ in my mentions whenever I talk about guns. We all want Chicago to be safer but please see the list of states with the highest gun mortality rates. See how far you have to go down to get to Illinois,” he tweeted on Monday.
A lot of “what about Chicago?” in my mentions whenever I talk about guns. We all want Chicago to be safer but please see the list of states with the highest gun mortality rates. See how far you have to go down to get to Illinois. Link – https://t.co/0onKlCheXa pic.twitter.com/6zwnqtYIQ3
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 29, 2022
He followed that up with a tweet that linked to a CBS News report on the “deadliest” U.S. cities — with most being Democrat-run.
“And Chicago is 28th in murder rates among American cities,” Legend remarked. “If you always bring up Chicago, you’re probably deflecting from a conversation you’re afraid to have, you watch too much Tucker Carlson, and/or you just MIGHT also be a racist.”
All of which brings one back to statistics. When reporting on gun violence, suicides are often included in the figures — nearly six out of every ten gun deaths are suicides and this can skew the data considerably. On their own, gun homicides are a clear sign of the cultural rot in America, but much like the argument made by popular podcaster Joe Rogan on mass shootings, we don’t have a gun problem as much as we have a mental health problem.
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to Legend from Twitter, including those highlighting the impact of suicides:
I am begging you celebrities and people who call themselves journalists to learn the difference between criminal gun violence and suicide.
It’s right there in the magic box you’re holding.
— Mark Ashworth & the Wreckoning Bros Podcast (@marklarflash) May 30, 2022
Soon as I see NY and CA near the bottom I know something is fake here😂
— Lavern Spicer🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) May 30, 2022
I see what you did here. You looked up “gun deaths by state” or something to that effect. That’s the screenshot on the left.
The screenshot on the middle is the result you get when you search “suicide rate by state.” The screenshot on the right is “homicide rate by state.” pic.twitter.com/55QHXQACjn
— Australopithecus afarensis (@AfarensisBioDiv) May 29, 2022
The stats you present are correct but misleading. It’s based on per 100,000 population. The states at the top are lower in population which skews the numbers. Surely you don’t think it’s safer to live in Chicago than Wyoming. https://t.co/vO5tJK3FUt
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) May 29, 2022
This moron doesn’t realize that Chicago has strict gun laws, and still has mass shootings. https://t.co/mZQryIfwjh
— Merissa Hansen 🇺🇸 (@MerissaHansen17) May 30, 2022
Yes, Mr. Legend! I took your 3-Step Course in framing data to make the viewer think a certain way and not what the truth is, and you are so right!! And it is amazing how much easier it is to buy into a narrative when we drink Kool-Aid while studying your lessons!! Thank you!! https://t.co/xakHS6Xs0J
— OhYeahRight (@50KFeet) May 31, 2022
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